Venturing into this Planet's Most Ghostly Grove: Twisted Trees, UFOs and Chilling Accounts in Romania's Legendary Region.

"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath creating wisps of condensation in the crisp evening air. "Numerous visitors have vanished here, it's thought it's a portal to another dimension." This expert is escorting a traveler on a evening stroll through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of unusual events here extend back centuries – the forest is titled for a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a small area home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius believes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts some of the local legends and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story tells of a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a single day, her attire without the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports explain smartphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors claim seeing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or feel fingers clutching them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the tales may be unverifiable, numerous elements clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth account for their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours allow guests to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the meadow in the trees where Barnea took his well-known UFO photographs, he hands his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and looks that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a place which fuels fantasy, where the border is indistinct between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for causes radioactive, climatic or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the boundary between reality and imagination is very thin."