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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many people have gone missing here, many believe it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a traveler on a night walk through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of unusual events here go back a long time – the grove is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he states, facing the visitor with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are advocating for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area housing regionally uncommon oak varieties, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, motivating the authorities to acknowledge the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius describes various traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family outing, later to return five years later with no memory of her experience, without aging a moment, her garments without the tiniest bit of dirt.
• More common reports explain smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's walks allow guests to participate in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

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

The trees immediately cease as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of people.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building perched on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – seems solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or simply folkloric, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the line between reality and imagination is extremely fine."