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"People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation creating puffs of mist in the chilly evening air. "So many people have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of strange happenings here go back a long time – the grove is named after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he adds, addressing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are campaigning for authorization to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Barring a limited section housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius recounts various local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl going missing during a family outing, only to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, without aging a single day, her garments shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim observing strange rashes on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the woodland, or sense fingers clutching them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, there is much before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground cause their strange formation.

But research studies have found insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's tours permit visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the meadow in the trees where Barnea took his famous UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a location which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."