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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation creating wisps of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, many believe it's an entrance to a parallel world." Marius is escorting a visitor on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of strange happenings here date back a long time – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he states, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, shamans, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from around the globe, eager to feel the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the organization he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to appreciate the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

While branches and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts numerous local legends and alleged supernatural events here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl disappearing during a group gathering, later to rematerialise half a decade later with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a day, her garments shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe cellphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Some people claim seeing unusual marks on their bodies, hearing unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the earth account for their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's tours permit visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO images, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which measures EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a location which inspires creativity, where the line is indistinct between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable in contrast to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the division between fact and fiction is very thin."