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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation creating puffs of vapor in the cold evening air. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is escorting a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back a long time – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he continues, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, curious to experience the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a small area containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to recognise the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide tells some of the folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, then to return five years later with no recollection of the events, having not aged a day, her clothes without the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories explain mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people state noticing unusual marks on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or sense fingers clutching them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to explain the deformed trees: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's tours enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most powerful section of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for causes radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."