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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have gone missing here, it's thought it's a portal to a different realm." Marius is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here go back centuries – the grove is titled for a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for supernatural fans, the grove is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a limited section containing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide tells numerous traditional stories and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale describes a little girl going missing during a family picnic, only to rematerialise half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports describe smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim observing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or experience hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the soil account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's walks enable guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO images, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which measures EMF readings.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the boundary between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."