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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his breath producing puffs of mist in the chilly evening air. "Numerous people have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is guiding a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here go back hundreds of years – this woodland is titled for a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a flying saucer hovering above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But no need to fear," he continues, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be a top global destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Barring a few hectares home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius is confident that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide describes various traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child disappearing during a group gathering, then to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of the events, having not aged a day, her attire shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories describe smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state noticing unusual marks on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose bases are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground explain their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours enable visitors to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he gives his guest an EMF meter which registers EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most powerful area of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The trees abruptly end as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a location which stirs the imagination, where the border is unclear between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a nexus for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide comments, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."