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"They call this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his exhalation producing clouds of condensation in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Numerous people have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here date back hundreds of years – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the visitor with a grin. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from across the world, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading destinations for supernatural fans, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and developers are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Except for a small area containing area-specific oak varieties, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide is confident that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts various local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to return half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, without aging a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of soil.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Reactions include complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim seeing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose bases are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the soil explain their strange formation.

But formal examinations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's excursions enable guests to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the forest where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers EMF readings.

"We're entering the most powerful part of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems solid and predictable in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the line between reality and imagination is very thin."