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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath producing puffs of vapor in the cold night air. "So many visitors have disappeared here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." The guide is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of unusual events here go back centuries – the grove is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the long ago, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a UFO hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, shamans, ufologists and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, known as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area containing regionally uncommon oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius tells some of the traditional stories and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account recounts a little girl going missing during a group gathering, then to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, without aging a day, her attire lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Feelings include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, despite being sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil explain their strange formation.

But research studies have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes his guest an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most powerful section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a flawless round. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the work of people.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is indistinct between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."