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"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, the air from his lungs forming clouds of condensation in the cold evening air. "So many visitors have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is escorting a visitor on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here go back a long time – the forest is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer suspended above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But no need to fear," he continues, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a few hectares home to locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide believes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, motivating the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide tells various local legends and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child disappearing during a family outing, later to return after five years with no recollection of the events, having not aged a moment, her garments shy of the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

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

Multiple explanations have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the earth explain their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's excursions enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the clearing in the forest where Barnea captured his famous UFO pictures, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most active part of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The plants suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a complete ring. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and looks that this strange clearing is natural, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for factors related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."