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"People refer to this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous people have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here go back centuries – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, turning to the traveler with a smile. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be one of the world's premier hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section home to area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide recounts numerous folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story tells of a young child going missing during a family picnic, only to reappear after five years with no memory of her experience, having not aged a single day, her attire lacking the slightest speck of soil.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim seeing strange rashes on their skin, detecting unseen murmurs through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit participants to engage in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he passes his guest an EMF meter which measures EMF readings.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as they step into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and seems that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is unclear between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith situated on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the line between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."