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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his exhalation creating puffs of mist in the crisp night air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is escorting a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius tells numerous folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to return five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a moment, her attire without the smallest trace of soil.
• More common reports detail smartphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Some people claim noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or sense fingers clutching them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Different theories have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the earth cause their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks enable visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he hands his guest an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most powerful part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of human hands.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

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