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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his breath creating wisps of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many people have gone missing here, many believe it's a portal to a parallel world." The guide is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a limited section housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the company he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius recounts numerous folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account recounts a little girl vanishing during a family outing, only to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, without aging a day, her garments lacking the smallest trace of soil.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report seeing strange rashes on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense fingers clutching them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been given to explain the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions permit visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the result of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a location which stirs the imagination, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing vampires, who return from burial sites to haunt local communities.

The novelist's renowned character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – feels real and understandable in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for factors radioactive, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the line between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."