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"Locals dub this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of mist in the cold night air. "So many visitors have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a parallel world." Marius is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient local woods on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of bizarre occurrences here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, addressing his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a few hectares home to regionally uncommon oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide recounts numerous folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl disappearing during a group gathering, later to return after five years with no recollection of her experience, without aging a day, her garments shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim seeing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the earth cause their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks permit guests to take part in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO photographs, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a area which fuels fantasy, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith situated on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – seems tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons related to radiation, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the line between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."