UTTARAKHAND: Uttarakhand offers both – the beauty and the beast. As beautiful as its settings are, the haunted stories surrounding it might sent chills down your spine. Uttarakhand has always been one of the popular tourist destinations for various reasons, but then, these days haunted spots are also drawing crowds. In fact, interest in the same has been so overwhelming that the state government also went ahead to promote ghost tourism in this region.
The place has its fair and good share of spooky places, cemeteries and legends. Also, the best and spooky ones are those from the mountains, surrounded by folklore to authenticate their base. So, if you are up and ready to experience the chills, read on.
Abbey Bungalow, Lohaghat
Lohaghat, located in Champawat district of Uttarakhand, is dubbed as one of the spookiest places in India. There is this famous, or rather infamous, bungalow on Abbot Hill, known as the Abbey Bungalow, where people have repeatedly sensed mysterious activities. The said bungalow is popular for its hideous Mukti Kothri, where several people were killed during mid-1900s.
After this bungalow was built, the owner lived in it with his family for a long time, and later on, donated this place for building a hospital, wherein the twist in the story comes.
Initially, the hospital used to stay full of patients as it was run on charity, while other features like clean atmosphere and good medical facilities also led to its popularity. However, the reputation of this place changed after a doctor joined the place. It is said that he had the power to see into the future, and predicted people’s’ deaths!
As such, when any new patient was admitted into the hospital, the doctor would pay him a visit and predict whether he was going to live or die. In fact, he would go to the lengths of predicting the exact date when the patient will supposedly die, and thus, before those few days of the predicted said date, the patient was sent to Mukti Kothri, a special ward called room of freedom.
Locals believe that the doctor actually had no special powers, but would kill a patient every time just to prove his prophecies were right. It is now believed that the souls of those killed patients have cursed this place and move around the place. People don’t dare to venture into this place after dark.
Mullingar Mansion
This mansion was built in 1825 by an Irishman by the name of Captain Young. He lived there till the time the British surrendered and left. And after that, Captain Young retired from service and returned to Ireland. However, it seems that he has not really abandoned the place. His spirit, in fact, can be seen roaming around the Mullingar mansion during full moon nights. People believe that the spirit belongs to no other than Captain Young, who keeps revisiting the mansion that he built and once called his home.
The place, where the mansion was built happened to be lively once, and now stands there pale and lifeless. While some people don’t believe in these stories and say it’s nothing but an illusion, others disagree as they have their own side of the story, of encountering the spirit in real.
The haunted house in Jabarkhet
Situated in Jabarkhet, there is a supposedly haunted house that anybody will point you towards. Security guards choose not to stay here as there have been ghost sightings in the past. People say that they have heard ghosts moaning during the late hours. Rumors have it that a loving couple used to live in that house around 70 years ago. One day, the wife died and the husband too went missing. Some believe that the husband might have killed the wife and then himself, and now their spirits linger around the place. Timestravel