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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his breath producing wisps of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of unusual events here go back centuries – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a UFO floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But rest assured," he states, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, eager to feel the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius tells some of the folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl disappearing during a family outing, then to reappear after five years with no memory of what had happened, without aging a single day, her attire lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state observing strange rashes on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there is much before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the earth explain their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's tours permit guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO pictures, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which measures EMF readings.

"We're entering the most energetic section of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and looks that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting vampires, who return from burial sites to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith situated on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide comments, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."