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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of vapor in the cold evening air. "So many visitors have disappeared here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." The guide is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he continues, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, interested in encountering the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are advocating for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Except for a small area containing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide tells various local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a five-year-old girl disappearing during a group gathering, later to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her clothes without the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people claim seeing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are vegetation whose trunks are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil cause their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks permit participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his famous UFO photographs, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of human hands.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building situated on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for factors radioactive, atmospheric or purely mythical, a center for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."