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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of vapor in the crisp night air. "So many people have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." Marius is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the initiative he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, motivating the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius describes various local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, then to return five years later with no recollection of her experience, having not aged a day, her garments lacking the tiniest bit of soil.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel hands grabbing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is certainly unusual. All around are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the soil cause their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's excursions enable participants to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea took his renowned UFO images, he hands his guest an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most active part of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The plants immediately cease as they step into a complete ring. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of human hands.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting vampires, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."