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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation producing clouds of vapor in the cold evening air. "So many people have gone missing here, many believe it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here date back a long time – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object floating above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, known as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing area-specific oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius describes some of the folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a group gathering, then to rematerialise half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a day, her clothes without the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories detail cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Reactions range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Some people claim noticing unusual marks on their arms, detecting ghostly voices through the trees, or sense palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the earth explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions enable participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the meadow in the trees where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most powerful section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this unusual opening is organic, not the result of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between truth and myth. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith situated on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."