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"Locals dub this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of vapor in the crisp evening air. "Numerous individuals have vanished here, it's thought it's a portal to another dimension." Marius is escorting a traveler on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here extend back centuries – the grove is named after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But rest assured," he states, turning to his guest with a smile. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are campaigning for permission to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a few hectares home to locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, persuading the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius describes numerous local legends and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a little girl vanishing during a group gathering, later to reappear after five years with no recollection of the events, without aging a single day, her clothes lacking the tiniest bit of dirt.
• More common reports describe cellphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors state seeing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, numerous elements clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are plants whose bases are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil explain their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours allow visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most powerful part of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of human hands.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."