Exploring the Planet's Most Ghostly Woodland: Gnarled Trees, UFOs and Chilling Accounts in Transylvania.

"They call this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath producing wisps of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Numerous individuals have vanished here, some say it's a portal to a parallel world." This expert is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here date back a long time – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Except for a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the company he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their shoes, Marius recounts various local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account describes a little girl vanishing during a family outing, later to rematerialise after five years with no memory of her experience, showing no signs of aging a day, her clothes lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• More common reports explain cellphones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report observing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. All around are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to account for the deformed trees: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth explain their strange formation.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's tours permit participants to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO images, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters 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 strange clearing is natural, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between truth and myth. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears real and understandable in contrast to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for factors radioactive, climatic or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the division between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."