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"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a local guide, his breath creating puffs of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have disappeared here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is escorting a traveler on a night walk through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here go back hundreds of years – this woodland is titled for 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 an army specialist called Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a UFO hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he states, addressing the traveler with a smile. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are pushing for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a limited section containing locally rare specific tree species, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius recounts numerous local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child vanishing during a family outing, then to reappear half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes without the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports explain smartphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Some people claim observing unusual marks on their arms, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the soil cause their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's tours permit guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the trees where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO images, he hands the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which registers energy patterns.

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

The plants abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's not maintained, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the creation of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith situated on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is very thin."