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"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his exhalation creating clouds of condensation in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have vanished here, it's thought it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is guiding a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient local woods on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the grove is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But rest assured," he continues, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares home to locally rare oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius tells numerous local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a little girl disappearing during a family outing, only to return half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her clothes lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports describe cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals claim seeing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But research studies have turned up insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's excursions enable participants to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea captured his well-known UFO images, he hands his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a place which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for reasons related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."