An evening with the Unknown

I would have never written about this incident in my lifetime because even after 3 years, I still wake up in the night with the nightmare of that day as if it happened yesterday. The men, the bleeding corpse, that haunted house and the silence of the dark still sends shivers down my spine and I get up with a jerk and lie down trying to calm my uneven heart beat and wait for the morning lights to cover the nightmare.

Last evening I had a long discussion with one of my friend and she encouraged me sharing this experience with everyone. Ghosts are a subject we all love to discuss and dismiss them in public but at the same time, majority of us believe in them and can recall having personally experienced the unexplained or heard about them from someone.

It was on July 13, 2006, when this incident occurred and has me completely terrified till date. Couple of days back from that date, my friends Lavanya and Rahul, ignited that adventure freak inside me and convinced me for a trek at a place which was on the outskirts of Mumbai. They somehow convinced me to trek with them to this place and I, in turn, convinced some of my other friends, Aarti, Ashok and Sumit to join us too in this adventure trip.

We decided to trek a small village called Shouri which is on the central line of Mumbai-Karjat sector. It is a small village with lush green forest and a beautiful waterfall to the east of the station during the monsoon season. The town is busiest during the rainy season when trekkers from Mumbai land to climb the Shouri hills even though one is advised not to as the hills are slippery in this region during this time of the year. But that’s the folly of the youth and then the regret of the lifetime.

We had a busy day as preparation were in full swing for trekking and discussions were taking place on deciding the right amount of food, water, medicines, road maps and many other things to be taken next day. What amazed me was the zeal shown by my 3 friends. Little did they know that the joy they were looking for in their trip would be replaced by some horrific incidents.

We reached Karjat by 7 am. Even though Shouri is just 30 kms away from Karjat, it takes almost an hour to reach that place as distance between the two is marred by uneven roads and no street lights which could make our return journey somewhat scary. The biggest town is Karjat which itself is that not a big town with few industries and buildings scattered here and there. Karjat is also famous for farm houses belonging to the rich and famous from Bombay.

We had hired a car from Karjat till Shouri village and back. We were quite happy that the car was already waiting for us when we stepped outside Karjat station. I took to the wheels, Aarti sat next to me and the other four- Ashok, Lavanya, Sumit and Rahul sat behind us. We soon took the road to Shouri and left Karjat behind us. The car purred in the stillness of the trees besides us and simply ate up the miles.

Even though it was morning, it was pitch dark because of the cloudy weather. We finally made it to Shouri. We were waiting for this moment. By 4 pm, we managed to complete our trek and return to were we had parked our car. It was getting very dark and thought of getting stuck in the middle of the forest made us get into the car faster and we started our journey. Little did we realize that our journey had just begun.

There were no streetlights, but the car’s powerful headlights cut through the darkness in twin yellow cones. Even when it started raining, it didn’t worry them. The car was doing fine.

Aarti noticed it first. She pointed out the smoke arising from the bonnet. “Steam”, she said. “That’s due to the rain, a hot engine and condensation. No problems”, Ashok shouted from behind. He was wrong. The engine note soon changed, sputtered and finally stalled. The car ground to a halt in the middle of the forest.

The silence was unnerving as it had stopped raining too. The only sound was of water dripping from the trees. Aarti clutched my hand tightly and I tried to look brave for her sake, though I too was totally shaken by the happening of the uncertain events. Regular noises of the jungle assumed menacing overtones. Chattering monkeys, sorrowful owls, giggling hyenas and other denizen of the jungle set up a symphony, punctuated by deep-throated roar of king.

All six of us were completely lost and had just no idea what to do next. We were running short of every thing which would have kept us alive in this jungle. In the distance we could see the Western Ghats but in the heart we all knew that we were far away from the nearest civilization. There was no way we could have walked our way back to Karjat on foot in this dark and rain. The only option left with us was to look around for some place to stay for the night and get back home as soon as possible in the next morning.

Far in the distance we saw a man built structure. As we walked towards it, we saw a beautiful mansion with beautiful architecture. It looked quiet and neglected for years and from the structure we could make a guess that it was from the British era. Just as we were walking towards it, a big bulky man of around 6’5’’ height came from behind and put his arm around my shoulder. I asked him about this place and particularly about that house. For the first few seconds he didn’t answer and then said that this place belongs to the Zamindars (landlords) who ruled this place 300 odd years ago. He told us not to venture in that part of the house.

“You are city bred boys and have no idea about how things work in country side. It’s not your city and I warn you not to think about exploring too much. Just forget about the place and go back from you came.” He said curtly.

His words were enough to create panic among us but I put a brave face and led them towards the mansion. Just as I turned back to say a word to that man, he was gone. Just vanished from sight. I could see anxious faces around me which were trying to tell me to steer clear from that place but somehow being young and restless, his warning only made us more curious and we wanted to find out more about that house and we had no other options. Aarti was not very keen on this adventure as she believed in super-natural powers but she had to give in to her friends demand. I kept wondering in my mind why this mansion was located in the middle of nowhere and so far away from the inhabitants.

“Hey Karan, I think we should stop here for the night. The rains have started again and getting heavier by every drop and also it’s getting very dark.” Ashok suggested.

“I think Ashok is right Karan. We should spend the night in here.” Lavanya also agreed to Ashok. Though I could see reluctance on Aarti’s face, we had no option but to stay in that place for the night.

“Guys, you are really irritating. Had we been walking without this unnecessary break we could have got help ahead and would have been home by morning.” Aarti was unhappy with this unnecessary stoppage.

“We would rather reach home alive than die in this torrential rain. Aarti, I wish you had some brains, just look at the weather. The road is barely visible amidst these curtains of rains and a single slip would ensure a full page obituary in the newspaper of our group.” Lavanya said.

We were quite surprised by the sight we saw once we entered the mansion. It was full of people and thus made me quite relieved that we could easily spend our night here and go back home early in the morning.

“Stop arguing guys, let’s go inside and get our stomachs filled. I am feeling very hungry,” I said.

“Yes, let’s go ahead then and have dinner. It would be a sin if we let Karan die hungry.” Chipped in Aarti.

“It’s not funny to ridicule about life and death. You never know when the latter comes calling. So be scared to even joke about it.” A booming voice made Aarti almost jumped in fear and all of us stopped at the same moment.

We looked to find out the source of the sound and it was a tall man who looked like a peasant by his dress and Dracula by his looks. He had deep, dark and almost lifeless eyes; the kind that would make you shut your eyes if you look at them.

The man had ghastly grin on his face as he glanced at Lavanya who was tightly clutching to Rahul right now. Suddenly there was a bolt of lightning and a deafening noise. We were startled to see that the lightning had struck the tree under which we were standing and they had just escaped death by few minutes.

“Hey, where is that man gone now?” Aarti said in a shocked voice. There was no trace of a man who had scolded us just couple of minutes ago.

“Guys, just let us first get inside and discuss everything later. Escape the rains first.” Rahul said.

The reception was a high ceiling area and was greatly lit too. There were many men, women and children in that hall and it seemed that they were waiting for an announcement to happen.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Motel Redrum. You all have decided to spend your time with us and we are greatly honored by your decision. Let me first inform you that the hotel is providing free food and lodging to anyone who is in the house tonight because of the harsh weather conditions.” A man who was dressed in slightly worn out black suit which showed signs of being very costly in its prime time but was probably 100 years old now, spoke in an authoritative voice.

“Please tell me whether you mean that you don’t want people to die out there or let them not to die at all!!” An old man who was not even able to stand straight because of his old age but seemed to still possess a great deal of strength in his muscular body asked.

“I won’t say that I can stop people from dying. That is beyond my control; however, I don’t want anyone to die in this rain in a freak accident.” The suited man spoke with an uncomforting chill in his voice.

“Are you guys sure we made a right choice by stopping at this place? This manager seems to be nuts to me or he is a ghost.” Rahul said.

“Did you say ghost? Do I look like a ghost to you sir? I think you have made a perfect choice by stopping at this place. As far as my being ghost is concern, you will find out that later but at the moment, allow us to serve you in the best possible way.” He laughed out loudly and the chill seems to have increased several times.

“Where is your luggage, Sir? I’ll show you all your rooms.” An old man approached us from behind.

“We can spend the night in this hall and why don’t you first attend to other people here?” I said to the old man.

“They all have chosen there rooms and menus already. I just need to take care of you people.” The old man said and left.

We were left speechless and we had no option but to follow him. We were taken to the top floor which was very dimly lit as we could not even see the end of the corridors. He took us to one of the corridors and announced that we all had to stay in one suite. We found ourselves standing in front of suite no. 1307.

“Everyday we have many people visiting us and that’s why you all cannot be given more than one room. So just make the best of what you have. Foods are kept in the refrigerator and please ensure that nobody gets intimate during your stay here.” He said in a warning tone.

“What the hell? Are we in a hotel or in a prison?” Ashok could not keep quiet.

“Shut you mouth son. You are being taken care of without any monetary consideration. You should consider yourself lucky to be in this hotel at this time and not facing those torrential rains outside. As far as hell is concerned, don’t even think about it. Because it’s worse than what you think.” The old man said as he flung the door of the suite open and signaled us to get inside.

“If you guys need anything, just press this and someone would be here to help you.” The old man pointed to the knob which was looked like a skull and was embedded on dining table.

“What a pathetic imagination?” Aarti said as she glanced at the knob.

The owner of this motel found ghost to be a real fun topic. He wanted to give this place a real spooky appearance. I must say that he has been successful beyond his own expectations.” The old man said in a same flat emotionless tone.

“Where is he now?” Rahul asked out of curiosity.

“He has joined the ghosts who were always the butt of his jokes. He may be wandering down on of the many corridors which you saw.” The old man laughed as he said this and he had real, strong and sharp teeth, uncommon of for a man of his age.

Before any of us could say anything, the old man swept across the room and shut the door after him and leaving us for the night.

Only when he left our suite, we noticed the interiors. It was a large suite with which had carved pillars and lot of paintings. The furniture was old and was made up of good quality of woods. Everything about the room spoke opulence, magnificence and gave a royal feel to it and at the same time was also sickening of dampness, unhappiness and we all realized that this suite has not been in use for a long time.

“Hey, do guys notice something?” I spoke suddenly.

Everyone looked at me.

“What? I did not notice anything special.” Ashok said.

“I think there is something wrong in here. First, the usher showed us the room without enquiring about us from the manager and without the fact that even the manager did not give any instruction to him regarding the room or the suite. Secondly, our suite room number. It’s 1307 and today’s date is 13th July or should I say, 1307?” I wonder if it’s just a co-incidence.”

And finally, the name of our motel, Redrum.

“What with that now?” Lavanya asked, looking scared now.

“Just spell it in reverse order and we have MURDER.” Aarti grabbed my hand tightly now.

“No dear Karan Holmes. It’s a sinister plan which has been hatched to kill all of us here. Now go to your bed and get some sleep before that killer strikes.” Sumit smiled as he said this. Everyone was laughing at my observation but I knew at once that this just not a co-incidence. There must be something that brought us here in this motel in the middle of woodland.

To be continued....