Delving into this World's Most Haunted Forest: Twisted Trees, Flying Saucers and Chilling Accounts in Transylvania.

"Locals dub this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming clouds of vapor in the cold evening air. "So many people have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here date back centuries – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he states, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

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

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide recounts some of the local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child going missing during a family outing, then to return half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a moment, her clothes shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state seeing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the accounts may be hard to prove, there are many things clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been proposed to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth explain their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours enable visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO images, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The plants suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the result of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to frighten local communities.

The novelist's renowned character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius comments, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."