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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous individuals have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of unusual events here go back centuries – the forest is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he states, addressing the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the authorities to acknowledge the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius describes some of the folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a five-year-old girl disappearing during a group gathering, only to return half a decade later with no memory of the events, having not aged a day, her clothes without the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports detail cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim seeing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

While many of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose stems are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground explain their strange formation.

But research studies have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's tours enable guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his famous UFO photographs, he gives his guest an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the result of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a location which fuels fantasy, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."