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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of mist in the cold night air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is escorting a guest on a evening stroll 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 fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area housing locally rare specific tree species, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius tells various folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child going missing during a group gathering, only to reappear after five years with no memory of her experience, without aging a moment, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Some people report seeing unusual marks on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the trees, or sense palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the accounts may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is definitely bizarre. All around are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground account for their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's tours permit visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active area of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The trees abruptly end as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the line is unclear between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing vampires, who rise from their graves to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a nexus for creative energy.

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