Most haunted places in India-1!

1. Bhangarh- The ancient ruins of Rajasthan:

Located midway between Jaipur and Delhi, the ruined city of Bhangarh, presents a picturesque yet sublime amalgamation of eerie and spooky grandeur! It is in reality the ruins of an ancient fortified territory comprising of temples, palaces and courtyards. The Gopinath and the Shiva temples are the most prominent and remarkable architectural remains.

Established in 1573 by Bhagwant Das , this fortified area was built with the purpose of serving as the residence of Madho Singh, the second son of Bhagwant Das. Chattr Singh who took over the reins from his father Madho singh was one of the last ruler of Bhangarh who helped maintain its pomp and glory. However, after the death of Chattr Singh in 1630, the decline of Bhangarh commenced. With the decline of the Mughal empire, Bhangarh lost its sheen and was uninhabited by 1783, helped by the great famine.

The Legend: The hauntings originate from 2 well-known legends. Guru Bala Nath, a renowned hermit sanctioned the construction of the city on the condition that none of the shadows of the palaces should ever touch his forbidden retreat. When an over-zealous descendant raised the height of his palace to a considerable height, the inevitable happened and the curse of Guru Bala Nath ruined the city. Guru Bala Nath is believed to be buried under the ruins in a state of samadhi to this very day!!

The second and the most wide-spread legend goes like this. The princess of Bhangarh- Ratnavati - whose beauty and grace was next to none was loved by a Tantrik, a magician who is a master of the occult. The Tantrik knew that the princess would never agree to such impossible an alliance. One day in the market on finding the princess with her maid, the tantrik, named 'Singhia' performed his black magic on the oil being purchased by the princess. His sole intentions was to let the princess voluntarily surrender herself to him. However the princess, on seeing through the trick, grasped the bottle of oil and threw it to the ground. The moment the bottle hit the ground, it turned into a boulder and crushed the Tantrik beneath. The dying Tantrik, cursed the place with all its inhabitants to a certain doom. The following year, the battle between Bhangarh and Ajabgarh took the life of the princess. Thus began the dreadful nightmare which continues to raid the premises of Bhangarh to this very day!

The reality: Countless personal experiences and stories circulate to this day. People, including myself, who have actually visited the place do feel a sense of impending danger. But I guess that's more to do with the pre-determined factors of belief and fear which a person acquires before visiting such places. However, the locals vehemently believe in the legend. The hauntings are believed to be so frequent that none other than the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI)- India's premier Archaeological institution has erected a notice board forbidding visitors to stay away from the place at night. The government did try to set up an army camp to dig the truth out. However that could not be established as none of the army personnel were willing to volunteer themselves for the operation. Such is the fear and awe with which everyone holds the legendary hauntings of Bhangarh! Many have been reported missing over the last years who failed to return from the fort premises after having challenged to spend the night there. Surprisingly, none of the bodies were ever located. Legend or reality - the fact remains that the ruins of Bhangarh have a magnetic mystic occult associated with them and does seem to impart the traveler with more than one occasion for fear, eeriness, and the feeling of being watched over by some unknown entity!

How to get there/Accommodation: Situated midway between Jaipur and Delhi, the place is well accessible by road. Travelers from other cities of India can travel by either train or air to Delhi or Jaipur and then hire a taxi to Bhangarh. There are no places to stay inside the fortified campus. However rest houses run by the ASI (Archaeological Society of India) can be found within a radius of 1 kilometer. These need to be booked for accommodation well in advance.

2. Dumas Beach, Gujarat:

Located at a distance of just 16 kms from Surat, Dumas Beach has its own share of spooky apparitions. This picturesque beach has been used by Hindus to burn their dead. Hence, the spirits of the dead are believed to have a free reign here.

Dumas beach is very windy, and more often than not tourists - both Indian and foreigners- have heard voices in the wind forbidding them to venture any further. Dogs, who seem to have a higher degree of occult sensing, behave weirdly once they are near the sea. Many give out frantic cries in the night and run around haphazardly chasing any late night visitors.

Quite a few people have apparently disappeared along the beach shores. Not to mention the over-curious tourists who dare to take a late night walk along the beach. The Dumas beach remains one of the most haunted places in India.

How to get there/Accommodation: Adventurers willing to visit Dumas Beach can reside in Surat, a bustling city. Hotels, lodges, rest-houses of all kinds suiting everyone's budget can be found here. Taxis can be hired to visit the haunted beach during the day! However, if someone chooses to stay back for the night be forewarned, that no modes of transportation are available in the night and the adventure seekers are on their own at their own peril!

3. Hotel Savoy, Mussoorie:

Mussoorie is a hill station located at a distance of 35 kms from Dehradun, the state capital of Dehradun and at about 290 kms from Delhi. This hill station was a particular favorite with the Britishers during their tenure and offered them an excellent summer retreat from the sweltering heats of the plains during the scorching summer season. Most of the prominent architectural structures of this pristine hill-station has been designed and constructed by the British.

Among them stands Hotel Savoy , a typical Victorian styled star hotel built during the early 1900s. In 1910, Lady Garnet Orme was found dead under mysterious circumstances here. The cause of her death remains a mystery other than the fact that strychnine was found in one of her bottles. Who or how it was placed there no one knows. It's her ghost which is still believed to be haunting the hotel's premises.

Eye-witness accounts reveal that the ghost wanders about aimlessly at the corridors in the night. People having had an encounter with her often recollect the cold blank expression on her eyes before vanishing. It seems that the ghost of Lady Garnet Orme is still looking for her murderer! The noted Author, Agatha Christie, derived this incident as her inspiration for her first novel- 'The mysterious affair at Styles'.

How to get there/Accommodation: Mussoorie, a very popular hill-station of India, thus boasts of some of the finest hotels and guest-houses suiting everyone's budget. It is well connected by road with both Delhi and Dehradun. The nearest railway station is Dehradun. Innumerable buses and taxis ply from Dehradun to Mussoorie.

5. Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad:

This is one of the world's largest integrated film studio sprawling over 2000 acres of land. Situated close to the historic city of Hyderabad, the Ramoji Film city offers tourists a breath-taking view into the amazing world of cinema, their realistic sets, along with a guided tour of the magnificent complex.

However this dream complex does have its share of spooky encounters and more so, because of the fact that the entire complex was built upon war grounds and are often haunted by the spirits of the dead soldiers.

Lights falling off the film sets, invisible hands pushing the light-men ( Men perched at the top of film sets holding the glaring lights) have often resulted in serious accidents. Disused food being scattered, writings on mirror in Urdu, and women's clothes being torn are few of the daily occurrences reported by the eye-witnesses. Since the film city is unparalleled in terms of it's infrastructure and business opportunities, most of such reports are dubbed as rubbish in order to protect the business interests.

However, people who work and reside there and tourists alike - have all reported incidents on a daily basis and no matter what precautions have been taken, the hauntings continue to occur on a daily basis.

How to get there/Accommodation: Located very close to Hyderabad, visitors can often stay at innumerable hotels and guest-houses at Hyderabad and travel to the film city by hired taxis and cars. The government also ply regular buses to and from the film city. The film city itself has 2 star hotels located inside the premises but are on the expensive side!

6. The Taj Mahal Hotel- Mumbai:

The famous Taj Mahal Hotel, also known for the infamous terrorist attack of 26/11, is also the scene for a remarkable ghostly apparition. The phenomenon continues to this day.

W.A Chamberman, the famous french architect behind the design of the Taj Mahal Hotel was crest fallen when in 1903, on return from his country he found that the front portion of the hotel had been constructed in the reverse direction. So devastated was he that he found no other means than to commit suicide. Chamberman's ghost is still regularly sighted in the old wing, walking about aimlessly lamenting the travesty.

How to get there/ Accommodation: Mumbai is a renowned city and is connected by all major cities of the world through air and sea. Mumbai is also connected by rail and road with all major cities of India. As far as accommodation is concerned, the list of hotels that can be found are way too may to be accommodated here. And if you want to experience a first-hand spooky encounter, then what better place than to book a room at the old wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel itself!!

7. The Shaniwarwada Fort, Pune:

The Shaniwarwada fort in the city of Pune, Maharashtra was built in the year 1736. Though ruled till 1818 by the PESHWAS, the fort was partly destroyed by an unexplained fire in 1828.

The ghostly hauntings originate from the brutal assassination of 'Narayan'- the 13 year old heir of the PESHWA dynasty. As his assassins chased him all round the fort, his terror stricken cries of 'Uncle, Save me!' reverberated throughout the night. The cries of the young prince's ghost can still be heard shrieking through the middle of the night on a new moon day!

How to get there/ Accommodation: Pune is well connected to all major cities of India by rail and road. Pune is also connected internationally to Dubai (operated by Air-India) and Frankfurt (operated by Lufthansa). There are numerous hotels suiting the taste and budget of every visitor. Located at a distance of 174 kms from Mumbai, Pune can also be covered in a day's trip for people residing in Mumbai!

8. Dow Hill, Kurseong:

Located at an altitude of 1458 meters above sea-level, Kurseong is a common man's paradise. It is located at a distance of 30 kms from Darjeeling, the famous hill-station. Due to it's charming weather throughout the year Kurseong attracts millions of tourists through out the year.

However Kurseong is also known for the phenomenal amount of ghost sightings and spooky encounters that haunt the woods and the corridors of the schools. On the stretch between Dow Hill road and the Forest Office, numerous wood cutters have spotted a head-less youth disappearing into the trees. The woods themselves have been a witness to numerous ghastly murders undertaken during the dark of the night. It's the spirit of these unfortunate souls which are rumored to haunt the hill-station.

The corridors of the school has also played witness to many a ghostly footsteps heard by the locals.

How to get there/Accommodation: Bagdogra Airport, Siliguri-located at a distance of 60 kms- is the nearest airport. Siliguri-50 kms, and New Jalpaiguri-57 kms are the nearest railway stations. Kurseong can also be found as one of the most important station in the now world heritage Darjeeling toy train system. It takes about 5 hours by the toy train for a traveler to reach Kurseong from New Jalpaiguri. Kurseong is also well connected by road with Darjeeling, Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri. Numerous hotels, guest-houses and cottages for rent can be found at Kurseong.

9. Raj Kiran Hotel, Lonavala:

Lonavala is a charming little hill-station, located at a distance of 64 kms from Pune. This place of splendid natural beauty and charm attracts tourists from all over India, especially so from the nearby cities of Pune and Mumbai.

A small lesser-known hotel called 'The Raj Kiran Hotel' is famous here more for its eerie experience of one particular room in general, which has left many a tourist under going mental agony and subsequent treatment. Guests residing in this room have often reported their bed-sheets being pulled off forcibly, while they slept. Also, the most common sighting reported by almost all eye-witnesses is that of a blue light which appears out of nowhere near the visitor's feet.

This particular room has had such a bad disrepute that it has now been locked permanently for visitors. What actually goes on in the room can only be explained by the witnesses. However, the kind of mental trauma which each of its inhabitants have faced, sometime resulting in life-long dementia, it can be anyone's guess as to the horror and shock that the visitors must have witnessed in that particular room. Thankfully, the room is no longer lent out for rent!

How to get there/Accommodation: Lonavala is connected by the Mumbai-Pune expressway, thus providing a direct road link to these 2 metropolitan cities. Lonavala also has a railway station with direct trains connecting to and from Pune and Bangalore. The nearest commercial airport is at Pune, located at a distance of 64 kms.