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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation creating puffs of vapor in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Numerous individuals have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a visitor on a night walk through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here date back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, the forest is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares home to locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the company he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius describes numerous traditional stories and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl disappearing during a family outing, only to rematerialise after five years with no recollection of the events, without aging a single day, her garments shy of the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Regular stories describe smartphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report observing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the trees, or sense palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there is much before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the ground explain their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's excursions permit participants to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO images, he hands the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most active section of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and looks that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

The novelist's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building situated on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the division between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."