Exploring this Planet's Most Ghostly Forest: Gnarled Trees, Flying Saucers and Chilling Accounts in Transylvania.

"They call this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath creating wisps of vapor in the chilly evening air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is leading a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval local woods on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here date back hundreds of years – the forest is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, addressing the visitor with a smile. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from across the world, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of the region – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares containing locally rare specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide describes some of the folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl vanishing during a family outing, only to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a day, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• Regular stories describe cellphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions enable participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure situated on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a center for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the line between fact and fiction is extremely fine."