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"Locals dub this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his exhalation producing clouds of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is escorting a visitor on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here go back a long time – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the visitor with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Except for a small area containing locally rare specific tree species, the forest is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their shoes, Marius tells various local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale describes a young child going missing during a family picnic, then to reappear half a decade later with no memory of the events, having not aged a moment, her clothes lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state observing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense fingers clutching them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are plants whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth cause their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions enable guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which detects EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most powerful area of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of human hands.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten local communities.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith situated on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."