'Haunts' that freak the citizens
May 29, 2005

It was just after sunset. Priya went about her usual chores preparing
dinner for that night. When she passed the dinning room of her house,
she felt a sudden draft of chill. Ignoring it, she went into the
kitchen. Just as she stepped in, she saw an apparition of a lady
standing behind the kitchen door.
No sooner had she tried to look again, the apparition disappeared.

Till this day, she does not believe she saw a ghost. It couldn't be a
ghost as there is no such thing. Or is there?
She was not the only person in the house who thought they saw an
apparition of a lady in a traditional Kerala saree. Maids who worked in
the house and guests who came there got that eerie feeling. But
everybody disregarded it as hallucination.

Then the family checked it up with a shanti only to find that the house
was constructed on cursed ground. Incidentally, long time ago, the plot
belonged to a big family. This family had a lot of girls who happened to
remain unmarried for several reasons. It is believed that the apparition
could be of one of the girls.
Believe it or not, the house, according to this family, is haunted.
Whether they are going to buy the fantastic story of an unmarried girl
is not the question but rather, living with these so-called ghosts is
this article of survival.

Surviving with so-called ghosts and evil is this concluding article of
our spook week. A team from newspaper of this website found a few
haunted houses infamous for their unearthly and supernatural activities.
Certainly, keeping their interests in mind, we are not revealing their
names or addresses of the haunted houses. Imagination, hallucination or
superstition or just plain madness - call what you may but you would
shudder to live next door to these houses.

Priya and other members in her house have got used to the lady in the
kitchen. Sometimes she is there and at times, she isn't but they are not
bothered and let her be.
Yet there are others who lurk in the dark aimlessly. It seems like it's
from the movies- a plot drawn for people to have sleepless nights. For
instance, Deepa's house in Edappally has a regular visitor who comes on
as and when she wishes.

She's none other than the traditional yakshi, wearing anklets on her
feet, walking around her courtyard and standing beside windows and
doors. All they can hear is the sound of her anklets. The strangest part
is that its sound increases when the family members increase the volume
of the TV or radio. Come sunset, Deepa says she's heard most of their
neighbours talk about this particular lady who walks up and down the
street, till their houses.

"Only people who pay attention to it can hear it. I have never heard it
till now but my sons often complain about it. In fact they get so scared
that they stay up all night," says Deepa. Nobody has seen this yakshi
but have only heard her. Deepa says that earlier they believed it to be
a goddess but when they called upon a temple priest, he said that there
was a yakshi there and nothing could be done about it.

Yet they did find a solution. After a puja, the shanty gave certain
mantras to be buried around the house. Ever since, the yakshi does not
step into their courtyard but yes, she walks around the place as usual,
tinkling her anklets.
Here is another peculiar incident. We don't have sources for this one
but have heard it only from word of mouth. In the same locality, there
happens to be a house and it looks like no one wants to own it. And why?
Well, the incidents in the house seem more funny rather than spooky.
Anyone who sleeps in the bedroom of the house wakes up in the kitchen
the next morning. Spooky?