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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation producing clouds of mist in the chilly night air. "Numerous visitors have gone missing here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." Marius is leading a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of unusual events here extend back a long time – the forest is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But rest assured," he adds, facing the visitor with a smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be among the planet's leading destinations for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a limited section housing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, encouraging the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius recounts numerous traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a group gathering, only to return five years later with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a day, her attire without the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses vary from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people state seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth cause their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours allow visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the trees where Barnea captured his famous UFO photographs, he gives his guest an EMF meter which registers EMF readings.

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

The plants abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the creation of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing vampires, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building situated on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – feels solid and predictable in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or simply folkloric, a nexus for creative energy.

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