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"Locals dub this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation forming clouds of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is leading a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But don't worry," he adds, facing the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, known as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares housing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the initiative 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 autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide describes some of the folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl vanishing during a family outing, only to reappear after five years with no memory of the events, without aging a moment, her clothes shy of the smallest trace of soil.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors claim seeing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving ghostly voices through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours permit participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea took his renowned UFO images, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which registers EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The trees suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is blurred between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith situated on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – feels real and understandable compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."