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"Locals dub this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation forming wisps of vapor in the cold night air. "Countless people have disappeared here, many believe it's a portal to another dimension." The guide is leading a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of unusual events here extend back a long time – the forest is named after a regional herder 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 defense worker called Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he states, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are campaigning for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

While branches and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide recounts various folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family outing, later to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of the events, showing no signs of aging a single day, her garments without the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports explain smartphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim seeing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving ghostly voices through the woodland, or experience palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. All around are trees whose stems are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been proposed to account for the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the ground account for their strange formation.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks enable visitors to engage in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the meadow in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which registers energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most powerful area of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears real and understandable compared to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a hub for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."