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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath creating puffs of condensation in the crisp night air. "Countless visitors have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a traveler on a evening stroll through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

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

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the forest is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a small area home to regionally uncommon oak varieties, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide is confident that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts some of the folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a young child disappearing during a family outing, then to reappear five years later with no memory of her experience, having not aged a moment, her attire shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports explain smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Some people state noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, hearing disembodied whispers through the forest, or experience hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose stems are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions permit participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his renowned UFO photographs, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

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

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise local communities.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – feels solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the line between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."