Quite a few famous holiday destinations in India are said to be haunted. Read on for some spine chilling tales like the running ghost of Delhi, the screaming ghost of Pune, the malignant ghosts of Hyderabad, and of course, the mysterious BHANGARH.
India, the erstwhile nation of Maharajas and snake charmers may have come a long way but ghosts of the distant past as well as the not too distant past refuse to leave the country. In fact, restless earthbound souls are believed to be trapped in quite a few places in the country. It’s a matter of personal belief, whether these claims are true or not. However, many of these places also serve as great historic attractions and quite a few do not even require a cheap ticket for entry. Travellers planning to take one of the cheap flights to India can add further value to their holidays by visiting these places alongside other attractions.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan’s numerous old palaces and other structures are said to be haunted by the spirits of their previous occupants. However, amongst the numerous such places, Bhangarh is perhaps the most notoriously haunted destination in India. Even the government agency, Archaeological Survey of India operates its office a safe distance away from Bhangarh and has put up a notice at the entrance of the city. One of the clauses of the notice clearly forbids anyone from stepping inside the borders of the place during night time. In fact, even during the day, many visitors have reported the atmosphere here is extremely foreboding.
Delhi, with its numerous monuments of the bygone era and with a bloody history, is accredited with plenty of ghostly stories. If rumours are anything to go by, structures like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, and Khooni Darwaaza all have their fair share of resident ghosts. One of the most published ghosts in Delhi is that of the old lady in the Delhi cantonment area. According to many late night motorists, an old lady in white tries to flag down passing cars and if someone does not stop, she starts running with the car at the same pace. Although, these incidents seem to be people’s flights of fancy, but the repeated description of such events year after does lend some credibility to the story.
One of the most famous haunted spots here is the Ramoji Film City, which is built on erstwhile battlefield of the Nizam sultans. Ghostly incidents here are nothing short of theatrical, with reports of shooting lights falling off on their own and light men sitting above being pushed down from the top by some invisible force. Especially, girls are the favourite victims of the ghosts, with the unseen aggressors even tearing their clothes. Ramoji Film City offers tickets for guided tours.
A well in the d’souza chawl area of Mumbai, Mahim has acquired the reputation of being haunted. It is said that a woman, while getting water, fell to her death in the well. Many people claim to have seen the ghostly apparition of that woman near the well during nights. She is also said to be harmless. Anyone booking flights to India with a Mumbai to Goa tour in mind can easily check out whether there is any truth behind the tales.
Lonawala, Pune
The Raj Kiran hotel here has often made news due to unexplained phenomena. One of the rooms in this hotel is said to be badly haunted. Guests have reportedly felt the strong presence of some entity in the room. In fact, people have reported that while sleeping during the night, some unseen force has pulled out the bed sheet. The ghost is so bold that it has kept up its antics even after guests have woken up. Some websites even claim that the hotel in question has stopped letting out the room.
Shaniwarda Fort, Pune
The Shaniwarwada Fort in Pune is yet another haunted place in Maharashtra. The fort was a stronghold of the Peshwa rulers and a mute witness to the grisly murder of Narayan. The unfortunate Narayan was an heir to the throne and his trust was betrayed by his uncle and aunt. He was assassinated on their orders. It is said that the killers chased Narayan throughout the length of the fort and he kept crying out ‘uncle save me’, while trying to escape his pursuers. However, he was eventually killed and today locals claim that his heart rending cries of ‘uncle save me’ still ring out on new moon nights.
Kolkata also has quite a few haunted places. Many old timers claim that the Writers’ Building is badly infested with ghosts. The building used to serve as the residence of the junior writers of the East India Company and has many humongous rooms. Today, the building serves as the government secretariat and many of the rooms lie vacant. According to locals, there are many entities in the building and the atmosphere gets so menacing by dark that even time hardened veteran party workers do their best to leave the place before sunset.
