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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his exhalation creating clouds of vapor in the cold night air. "So many visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a traveler on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here go back a long time – this woodland is named after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he adds, facing the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area containing area-specific specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius tells numerous folk tales and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her garments lacking the tiniest bit of dirt.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report observing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, numerous elements clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil account for their unusual development.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours enable visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his famous UFO photographs, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic area of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it's not maintained, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a location which stirs the imagination, where the line is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems solid and predictable in contrast to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the boundary between reality and imagination is extremely fine."