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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming clouds of condensation in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth 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 – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But no need to fear," he adds, addressing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

While branches and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide describes some of the traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A popular tale describes a young child vanishing during a group gathering, later to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a single day, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals state observing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the soil explain their unusual development.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his famous UFO images, he passes his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise local communities.

The novelist's well-known vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible versus the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for factors related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."