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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of vapor in the chilly night air. "So many people have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here go back hundreds of years – the forest is titled for a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But rest assured," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, interested in encountering the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the grove is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a limited section home to area-specific oak varieties, the forest is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the initiative he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide describes various folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise after five years with no recollection of the events, without aging a single day, her garments shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• Frequent accounts explain mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors state observing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or feel fingers clutching them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks permit visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO images, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is organic, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering creatures, who rise from their graves to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the line between fact and fiction is extremely fine."