The Haunted House

I was around 20 or 21 years old at the time. A group of five friends, including myself, from Jalpaiguri city decided to spend our summer vacation in Goa. The train was scheduled for 5 AM, so we set off. Despite being city boys, we had never seen the sea with our own eyes. After a while, we finally arrived in Goa. Coconut groves were everywhere. It seemed like they were leaning towards the sea, welcoming us.

We left our bags at the hotel and headed straight to the Goan beach. Wow, what a breathtaking view! Wow, I feel like building a house here and living forever, I thought. When I turned around, I saw two girls our age standing there. Just as I suspected, they were also Bengalis, and they had come from Malda. I had heard from many that when the moonlight falls on the sand of the sea at night, it creates a magnificent scene. Finally, today, I would experience that beauty.

Upon hearing that we five friends were planning to stay the night on the beach, the two girls expressed their wish to join us. I said, You’re girls, it’s not proper for you to stay with boys at night. What will people think?

One of the girls replied, So what if we’re girls? Don’t we have the desire to witness the beauty of this wonderful beach with our own eyes? Don’t we have any desires or passions? You boys are always like this.

I replied, No, I mean, what about your safety?

Oh, come on! With five boys around, why should we worry about safety? We’ve already informed our dad that if we find company, we’ll stay here overnight.

The two girls were adamant about staying. Eventually, we had to agree. But the problem arose when it came to finding a place to stay. We couldn’t just sleep out in the open on the beach! If we had a vehicle, we could have returned to the hotel in the middle of the night. But we didn’t have that option here. One of the girls was named Sukriti, who talked a lot, and the other was Sagarika, who was quiet and spoke less.

I heard that there were many tribal communities living nearby, and they might provide accommodation since they lived near the beach. After much searching, we found such a village, but from there, the real beauty of the sea was not visible. So, we had to abandon the idea of staying in the village. Meanwhile, the sun was setting in the sky.

We returned to the hotel, had dinner, and then gathered back at the beach. Everything was fine, but we couldn’t find a good place to stay near the beach. In the fading sunlight, the sun was indicating that its duty for the day was over, leaning over the coconut trees by the sea. The small steamers were also returning home. Gradually, the entire beach began to empty out.

A steamer driver shouted, asking when we would return. My friend Raj replied, We’re not returning tonight.' The steamer driver said, 'This place is as good during the day as it is bad at night. Don’t try to spend the night here.

So, are there thefts and robberies here? Hmm, maybe. But what do we have worth stealing? Apart from food, there’s nothing else in our bags. Receiving no response from us, the driver sailed away in his steamer.

Meanwhile, the tide had receded in the sea, and various shapes and sizes of shells were visible on the beach. My friends started collecting shells. While collecting shells, we walked some distance along the beach. Gaurav shouted, Asim, look, there’s a huge house! It seems like no one lives there; let’s spend the night there.

Just then, an old man suddenly came running from somewhere and said, Don’t even think about spending the night in that house.

Sagarika asked, Why? Are there thieves and robbers in that house?

The old man replied, You wouldn’t understand, dear. There’s something else in that house. The entire area feels eerie at night because of their presence. Sometimes, you can hear dogs barking from that house. At other times, you might hear music or even laughter.

I asked, Something else? Are you talking about ghosts and spirits?

The old man replied, Yes, son. It would be best for you to return to the hotel while you can still see one or two steamers. Otherwise, come to my house.

Before the old man could finish speaking, Sukriti said, Haha, we don’t believe in ghosts and spirits. We believe in science. Science says that there are no such things as ghosts and spirits.

The old man replied, Why are you being so stubborn, dear? You’re young women, and I see that you have no fear. Do as you wish; I won’t say anything more. But for your own good, don’t enter that house.

Then the old man left. Sagarika asked, So, where will we stay?

Suddenly, Sukriti shouted, Look, someone’s coming this way with a sack on his head. Let’s ask him where we can stay here.

When we asked the man, he dropped the sack on the sand and said, Don’t even mention that house. It’s not a good place. It’s cursed. That house is haunted.

Sukriti asked, Have you ever seen a ghost in that house?

Old Man: I am the son of one of the workers of that house. Many years ago, kings lived there. But one day, suddenly, they all died. How it happened remains a mystery.

Sukriti: Mystery! What proof do you have that your father was a worker there?

This girl seems to be talking a bit too much. We boys were quiet, yet she kept questioning. But don’t think we were scared. It’s just that the girl didn’t give us a chance to speak.

The old man took out a bunch of keys from the pouch on his waist and said, Here, these are the keys to that house. My father gave them to me and told me to visit the house. There’s a beautiful garden inside. I go there every day to water the plants.

Me: You go inside every day, yet you’re trying to scare us?

Old Man: No, during the day everything is fine, but at night, spirits wander there. Mysterious noises can be heard.

Kaushik: We’ll stay there tonight. Take us there.

Old Man: I don’t want to knowingly push you into danger. You city folks are a bit hot-headed.

Kaushik: We will stay there no matter what. We also want to see what a ghost is like. We all agreed with Kaushik. Finally, the old man gave in. He said, I will open the main door for you, but be careful not to touch anything inside. I’ll meet you there shortly, once it gets a bit darker.

Sukriti: Will you come, though? Otherwise, we’ll think poorly of you.

Old Man: I’ve given my word, so I won’t break it. As soon as the old man left, our attention was drawn to a beautiful woman. She was collecting shells on the beach. Seeing us, she said, Are you the city boys and girls who have decided to spend the night in that haunted house?

Sagarika: Yes, ma’am.

Woman: I will join you. I’ve always wanted to visit that house.

Kaushik: What, sister? Aren’t you afraid?

Woman: Why should I be scared when city boys like you are around? Besides, there are two other girls with you, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. They aren’t scared, and neither am I! I don’t believe in ghosts.

While the woman was talking to us, someone suddenly called out from behind, Ugh, Chandrika, here you are, and I’ve been looking for you.

Woman: Oh, Varun, it’s good you came. These city folks want to spend the night in that house, and we’re going with them. After much persuasion, we managed to convince Varun too. Wow, our group had now grown to nine, and with the old man, we made ten.

The old man arrived on time, opened the door, and left. We stepped into the so-called haunted house. Yes, the atmosphere was a bit eerie, but I wasn’t scared. The house was massive. I took out a torch from my bag and started leading the way, with everyone following behind. Although the house looked creepy from the outside, the inside was quite clean, as if someone had just tidied up.

From the balcony above, the sea was clearly visible. Wow, this is exactly the kind of place I had imagined in my mind. The sea looked dark blue under the moonlight, with occasional glimmers of light reflecting off the water. The sand on the beach was sparkling. Chandrika suddenly exclaimed, It’s so beautiful, it feels like we’ve entered paradise.

Sagarika: suddenly shouted, “Something just ran past me; I feel a bit scared. Sukriti burst into laughter and said, Oh dear, the science student is scared. Kaushik turned on his torch and saw a dog standing in the distance.

Ah, I see, so this is the ghost of the house. It howls, and people think it’s the ghost’s call. Haha.

After that, we all sat on the roof and had our dinner. Then we decided to explore the rooms. Although the main door was locked, the rooms didn’t have locks and could easily be entered by pushing the doors open. It seemed like the dog was showing us the way. We entered one room. Wow, it was a large room, probably a royal meeting hall from the old days. The ceiling had intricate designs—simply magnificent.

We entered the next room. In one corner, there was a harmonium, and on the wall, there was a sitar. We decided to play some music here. In another corner, there was a chandelier. As soon as we lit it up, the whole room became illuminated. Even though it was old, the lamp had lost none of its brightness.

We began shouting, Where are you, Ghost Babaji? Come out; we’ve come to meet you. Show yourself, where are you?

Chandrika pretended to act like a ghost and said, I’m here.

Kaushik: Where? Why can’t I see you? Show yourself.

Chandrika: I won’t show myself. Haha.

We all burst into laughter. There are no ghosts or spirits in this house; it’s just that people have abandoned this beautiful place due to their blind beliefs.

Then it was time for some music. Kaushik tried playing the harmonium. Wow, it was still producing sound despite being so old. So, without further delay, I started singing, Janam Janam Saath Chalna Yuhin...

Raj: Hey, your voice sounds like a ghost’s. The ghosts might hear your voice and think you’re one of them! We all burst into laughter again.

Suddenly, the chandelier went out. Then it flickered back on. What’s this? Where did Chandrika and Varun go? At that moment, the dog started howling. The whole room became chilly.