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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his exhalation producing clouds of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Numerous people have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is leading a guest on a evening stroll through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of unusual events here extend back centuries – the grove is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, 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, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Barring a few hectares housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide tells some of the traditional stories and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child going missing during a group gathering, later to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a moment, her clothes without the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals state noticing strange rashes on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground explain their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's walks permit participants to engage in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his famous UFO images, he hands the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which registers energy patterns.

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

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – feels real and understandable versus the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."