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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, his breath creating clouds of condensation in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here extend back centuries – this woodland is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a UFO hovering above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But don't worry," he adds, facing the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global destinations for supernatural fans, the grove is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area housing area-specific specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

While branches and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius recounts numerous folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account recounts a five-year-old girl going missing during a family outing, then to return after five years with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her clothes without the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals state seeing unusual marks on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the trees, or sense hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions allow guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most energetic part of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The trees immediately cease as they step into a complete ring. The single plant life is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – seems real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a center for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."