I was watching the movie “BHOOTNATH” last evening and that reminded me of my days in a haunted house where we resided for two years. I would like to share some of my experiences with you.
The house we resided in was a large bungalow with a large garden set all around the house. The house itself was made of stone and had an imposing aura. It was built some time in late 1950s. It was set at equidistance to the entry and exit driveway. The main gates were of wrought iron, so any one entering the compound was very easily heard.
Soon after taking up residence there, our school friends very discreetly asked us whether we liked staying in such a big house. One lady laughingly told my mother that since the bungalow lay uninhabited for a long time, it was generally referred to as the ‘bhoot bungla’.
At nights we often heard noises which could not be explained away rationally apart from convincing ourselves that since it was an isolated locality a lot of noises could easily be misconstrued as emanating from within the house. Every night exactly at midnight we would hear a crunching footfall at the entrance main gate, but the moment any one of us came out to investigate, we could not find the source. We had a swing in our compound which we often found swaying for no earthly reason and this happened even at nights. There was a children’s park right in front of the house, so that was the explanation (although the park kept no guards and funnily had no swings). We mentioned this to our middle-aged driver who had resided in the outhouse of the bungalow for a decade but left a year before we shifted in citing lack of space for his large joint family the reason. At first he beat around the bush but after a lot of persuasion admitted that the actual reason for leaving the house were the eerie noises and eerie happenings in and around, such as soulful weeping of a lady coming from the first-floor and finding in the middle of the night all lights lit on the first-floor which was then uninhabited. He advised us to talk our father to leave the house. My father was not a believer of the super natural and so ignored us. After a month or two, suddenly my father started advising us not to go out to the lawn at night, my mother also joined in saying that no one will stay out after sun down etc.
There were more than a couple of incidents which confirmed our fears and apprehensions. The first one was on a summer night after midnight ; my sister and I were awake and studying for our final exams. My brother had come home from the hostel and was acting the big brother by supervising our studies, when all of a sudden we heard the clattering of utensils in the kitchen area which was located on the ground floor. I was paralyzed with fear my siblings ran downstairs, my parents woke up and followed them. The kitchen was as spick and span as it was left before we went up to bed. This was followed with the noise of a walking stick striking the wooden floor of the first floor. Just imagine! Another remarkable incident that I remember so well was again on a summer night. It was very hot and so my sister and I kept the bedroom door leading to the balcony open in the hope of some cool night breeze. As my sister was dozing off, she was awakened by the noise of some one pulling the bamboo chair placed in the balcony. My sister thought it was father and so called out to enquire after him. On not receiving a reply she was scared hell. She woke me up and the two of us started calling out for our father. He came a while later groggy eyed and when he heard what had transpired he quietly shut the door to the verandah and advised us to sleep with the lights on. Later we learnt that just a night before he was sleeping when he suddenly felt as if some one was tapping his shoulders but on waking found no one around.
Another incident which deserves a mention here is one that happened on a winter night. The family had returned very late at night after attending a party, and since by then we were all fear ridden, no one stayed either upstairs or downstairs alone. I was washing up in the bathroom which was situated next to the back verandah which could also be reached via the bathroom through the janitor’s door. All of a sudden there was a thundering kick on the janitor’s door! The kick was so forceful that the entire house shook. Imagine my condition, I had frozen on the spot and the rest of the family assumed that I had a humpty-dumpty fall. Ten burly men together could not have kicked that powerfully.
Another factor which appeared to confirm our worst fears was the sudden change in the behavior of the maid’s son; they lived in the outhouse. The ten year old roly-poly jolly boy suddenly appeared to grow thin and he developed dark circles around his eyes which started wearing a haunted look, his happy countenance completely gone. He used to burst into tears at the slightest excuse. One day his mother reported that she woke up in the middle of the night hearing his cries, and when she found him, he was lying in front of the main gate and crying. This happened several nights over after which my mother advised her to shift out from this house. Two months later he was fit and fine.
Then we decided to ask some pertinent questions to the people who had been around for quite some time and finally what we got to know was that about a decade prior to our coming to the house, a middle-aged couple lived there with their two college going daughters. Apparently the lady of the house had some problem living in a locality where habitation was sparse and also her social life was not taking off. The daughters wanted to live in the company bungalow which was more recently made so far more modern amenities were available and their friends circle would be close by. But the gentleman, for reasons of his own, refused to leave this house and there were daily quarrels and threats etc. One day one of the daughters tried to commit suicide by jumping from the first-floor verandah and in an attempt to save her, the father slipped and fell to his death (the gentleman had a arthritic foot so always used a walking stick). Remorse ultimately forced the daughter to consume some pesticide and kill herself. The mother and the other daughter soon after felt the city. Since then the house remained locked up and three years before our coming one divorcee gentleman stayed on the ground floor guest room. The first-floor was never inhabited since then.
This may sound like a fiction but believe me this is true. Since then my faith /fear in spirits got strengthened. Prior to this I always allowed myself the benefit of doubt, but not any more. I would definitely like to know if any of you experienced any such thing.
