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"Locals dub this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation forming clouds of condensation in the cold evening air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – the forest is titled for a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a UFO floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, addressing the visitor with a smile. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, spiritual healers, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, known as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are advocating for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a few hectares home to area-specific specific tree species, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to acknowledge the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide describes some of the local legends and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her clothes without the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories detail mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people claim seeing unusual marks on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. All around are plants whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the earth account for their strange formation.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours enable guests to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO images, he passes his guest an electromagnetic field detector which registers EMF readings.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten local communities.

The novelist's well-known character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – feels real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, environmental or simply folkloric, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the division between fact and fiction is very thin."