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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath producing puffs of mist in the cold evening air. "Countless people have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a traveler on a night walk through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he states, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be a top global hotspots for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Barring a limited section containing area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide recounts numerous folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A popular tale recounts a young child vanishing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise after five years with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a day, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• Regular stories describe cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors state observing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radiation levels in the ground account for their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks enable guests to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his famous UFO photographs, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most powerful part of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is organic, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting creatures, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the line between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."