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"Locals dub this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of mist in the cold night air. "So many people have vanished here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." The guide is guiding a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here go back hundreds of years – the grove is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, facing his guest with a smile. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and developers are advocating for approval to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Except for a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius describes some of the folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a little girl going missing during a group gathering, only to return five years later with complete amnesia of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire without the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions include complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing ghostly voices through the forest, or feel fingers clutching them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground cause their unusual development.

But research studies have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions permit guests to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO images, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers EMF readings.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this unusual opening is organic, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the line is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable versus the haunted grove, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, environmental or purely mythical, a center for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the division between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."