Exploring the Planet's Most Ghostly Woodland: Gnarled Trees, Unidentified Flying Objects and Eerie Tales in Transylvania.

"They call this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath producing clouds of vapor in the crisp night air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is guiding a visitor on a night walk through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, addressing the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a few hectares home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to acknowledge the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius recounts various traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• One famous story recounts a young child going missing during a family outing, only to rematerialise after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a day, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of dirt.
• More common reports describe smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Reactions range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving disembodied whispers through the woodland, or sense fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the deformed trees: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil explain their strange formation.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks enable visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most energetic area of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's clear that it's not maintained, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is very thin."