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"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of condensation in the cold night air. "Numerous visitors have gone missing here, many believe it's an entrance to a parallel world." Marius is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of strange happenings here extend back centuries – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the traveler with a smile. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section containing area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the organization he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to acknowledge the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their boots, Marius describes numerous traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a family outing, then to reappear after five years with no recollection of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports explain cellphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state seeing strange rashes on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or feel hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to clarify the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground cause their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's walks allow guests to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which detects energy patterns.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is organic, not the work of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which fuels fantasy, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."