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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation producing clouds of vapor in the cold evening air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is escorting a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here go back centuries – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a flying saucer floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But don't worry," he adds, addressing his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, eager to feel the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading destinations for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of the region – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Barring a few hectares housing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, persuading the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide describes numerous local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl going missing during a family outing, only to return half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports detail smartphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Some people state seeing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the earth cause their strange formation.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's tours permit visitors to take part in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his famous UFO images, he hands the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most active part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The plants immediately cease as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the short grass beneath the ground; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the result of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is unclear between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building situated on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – feels tangible and comprehensible versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the division between fact and fiction is very thin."