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"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his exhalation creating wisps of condensation in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a traveler on a evening stroll through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here date back a long time – the grove is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a UFO floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he adds, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being a top global hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are campaigning for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares containing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide tells some of the local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child going missing during a group gathering, then to return after five years with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a moment, her attire lacking the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people state noticing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or sense fingers clutching them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose trunks are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the soil account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours permit participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he gives his guest an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a complete ring. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and seems that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

The novelist's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable versus the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."