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"Locals dub this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient native woodland on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of strange happenings here extend back a long time – this woodland is called after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he states, turning to the traveler with a smile. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, shamans, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from worldwide, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be a top global hotspots for supernatural fans, the grove is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Except for a few hectares housing area-specific specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the company he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide describes numerous traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a young child vanishing during a family outing, only to return after five years with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a single day, her clothes lacking the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts explain cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Some people state seeing strange rashes on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the earth cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have found inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's tours allow participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of human hands.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is blurred between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to frighten regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – seems real and understandable compared to these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a nexus for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."