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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have gone missing here, many believe it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is escorting a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back hundreds of years – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But no need to fear," he states, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of the region – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a few hectares containing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide describes numerous traditional stories and claimed supernatural events here.

• A popular tale describes a young child vanishing during a group gathering, later to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a single day, her garments without the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings include absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals state seeing strange rashes on their arms, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the earth account for their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's excursions enable participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO photographs, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

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

The plants immediately cease as we emerge into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for reasons related to radiation, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide comments, "the line between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."