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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath forming wisps of mist in the cold evening air. "So many individuals have gone missing here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." Marius is guiding a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of bizarre occurrences here go back a long time – this woodland is titled for a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

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

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are encroaching, and developers are advocating for authorization to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Barring a few hectares containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the local administrators to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius describes some of the local legends and claimed supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise after five years with complete amnesia of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her attire lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Some people report noticing strange rashes on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the earth account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions enable guests to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he hands his guest an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's clear 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 location which stirs the imagination, where the line is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten local communities.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."