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"They call this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of vapor in the chilly evening air. "So many individuals have gone missing here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is escorting a traveler on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here go back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the innovation center of the region – are encroaching, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section containing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide believes that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius recounts numerous traditional stories and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account describes a five-year-old girl going missing during a family outing, later to reappear five years later with no recollection of the events, without aging a day, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report noticing strange rashes on their skin, detecting unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to explain the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the earth account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions enable visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most energetic area of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The trees immediately cease as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this unusual opening is organic, not the result of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

The novelist's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."