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"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath creating clouds of condensation in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is guiding a traveler on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here extend back centuries – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, facing his guest with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section housing area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the organization he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius tells some of the folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, only to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of her experience, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments without the smallest trace of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail mobile phones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people report seeing strange rashes on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the ground cause their unusual development.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours permit participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the forest where Barnea captured his famous UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an ghost-hunting device which measures energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who return from burial sites to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's renowned vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for factors nuclear, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is very thin."