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"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath forming wisps of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are encroaching, and construction companies are pushing for permission to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing locally rare oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius describes some of the local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale describes a young child vanishing during a family picnic, only to rematerialise five years later with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a day, her clothes without the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports explain smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors 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.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the stories may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements visibly present that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the ground cause their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions allow visitors to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO photographs, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most energetic section of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears real and understandable in contrast to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."