Delving into the Planet's Most Ghostly Forest: Contorted Trees, Unidentified Flying Objects and Chilling Accounts in Romania's Legendary Region.

"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of vapor in the cold evening air. "Numerous individuals have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here go back centuries – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a few hectares containing regionally uncommon oak varieties, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the authorities to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide describes various folk tales and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account describes a young child going missing during a family outing, only to return five years later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a single day, her clothes shy of the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports describe cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. All around are plants whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the ground cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's walks allow participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO pictures, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The single plant life is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the result of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for factors nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."