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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his breath producing wisps of condensation in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have disappeared here, many believe it's a portal to a different realm." This expert is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a flying saucer floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he states, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the company he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius recounts some of the folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A well-known account recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, then to reappear five years later with no memory of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Reactions range from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report observing strange rashes on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground cause their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks allow participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's clear that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the work of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is blurred between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to frighten regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the boundary between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."