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"They call this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of vapor in the chilly night air. "So many visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is guiding a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here go back a long time – this woodland is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a UFO hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he adds, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, ufologists and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area home to area-specific specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide recounts various traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account describes a young child disappearing during a family picnic, then to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a moment, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• Regular stories explain mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Some people state observing unusual marks on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the soil account for their unusual development.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's tours enable visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers EMF readings.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

The famous author's well-known character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes nuclear, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the division between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."