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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his breath creating clouds of mist in the chilly evening air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here date back hundreds of years – the grove is named after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, addressing his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a small area containing area-specific oak varieties, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the company he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide describes some of the local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, only to reappear five years later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a day, her attire lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports describe cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people report noticing unusual marks on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been proposed to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the soil account for their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks permit visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the forest where Barnea took his renowned UFO pictures, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which registers energy patterns.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the creation of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between reality and legend. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."