Delving into this World's Most Haunted Forest: Contorted Trees, Flying Saucers and Eerie Tales in Transylvania.

"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is escorting a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of unusual events here go back a long time – the forest is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area home to locally rare specific tree species, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the authorities to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide describes numerous traditional stories and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to return five years later with no memory of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state noticing strange rashes on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or sense hands grabbing them, even when sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most active part of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The plants abruptly end as they step into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between truth and myth. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to haunt local communities.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

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