Delving into the World's Most Haunted Grove: Twisted Trees, Unidentified Flying Objects and Eerie Tales in Romania's Legendary Region.

"They call this spot an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of mist in the cold night air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a UFO floating above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, shamans, ufologists and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, called the innovation center of the region – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for permission to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section housing area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide recounts various local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, only to rematerialise after five years with no memory of her experience, showing no signs of aging a moment, her attire without the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth explain their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's tours allow visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO images, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most powerful area of the forest," he says. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing vampires, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – feels tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."