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"They call this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his exhalation creating clouds of vapor in the cold evening air. "Countless visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." Marius is leading a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here go back centuries – the forest is named after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a flying saucer suspended above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But rest assured," he continues, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Except for a small area home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius describes some of the folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a young child going missing during a family picnic, later to return five years later with no recollection of the events, without aging a single day, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim seeing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or sense fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been given to explain the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the ground explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions enable visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his famous UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The trees abruptly end as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten local communities.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – appears real and understandable versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the line between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."