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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath creating clouds of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is escorting a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – this woodland is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he states, facing the traveler with a smile. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are advocating for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area housing locally rare oak varieties, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide describes numerous folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story describes a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, only to reappear after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, without aging a day, her attire lacking the tiniest bit of soil.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report observing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been given to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's tours permit visitors to engage 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 detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the line is indistinct between reality and legend. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who return from burial sites to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's well-known character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith situated on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which appear to be, for reasons radioactive, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the line between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."