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"Locals dub this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his breath forming puffs of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." Marius is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of unusual events here go back a long time – this woodland is titled for a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a UFO floating above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But don't worry," he adds, facing the visitor with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from around the globe, interested in encountering the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area housing area-specific oak varieties, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide describes numerous traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl disappearing during a family outing, later to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a moment, her clothes without the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories describe cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing ghostly voices through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth account for their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's excursions allow visitors to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes his guest an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's not maintained, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing vampires, who rise from their graves to haunt local communities.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for causes nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the line between truth and fantasy is very thin."