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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing wisps of vapor in the crisp evening air. "Countless people have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of unusual events here extend back a long time – the forest is titled for a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he adds, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a limited section containing area-specific oak varieties, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the company he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to appreciate the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their boots, the guide tells various traditional stories and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports describe cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim observing unusual marks on their bodies, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. All around are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's walks allow visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO photographs, he passes the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is natural, not the creation of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

The novelist's renowned fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – appears solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

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