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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation producing clouds of mist in the crisp evening air. "So many visitors have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." The guide is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here go back centuries – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he states, addressing the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, traditional medicine people, 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 one of the world's premier hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a limited section home to area-specific oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to appreciate the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius describes numerous folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale describes a young child going missing during a family picnic, later to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a single day, her attire lacking the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports explain cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Some people claim observing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, although sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the soil cause their strange formation.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions enable participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the meadow in the trees where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes his guest an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most powerful area of the forest," he says. "Try to detect something."

The plants suddenly stop dead as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and looks that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."