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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath forming wisps of condensation in the cold night air. "So many individuals have vanished here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." Marius is escorting a visitor on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back hundreds of years – this woodland is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he continues, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, called the innovation center of the region – are encroaching, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section home to locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius recounts various local legends and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale recounts a young child vanishing during a family picnic, then to return after five years with complete amnesia of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her clothes shy of the smallest trace of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Feelings range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Some people state noticing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense hands grabbing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the soil account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's tours enable visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he hands the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most energetic part of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and looks that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."