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"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his breath producing clouds of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is escorting a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here go back a long time – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he states, facing the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area housing locally rare oak varieties, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, motivating the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their boots, the guide recounts various traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, only to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire without the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Regular stories detail smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people claim noticing unusual marks on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the trees, or sense palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radioactivity in the soil explain their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's excursions enable guests to engage in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

"We're entering the most energetic section of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The plants abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the result of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to terrorise local communities.

The novelist's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for factors related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the line between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."