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"Locals dub this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath forming wisps of condensation in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here date back hundreds of years – this woodland is titled for a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be a top global destinations for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Except for a small area containing regionally uncommon oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to appreciate the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius tells numerous folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child disappearing during a family picnic, then to return after five years with no memory of the events, having not aged a single day, her clothes lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings include absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim seeing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel fingers clutching them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the stories may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the ground account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the work of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a location which fuels fantasy, where the division is unclear between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The novelist's well-known character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," Marius says, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."