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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath producing clouds of vapor in the crisp evening air. "So many people have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of unusual events here extend back centuries – the grove is titled for a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he adds, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide recounts some of the folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account recounts a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, later to reappear half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state observing unusual marks on their arms, hearing ghostly voices through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground account for their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's excursions permit participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most energetic area of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation immediately cease as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and appears that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building situated on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible versus this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."