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"They call this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his exhalation producing clouds of condensation in the chilly evening air. "So many individuals have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he states, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from across the world, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, known as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius tells numerous local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories detail mobile phones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report observing unusual marks on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil explain their strange formation.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO images, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which registers energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation immediately cease as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

The novelist's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."