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"They call this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of vapor in the cold evening air. "Numerous individuals have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here extend back centuries – the forest is titled for a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the long ago, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, spiritual healers, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the innovation center of the region – are advancing, and real estate firms are pushing for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a limited section containing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the company he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius describes numerous local legends and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale recounts a young child disappearing during a family outing, then to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a single day, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state noticing unusual marks on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements visibly present that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are plants whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radioactivity in the earth account for their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's tours enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the clearing in the woods where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO images, he passes the visitor an ghost-hunting device which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is unclear between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – feels solid and predictable in contrast to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, climatic or simply folkloric, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."