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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have disappeared here, some say it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a visitor on a night walk through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here date back hundreds of years – the grove is titled for 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 a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a small area containing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide describes some of the folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family picnic, only to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a moment, her attire shy of the smallest trace of soil.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state seeing unusual marks on their skin, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the soil cause their strange formation.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's walks allow guests to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he passes the visitor an EMF meter which detects EMF readings.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which fuels fantasy, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to frighten local communities.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the boundary between reality and imagination is extremely fine."