Exploring the World's Most Haunted Grove: Twisted Trees, Unidentified Flying Objects and Eerie Tales in Transylvania.

"People refer to this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of mist in the crisp evening air. "Countless people have vanished here, many believe it's a portal to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of unusual events here go back hundreds of years – the forest is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But rest assured," he states, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, spiritual healers, ufologists and paranormal investigators from across the world, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a small area housing locally rare oak varieties, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to acknowledge the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

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

• A well-known account describes a little girl vanishing during a group gathering, only to reappear after five years with no memory of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her garments shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals report noticing unusual marks on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the trees, or experience hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's tours allow visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his renowned UFO photographs, he gives the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most energetic part of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which stirs the imagination, where the line is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."