Exploring this World's Most Haunted Grove: Twisted Trees, Flying Saucers and Eerie Tales in Romania's Legendary Region.

"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his breath producing clouds of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, many believe it's a portal to a parallel world." This expert is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here go back a long time – the forest is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But don't worry," he states, turning to his guest with a smile. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is a top global destinations for supernatural fans, the grove is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are expanding, and developers are pushing for permission to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius tells numerous folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale describes a young child going missing during a family outing, then to reappear after five years with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her attire lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories explain mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report noticing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting ghostly voices through the trees, or sense hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions permit participants to take part in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO images, he hands his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

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

The trees abruptly end as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is organic, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – seems tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, environmental or simply folkloric, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."