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"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Numerous people have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through commonly known as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But rest assured," he states, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from worldwide, interested in encountering the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of the region – are expanding, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a limited section containing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their boots, Marius recounts some of the traditional stories and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl vanishing during a family outing, only to reappear after five years with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a day, her clothes without the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals claim observing strange rashes on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the stories may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground account for their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have found insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks permit guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which measures EMF readings.

"We're entering the most active area of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The trees immediately cease as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the work of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure situated on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels real and understandable versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."