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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath creating wisps of condensation in the cold night air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." 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 old-growth local woods on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here go back a long time – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the long ago, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But rest assured," he adds, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, eager to feel the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a small area home to locally rare specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius describes some of the traditional stories and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a young child going missing during a group gathering, later to return five years later with no memory of her experience, without aging a day, her garments lacking the slightest speck of soil.
• Regular stories detail mobile phones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim noticing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience fingers clutching them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks allow visitors to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible in contrast to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for factors radioactive, atmospheric or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."