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"Locals dub this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his exhalation creating clouds of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is guiding a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of strange happenings here go back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a flying saucer suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, facing his guest with a grin. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Barring a few hectares containing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide tells some of the folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family outing, only to rematerialise five years later with no memory of what had happened, without aging a single day, her attire without the tiniest bit of soil.
• Frequent accounts explain mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's tours enable guests to participate in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures EMF readings.

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

The plants immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the result of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to haunt nearby villages.

The novelist's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."