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"They call this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his breath forming clouds of condensation in the crisp night air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is guiding a traveler on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of strange happenings here date back a long time – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he adds, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from across the world, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Except for a limited section home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the organization he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their boots, Marius tells some of the folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a young child going missing during a group gathering, later to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a moment, her clothes without the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state seeing unusual marks on their skin, detecting unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground cause their crooked growth.

But research studies have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's excursions permit visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic area of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which fuels fantasy, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The novelist's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the line between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."