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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of vapor in the crisp evening air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here date back a long time – this woodland is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO suspended above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But rest assured," he adds, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of the region – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for permission to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Except for a limited section housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide believes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide describes various traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a little girl disappearing during a family outing, then to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports explain smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report observing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the earth account for their strange formation.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's excursions enable participants to engage in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most active area of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as they step into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it's not maintained, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible in contrast to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes radioactive, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."