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"They call this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought there's a gateway to another dimension." The guide is guiding a visitor on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of strange happenings here go back a long time – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, interested in encountering the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and developers are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section containing locally rare specific tree species, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the organization he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, motivating the authorities to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide describes numerous folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a five-year-old girl going missing during a group gathering, only to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a day, her garments without the slightest speck of dirt.
• More common reports detail cellphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report noticing unusual marks on their arms, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there is much visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to clarify the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth account for their unusual development.

But research studies have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea took his famous UFO images, he passes his guest an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most powerful part of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation abruptly end as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for causes nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."