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"Locals dub this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation creating clouds of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have gone missing here, some say it's a portal to a different realm." Marius is leading a visitor on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here go back centuries – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he states, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a limited section containing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide tells numerous traditional stories and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family picnic, then to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, without aging a moment, her attire without the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Feelings include complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report observing unusual marks on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the stories may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks enable participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the visitor an ghost-hunting device which measures energy patterns.

"We're entering the most energetic area of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region 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") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's renowned fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."