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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his exhalation forming puffs of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." Marius is guiding a traveler on a night walk through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of bizarre occurrences here go back a long time – this woodland is titled for a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the distant past, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object 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 adds, addressing the visitor with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, shamans, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to acknowledge the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius tells various local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to reappear five years later with no memory of her experience, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire without the slightest speck of dirt.
• Regular stories detail mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals state seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense fingers clutching them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose bases are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours permit visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which detects energy patterns.

"We're entering the most active part of the forest," he says. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and looks that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between reality and legend. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building situated on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels real and understandable in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."