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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of condensation in the cold evening air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is escorting a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here date back centuries – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he states, turning to his guest with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and developers are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Barring a few hectares housing regionally uncommon oak varieties, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the organization he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the local administrators to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius describes some of the folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a young child going missing during a family picnic, then to return half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, without aging a single day, her clothes shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report observing strange rashes on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel hands grabbing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's tours permit visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the trees where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which registers energy patterns.

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

The plants abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears real and understandable versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," Marius states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."