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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his breath creating clouds of mist in the chilly night air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." Marius is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here extend back a long time – the grove is called after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from worldwide, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a few hectares home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide believes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, encouraging the local administrators to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius recounts numerous traditional stories and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale describes a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family outing, later to reappear five years later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes without the tiniest bit of soil.
• Regular stories detail cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state noticing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience fingers clutching them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the soil cause their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks permit visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the creation of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – feels real and understandable compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, environmental or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."