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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of vapor in the cold evening air. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, many believe it's a portal to a different realm." This expert is guiding a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of unusual events here extend back centuries – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, addressing the traveler with a smirk. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, ufologists and supernatural researchers from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares home to area-specific oak varieties, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide tells numerous folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a family outing, then to return after five years with complete amnesia of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing ghostly voices through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's walks enable participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO images, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most powerful section of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The trees suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is wild, not the result of human hands.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a hub for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the line between truth and fantasy is very thin."