Are you someone who binges on horror movies and are always up for some adventure, exploring the haunted places in India? Well, then I'm sure you must have faced troubled spirits who refuse to leave a place or observed some sort of paranormal activities while on the roads. There are some experiences that defy logic, that are inexplicable and yet, take place in front of our eyes.
I remember when I was a kid, we often visited this place called Chilkigarh, near Kharagpur, West Bengal. One of my dad's friends was from this place. Apparently, they belonged to the zamindar family who, once upon a time, ruled that entire region. Every time we went there, we stayed at the Rajbari - a huge heritage bungalow, that turned into our weekend escapade. Close to the Rajbari, there's a Kanak Durga Temple and people believe that the Goddess comes to life, every now and then.
One can't skip visiting the temple while they're in Chilkigarh - and since I always traveled with my parents, there wasn't much of a choice but to stop by!
However, I heard this story from an old couple who were staying at the Rajbari during Holi, and they couldn't make it to the temple. On the last night, before they were supposed to return back to Kolkata, they had an eerie experience. Around midnight, they could feel that someone else was in their room, talking a walk around the bed.
The next morning, they saw something that left them in awe! There were tiny footprints soaked in gulaal, around the bed - as if someone has tiptoed into the room. The entire village came to see it, and there was a buzz that the Goddess paid a visit to them!
I also recently figured out that Chilkigarh had been declared as a 'National Bio-Diversity Heritage Site', back in 2017.
While I'm not someone who believes in ghosts or supernatural stuffs, I've come across people who have had such strange experiences while traveling across India. And these were stories which I couldn't just brush off!
So here I am, sharing a few bone-chilling stories from fellow travelers who had spooky adventures on the roads.
"I heard this from my cousin, Akash, who was crossing the Holkar Bridge in Pune on his bike. People usually avoid taking this route, but since it was a short cut, he decided to take the bridge. Suddenly, he saw a person standing in front of him. My cousin tried to control the speed and shouted at the person, asking him to move away. But he kept standing there.
My cousin's friend, who was following him on another bike, started screaming "Bhatte, get away, get away", and that's when Akash came to his senses and saw that a truck was approaching. He made a narrow escape, only to realize that there was no one on the bridge physically!" - Kadambari Bhatte
"It was during the summer of 2017, when I was out for a short trip to Shirgaon Village near Badlapur with my friend. We were on his Bajaj scooter, driving down the hilly trails of Maharashtra. It was around 10'O clock at night when we reached a spot that was supremely calm and there weren't any street lights. The only source of light was the full moon, shinning bright in a clear summer sky!
We stopped for a smoke, and suddenly, we noticed two elongated shadows of men standing at a distance. In the next minute, we could hear a whisper in our ears, saying 'Help!'. We freaked out, got on the scooty and rode as fast as we could - until we reached the stretch where we could find street lights, all over again. It was a night I'll never forget and the memory still gives me goosebumps." - Hrishikesh Mundargi
"I took a ride to Tiger Hill, Darjeeling, around evening, just to soak in the sunset vibes. It got really late and I decided to camp there for the night, as riding back on a scooty felt dangerous in the wee hours. Usually, travelers don't get permission to camp at Tiger Hill, but I did some jugaad and with the help of the locals, somehow managed to pitch a tent for the night.
It was probably around midnight when I suddenly woke up to the sounds of thundering. And realized that someone was scratching the tent from outside. For a moment, I thought of peeping out, but then as it continued, I literally froze in fear, wondering what that could be!" - Deeksha Agrawal
"It was 21st November 2017 - I was on a family outing in Mussoorie and the time was around 8:30 pm. I was living in the moment and relishing every bit of it, as we sat on the balcony of our hotel, looking at the shimmering town at a distance. But all of a sudden, I had a feeling as if someone was staring at me.
At first, I thought it might be some eye trick, so I forgot about it and started praising the beauty of that place. But after a while, I again felt that something or somebody is staring at me, when I noticed a face with a cut on the cheek, peeping out from the bushes. I was completely flabbergasted and didn't know how to react to it. I told about this to my parents but they were like there's nothing and you might have a delusion. But even today, I feel scared when I think of that day, as the face is vivid in my memory!" - Niharika
"This happened in Kalpa, during my road trip to Spiti Valley. We were heading towards the Chandika Devi Temple, which is quite famous in the region. Suddenly, we noticed this huge crowd coming to the temple, with one man leading them. He was dancing madly, and talking gibberish.
We completely freaked out seeing this and asked the locals what was happening. That's when we got to know that the man was possessed by the local deity, who was trying to convey some message to the villagers through that person! We couldn't have believed that something of this sort happens if we hadn't seen it ourselves!" - Saumia
"Two friends and I were in a car on a road trip through the wilderness of Arunachal Pradesh. We were gazing at the scenery whizzing past us when we came by a road suddenly that had a sheer drop on one side. The road curved around what looked like an abyss and as we crept along it, there was a powerful humming sound that pervaded the air. We couldn't see the bottom of the abyss and it lay there, a yawning hole with that strange sound - vast and powerful. It felt like it was drawing us in, a hole that no mortal could possibly come back from. We all felt it but stayed silent and drove past it." - Neeti
"It was around evening while I was in Shojha, when we heard a shrill cry coming from a distance that was quite creepy. When I asked the locals, they mentioned that a procession was happening. Initially, I thought it might be some sort of yatra happening, but later, I saw this man with a huge stick, running from one house to another and shrieking at a pitch which is beyond human decibel range! It was my first time witnessing something like this, but later I figured out that this is something very common in Himachal, where they consider their Gods to come to life and possess someone!" - Mansi
"When you think of dolls, you'd probably have an image of something really sweet and cute, but I had a spooky experience walking into this insane museum in Mukteshwar. Inside the Royal Dutch Resorts, they have got a Doll Museum which is quite freaky - and I mean it when I say this!
They've got these handmade dolls modeled on real babies, with lifelike tears and moist-looking lips, that gave me goosebumps. At a first glance, you'd feel as if you're seeing infants that are alive and might just cry out loud at any moment. If you're in Mukteshwar, you must go and see this place." - Disha Kapkoti
Well, I know that all of it might seem unreal until you experience it yourself.
Have you ever come across something you couldn't quite explain but has stayed with you? Eerie apparitions on deserted roads, a quick-moving shadow, or the sound of footsteps while traveling in India, let us know about it in the comments below.