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"They call this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his breath producing clouds of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back a long time – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he states, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, shamans, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from worldwide, eager to feel the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are campaigning for approval to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a small area home to area-specific specific tree species, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the organization he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide describes numerous folk tales and reported supernatural events here.

• One famous story tells of a young child disappearing during a group gathering, only to return five years later with no recollection of the events, having not aged a moment, her garments without the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses vary from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state observing strange rashes on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the ground explain their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit participants to participate in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting vampires, who rise from their graves to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's renowned fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."