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"They call this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of vapor in the cold night air. "Numerous individuals have vanished here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." Marius is escorting a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – this woodland is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are advocating for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares containing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius believes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging 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 recounts some of the traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account describes a little girl disappearing during a group gathering, then to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim noticing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

While many of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth cause their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's tours enable guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

"We're entering the most powerful area of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The trees suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the work of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a stone formation in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – feels real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."