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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath forming puffs of mist in the crisp evening air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, many believe it's a portal to a different realm." The guide is escorting a traveler on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of unusual events here go back hundreds of years – the forest 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 gained global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer suspended 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 smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the grove is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a few hectares home to locally rare oak varieties, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts some of the folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a little girl disappearing during a family outing, only to return five years later with no memory of her experience, having not aged a day, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• Frequent accounts explain cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Reactions range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals report observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil explain their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions enable participants to take part in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which detects EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most powerful part of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a location which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a hub for human imaginative power.

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