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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his breath creating clouds of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have vanished here, it's thought there's a gateway to another dimension." The guide is escorting a traveler on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he continues, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, shamans, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be a top global destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to appreciate the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their shoes, Marius tells numerous folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A popular tale recounts a young child disappearing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a day, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Feelings include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report seeing strange rashes on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose stems are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the earth explain their strange formation.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's walks allow guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the forest where Barnea took his renowned UFO images, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which detects energy patterns.

"We're entering the most powerful section of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the result of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which fuels fantasy, where the division is indistinct between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who rise from their graves to frighten local communities.

The novelist's renowned vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

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