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"Locals dub this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation creating puffs of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many people have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is leading a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a UFO floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he states, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global hotspots for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are campaigning for permission to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide recounts various traditional stories and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a group gathering, then to return after five years with no memory of what had happened, without aging a single day, her attire lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• Regular stories detail cellphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report seeing strange rashes on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there is much visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to clarify the abnormal growth: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the earth account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's walks enable guests to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the opening in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between fact and folklore. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

The novelist's famous fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for reasons related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."