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"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of condensation in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here date back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object floating above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from worldwide, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, the forest is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area containing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the local administrators to appreciate the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide describes some of the folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account recounts a little girl disappearing during a family outing, only to rematerialise five years later with no memory of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports explain cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report noticing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be hard to prove, there are many things before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth explain their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks permit participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which registers EMF readings.

"We're entering the most powerful part of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a complete ring. The single plant life is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering creatures, who rise from their graves to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes related to radiation, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."