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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of mist in the cold evening air. "Numerous individuals have vanished here, many believe it's a portal to another dimension." This expert is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here date back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares home to locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide tells numerous traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, only to rematerialise after five years with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a day, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people state observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks enable participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures EMF readings.

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

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the creation of people.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

The novelist's famous fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for factors nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."