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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his exhalation forming puffs of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is leading a traveler on a night walk through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of strange happenings here go back a long time – the grove is named after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a UFO hovering above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But no need to fear," he states, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from worldwide, interested in encountering the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are pushing for permission to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares housing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide tells numerous folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl going missing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her attire lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• More common reports detail mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals state seeing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting unseen murmurs through the forest, or feel hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there are many things before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the soil account for their strange formation.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his renowned UFO images, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which registers energy patterns.

"We're entering the most energetic area of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."