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"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath creating puffs of mist in the chilly evening air. "Numerous individuals have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here go back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a UFO floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, addressing the visitor with a smile. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area containing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide believes that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide recounts various folk tales and reported supernatural events here.

• One famous story recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family picnic, only to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals state observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the woodland, or sense fingers clutching them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground explain their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks permit participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most energetic part of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a flawless round. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."