The ghosts of shimla

The ghosts don’t disappoint. Most of them are the endearing,benevolent kind who seem to go about their business harmlessly. For example,a few minutes after midnight,a ‘horse rider’ makes some innocuous rounds to and fro on the road from Sanjauli to the local medical college. The rider,of course,is invisible,but people vouch for the sound of the hooves. Then there is a phantom cyclist who moves around a skating rink at night. Both these ‘highway men’ have never been known to harm anyone.

But the witch of Boileauganj is of a more malignant variety,who accosts people in the dead of the night and asks them to take her along with them. One such encounter with the witch is the first tale in Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills,written by Minakshi Chaudhary. The book is the most popular of all the anthologies pertaining to Shimla’s ghosts and sells like proverbial hot cakes at the book stores on Mall road. “Tourists pick this book in large numbers. I think it has become a part of the whole tourist experience of visiting Shimla,” says the salesman at Minerva Book Store on Mall road.

But the witch has been busted a couple of times. A local journalist says that after Minakshi’s book made the witch popular,everyone made their own additions to the story. “People would talk about how they heard the tinkling of the witch’s anklets. Later,it was found that this sound came from the local dhaba owner’s big bunch of keys,” says the journalist.

Then there are ghosts of the erudite variety that haunt educational institutions in the city. There are more than a couple of them at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. Alumni of the Bishop Cotton School tell stories of a ghost who liked working alone in the chemistry laboratory late at night. Former students of St. Bede’s College speak of mysterious sounds that would come from their dining hall,every night,exactly at the same time around midnight.

Sister Molly Abraham,principal of St Bede’s College,offers a rational explanation: “I think all this is part of the collective charm of Shimla. The sounds of nature that include the rustling of trees,the howling of winds,the subtle gurgling of cataracts,the chirping of birds,wildlife…all these sounds are not found in cities. They might appear unnatural or eerie to outsiders. Add to it the long history (of Shimla) and a vivid imagination can go into overdrive.”

Besides the lovey-dovey couples,Shimla’s Lover’s Lane is also supposed to be a favourite haunt of outwardly creatures.

And then there are the homely creatures. The owner of a house in Sanjauli was so miffed with the constant rumours of his house being haunted that he slapped a defamation case against a newspaper.

The most famous of all the haunted houses is Anees Villa,in Solan. Its fame is largely attributed to its owner,Salman Rushdie. The writer had gained possession of the house in 1997 after a long legal battle with the state government. The house is in a desolate area,in the middle of thick forests,and that builds to its eerie reputation. The wife of caretaker Govind Ram corroborates the reputation. “We hear weird sounds at night. One day last week,someone banged furiously at the front door. We peeped through the windows but saw no one.” Does Rushdie know about these satanic tales? “No,he has come here only once. That was a decade ago and he asked us to take good care of the house,” says the woman.

The rationalists dismiss these stories as apocryphal,devised to keep curious visitors at bay. Fake or real,the ghosts of Shimla have lived long—from Kipling to Rushdie.