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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his exhalation producing puffs of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here go back centuries – this woodland is called after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But rest assured," he states, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide describes some of the folk tales and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account describes a little girl vanishing during a group gathering, only to rematerialise after five years with no memory of what had happened, without aging a day, her attire lacking the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports describe mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Reactions range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors claim noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel hands grabbing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to account for the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the ground cause their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours allow visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a complete ring. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the result of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting vampires, who rise from their graves to frighten nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems solid and predictable compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."