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"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of vapor in the crisp evening air. "So many individuals have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is leading a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of strange happenings here go back hundreds of years – the grove is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO hovering above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he adds, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, known as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares containing locally rare specific tree species, the forest is without conservation status, but the guide is confident 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 importance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius describes numerous traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• One famous story tells of a young child disappearing during a family picnic, only to return after five years with no recollection of the events, having not aged a single day, her garments without the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports describe cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors claim observing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or feel palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks allow visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most energetic section of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a location which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure located on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – seems solid and predictable versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."