Venturing into the Planet's Most Ghostly Forest: Gnarled Trees, UFOs and Chilling Accounts in Transylvania.

"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of mist in the crisp night air. "So many individuals have disappeared here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back hundreds of years – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, facing his guest with a smile. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are advocating for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area housing regionally uncommon oak varieties, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the company he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, motivating the authorities to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide tells various local legends and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story recounts a young child vanishing during a family picnic, later to reappear after five years with no recollection of the events, having not aged a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of soil.
• Regular stories describe cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Reactions range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors report observing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose bases are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the ground explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's tours permit participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his renowned UFO pictures, he hands the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The only greenery is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's not maintained, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a location which fuels fantasy, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to haunt local communities.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."