🔗 Share this article Venturing into the World's Most Haunted Woodland: Twisted Trees, Unidentified Flying Objects and Eerie Tales in Transylvania. "Locals dub this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many people have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca. A Long History of the Unexplained Accounts of unusual events here date back centuries – the grove is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a flying saucer suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest. Many came in here and never came out. 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 drawn yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest. Modern Threats It may be one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to build apartment blocks. Barring a small area home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the organization he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction. Spooky Experiences As twigs and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius tells some of the traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here. One famous story tells of a young child vanishing during a family outing, only to reappear after five years with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a day, her garments without the smallest trace of dust. Frequent accounts detail mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside. Reactions range from complete terror to feelings of joy. Various visitors claim seeing unusual marks on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone. Scientific Investigations Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms. Multiple explanations have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the soil cause their unusual development. But formal examinations have found inconclusive results. The Famous Clearing The guide's walks permit participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the opening in the trees where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the traveler an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings. "We're venturing into the most powerful part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something." The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of human hands. The Blurred Line Transylvania generally is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is unclear between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to terrorise regional populations. Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence". But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for factors related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power. "Inside these woods," Marius says, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."