This is not a book review segment. This is a segment where I would be talking about my experiences with the books I have read. I would not be talking about whether the book is good or bad, worth reading or not.
I would be just talking about how was...
What is life without the chills of horror? Am I right? Until recent times I had never read horror, supernatural or any such ghost stories. But I always had a craving to know how a writer describes the scenes which when made into a movie gives us the unexpected horror. The visual fear had always dominated in the segment of horror. But I am always biased towards books so I always wanted to read books which would give me the horror more than the movies.
My search for such books took me to various bookstores and in recent times, I have collected and reading various books. I had also shared some experiences recently over here.
This week again I would write about a book called 'India's most haunted' written by K. Hari Kumar. He is not new to the literary circle. Before this book, he has written quite some book and has been known in the movie circle for writing the story and screenplay of the Malayalam movie 'E'. We also know him for writing the story and screenplay for a Hindi web series called 'Bhram'. So, this book is sure has loads of expectation running on him.
'India's most haunted' is a collection of fifty short spine-chilling horror stories. He set the stories in different parts of the country and takes on various folktales. Every story is unique and will definitely give you the fear factor you are looking for.
The stories are well written but, in some places, I felt the stories were too fast-paced and the writer could have taken his time to describe it. But the result was excellent, so the fast-paced can be ignored. There are various stories which would leave you wanting for more. When I picked up this book as it was suggested to me by the bookstore owner, I was sceptical about how good it would be. But I took that uncle's words of trust and read it. If you read the book with an open mind, you will love the stories.
Not all my stories are my favourite. My choice of stories would differ from your choice. It is always difficult to choose among all the stories, but I would write about my personal favourites which literally gave me the chills.
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'Naale Baa' is a story most of you must know, as a movie with the same concept was released in 2018. A spirit, a village and a line of instruction for the spirit. This story is bound to bring goosebumps while you are reading it.
'The mills have eyes' rhymes like a Hollywood movie, but this story takes place in the city of dreams, Mumbai. The story takes place in an abandoned mill where two persons encounter something out of the blue and the story ends with a twist which would give you a scare.
'Pompu's Delusion' takes place in the outskirts of the beautiful city of Guwahati in an allegedly haunted building. A writer stays in the house to complete the script for his movie, but certain things happened which makes his stay more comfortable. But the end gives it all. It is dangerous.
'The Dahini of Mangalojodi' is set in the village of Odisha. It tells the story of a Dahani (witch) and her evil curse on the people of the village. This story is a common folktale among many as how a witch or a demon lives in a tree and attacks people. This story takes a twist and gives it a different take.
'Kashmir's Killer Rivulet' is set in the beautiful valley of Kashmir. This story takes place in between Moosah, a driver who was assigned to pick an American scientist from the airport to the Indian army lab. A haunted road which people avoid but as they go ahead a strange event takes place which brings their lives to a halt.
'The Nun's last cupcake' is a horrifying take which takes place in a convent in Ranchi. The horror of a grim night when the youngest person in the convent discovers something which is related to the cupcake. The story revolves around a cupcake and a mystery which is scary and is revealed at the end.
'Muhnochwa' is an urban legend set in Balia. Amrish and Sankar took a shorter route to reach the destination, but they were not aware that something was waiting for them. The village folk take tells that it was a rakshasa but was it really a rakshasa or something else which creeps out in the dead of night to attack people? The mystery remains.
'Seven minutes in the mall' is set in a haunted mall in Kaushambi. Bhirgu, an ambitious videographer who wanted to be big in cinemas as a cinematographer, has kept his dreams on the side and was saving up to go to Mumbai. On the last day the manager sent him to a mall where an office was present in an abandoned mall in Kaushambi. A conversation takes place between the guard of the mall who operates the lift and Bhrigu, which leads to an event with a twist.
'The Ghost hotel of Agonda', takes place in Agonda where Niya Bhatt visits the place for the first time. She meets a mysterious guy, and they get into a conversation. But the story takes a turn when they arrive at an abandoned property. The story is a perfect blend of crime and horror.
'Soft laughs' is a tale of a wife and husband set in Thane. The husband comes home and finds the house empty but realises his wife and baby are inside the bedroom. He hears her voice of lullaby and the soft chuckles of the baby, but a horror strikes on the husband when he realises something which frames the story with a spine-chilling twist.
'A possession in Belman' is a story set in Belman village where the tradition of exorcism was in practice. People believed in it, so does the family of Shaista. When Shaista is possessed by a spirit and runs into the village, her husband and her son take the help of Nageshwar, the exorcist to find her. As the search for her continues, the story takes an unexpected twist and has a dreadful ending.
Out of the fifty stories, I chose eleven stories as my favourite, but that does not mean the other stories won't give you the required horror. All the stories are inspired from real-life incidents as it feels while reading it. The unique part of the book is it gives the photos of some haunted places in India. Some stories revolve around those places. So, when you see the photos you would get a feeling that these stories happened, and it would happen again with you if you encounter such incidents.
At 322 pages, India's most haunted is a delightful horror book. I won't say that this is one of the best but yes if you are looking for short horror stories set in different places and in timelines, you should read it. My journey of reading horror books brought me to this book, and I would like to continue my journey reading more horror stories, especially Indian folk tales and some long-lost tales in India.
Until I upload my experience with another book, till then take care, be safe and keep on reading. Cheers.
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