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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Countless visitors have disappeared here, some say it's an entrance to a parallel world." Marius is leading a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of unusual events here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a flying saucer hovering above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, addressing his guest with a smile. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a small area containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the local administrators to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide recounts some of the folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl disappearing during a group gathering, only to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories detail mobile phones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Feelings include full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, hearing disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the stories may be unverifiable, there is much visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions enable visitors to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a complete ring. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the creation of human hands.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

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