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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his breath forming clouds of vapor in the chilly evening air. "Numerous visitors have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is escorting a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval local woods on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the grove is titled for a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are pushing for approval to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section containing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius believes that the organization he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide recounts various folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account describes a young child disappearing during a group gathering, then to reappear half a decade later with no memory of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her attire lacking the slightest speck of soil.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors claim seeing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to account for the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the soil explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks permit visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO images, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most energetic area of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for creative energy.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."