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"People refer to this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his exhalation creating wisps of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is guiding a guest on a night walk through commonly known as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here extend back a long time – the grove is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, addressing his guest with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from across the world, eager to feel the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global hotspots for supernatural fans, the forest is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area housing area-specific oak varieties, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the organization he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide tells some of the local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a family outing, later to reappear five years later with no memory of her experience, without aging a moment, her clothes lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts explain cellphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings include absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report observing strange rashes on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, even when sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose stems are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the soil explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions allow guests to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a location which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who rise from their graves to haunt regional populations.

The novelist's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."