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"They call this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation forming puffs of condensation in the crisp evening air. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is guiding a visitor on a night walk through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of unusual events here go back centuries – the grove is named after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But rest assured," he continues, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section containing area-specific specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide describes some of the folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child disappearing during a group gathering, later to reappear after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a moment, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• More common reports describe mobile phones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Some people report observing strange rashes on their arms, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the earth cause their unusual development.

But research studies have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit visitors to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the woods where Barnea took his renowned UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

"We're entering the most powerful section of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The plants immediately cease as we emerge into a complete ring. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting creatures, who rise from their graves to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."