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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of vapor in the cold evening air. "Numerous people have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to another dimension." Marius is leading a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he states, facing his guest with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, spiritual healers, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be a top global destinations for supernatural fans, the forest is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide is confident that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius tells various folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a young child vanishing during a family outing, only to reappear after five years with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports detail smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report observing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the tales may be unverifiable, numerous elements clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil explain their strange formation.

But formal examinations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions allow visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which detects EMF readings.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."