The Khushi Lodge Horror

Amar had a very promising business venture. He was a dealership in pharmaceuticals and drugs. His business started from his humble village settings. With sheer hard work, he had generated enough revenue to make room for expansion.

The nearby town some fifteen kilometers away suited him fine. A bigger dealership contract was inked by him with a big multinational company. The godown space was required very quickly to stock up the packages which would be delivered very soon. 

At such a short notice finding a suitable godown seemed difficult. Various brokers had been sounded with the task of searching for a thousand square feet spacious godown. 

In the town, there was a big and spacious real estate space although a very old one. And it was deserted and the ownership was unknown. It was abandoned many years ago and over the years the building and its surrounding area were covered with serpentine weeds and dense undergrowth. The reputation of the building was not very encouraging.

Some labeled it as haunted as it had a spooky look to it. Amar was thinking of using the space in the building to house his packages on a temporary basis till a final place was settled. He went scouting for the house. It was called '' Khushi Lodge ''. The sight of the House made Amar recoil with horror. There was something ghostly about the place and wore a haunted look. On making discreet inquiries the response he got was about some scary story related to the building and its history.

Amar made inquiries at the municipality about the antecedents of the building and its ownership. Not to be suppressed with the discouraging response, Amar went to a greater depth to unearth further insights. 

From the municipality, Amar got the whereabouts of a retired chronicler who had superannuated many years ago. Now well into his eighties, this chronicler had the details which would help Amar. This chronicler could tell about the scary story related to this lodge which was allegedly ghostly and horrific.

The first warning that Amar got that the structure of the building had become crumbly over the years and was considered dangerous to live in. The municipality had affixed a board at the entrance cautioning whoever showed curiosity and interest about it should be aware of his safety. 

The building was almost a century old but is built robustly had survived the hazards of nature over the years. The first owners were an English family in the early twentieth century. They were traders and had become very Prosperous over the years. The house was called '' Amber '' probably because the view of the setting sun soaked the house in Amber color. The house had seen the hosting of many parties and functions. It was a very cheerful habitat initially. But later on, the subsequent generations went through ups and downs and the happy surroundings had changed to stress and agony. There had been some failed relationships ending in divorce and suicide. The chronicler paused a bit. He said that people attached to the building like those from the working class had reminisced seeing spooky events round about the house after the death of people.

After independence, the last occupant sold the house and went back to their native England. The buyer was a Ghosh family who had newly arrived at this part of the country from what is now known as Bangladesh. The house was renamed as '' Khushi Lodge '' in happiness after the name of the daughter, the first birth in this house after it's taking over. 

This Ghosh family also like the English men were traders and manufacturers. They were into the handlooms and hosiery goods business. This house showered with prosperity to whoever owned it. Very soon the Ghosh family became very rich and Prosperous.

Theirs was a large family with many extensions. All the year-round there used to be Pujas and marriages. The autumnal festival of Durga Puja was held with great mirth and piety. Lots of people participated and many were fed till the deity was present. During their heady days, the Ghosh family had no time to contemplate on the spooky nature of the building. Probably due to so many occupants the ghosts of the earlier English people did not get a chance to manifest their existence.

But over the years the Ghosh family had their downfall. Myriad diseases and epidemics led to the loss of many young souls. There was the business downfall. The joint family was breaking up. Till, finally, the last occupants were an aged couple and their invalid son. Their financial condition was very bad. They could not even pay the municipality tax. Till now many years of accumulated taxes are pending and the municipality may write it off soon. The recent younger generations moved out and joining the service sector had settled in areas close to their place of work. Finally, this old couple being needy and in hapless condition had to fend for themselves. Then one day a foul smell from the house aroused the local people's attention. The foul smell was from the corpse of the three last occupants of the '' Khushi Lodge''. All the last occupants had died in mysterious circumstances. The Police had cordoned off the area then. But that was many years ago. The investigations have stopped long ago for lack of evidence. 

From then onwards this house is lying vacant and unoccupied. No one of their kin has come to claim ownership and nor anyone come to stay here.

In between some homeless poor people had ventured in for one or more nights of comfortable rest have had to abandon the house in haste and in fear. Having observed paranormal happenings in the house these people had gone away never to dare return. After concluding his story the chronicler added a caveat that Amar should consider his decision about the building keeping in mind the past observed incidents. There were immense personal risks involved. 

Amar had made up his mind to spend one night in this house and try to unravel if there really was any paranormal activity in the house or just gossip and over imagination. Because he desperately needed space for his goods until his agents came up with solutions. 

So one evening Amar came prepared to spend a night at Khushi Lodge. As there was no electricity, he had to bring a heavy-duty torch. These are used in safaris and wildlife parks and have bright illumination. He brought a bedroll to sleep, a broom to clean the floor, a flask filled with hot tea, and some biscuits. Mosquito repellent also to protect from the winged menace. Little carbolic acid in case of snakes is present. 

It was a few nights after the full moon. So initially it was a moonless night and the surrounding area was covered in pitch darkness with an eerie stillness. The neighborhood houses were situated at a little distance. Some crickets were chirping earlier now they had also stopped. Suddenly an owl hooted breaking the silence and everything became quiet. There was pin-drop silence. 

Amar had spread the bedroll on the ground after sweeping the floor and quietly lied down. He did not exert his brain too much by thinking. Gradually he closed his eyes and went to sleep. The first full moon after Diwali had just gone by so the winter was yet to set in and it wasn't hot, the absence of a fan was not creating any discomfort.

How long he had slept, Amar was not aware but he was woken up. He felt that someone or something was moving. The moon which was still a crescent had just come out and a dim light streaked in the room. There was a rustling sound from somewhere. Then all of a sudden he saw a pair of eyes shining brightly that was focused on him. In a flash, it moved and Amar saw that it was a cat. A cold shiver ran down Amar's spine. He had made himself mentally prepared for eventualities. But in paranormal conditions even tough minds sometimes do surrender. 

There was an old ceiling fan still hanging from the roof. All of a sudden it started moving and there was a creaking sound. Then Amar realized that the leaves were rustling outside so the fan must have started moving even due to the breeze. There was an old photograph still hanging on the wall which had become faded with age. Suddenly the moonlight fell on it and the eyes of the person in the photo were staring at Amar. The eyes looked menacing in that macabre ambiance. Then another owl hooted and the moonlight fell on the man's face in the photo frame once again. The man seemed to be laughing and making fun of Amar. Feeling breathless and suffocating, Amar got up and opened the door of the room to get some fresh air. It opened on to a small balcony on the first-floor room. Amar stepped on the balcony and then there were a deafening sound and Amar seemed to be losing his balance. Finally, he went totally blank. 

Next, when Amar woke up he saw himself lying on a bed and an intravenous drip was attached to one hand. He was in a hospital. He touched his head to find it covered with a bandage. He realized that he was in pain. 

Further, he learned that his body was found in the ground in the overgrown garden of the Khushi lodge. The balcony had collapsed under his weight and he was lying in the debris. The chronicler had doubted Amar's safety so had sent a messenger to check on him in the morning. He had found Amar lying on the ground bleeding from the head. 

Amar was brought to the hospital, intravenous drip started immediately and the head wound washed and bandaged. He was very lucky to have survived. A CT scan was done of the head and nothing wrong was found. 

Later on, there was a visit by a person to meet Amar in the hospital. Amar was curious that none of his family members nor any acquaintances were aware that he would be staying in this old house. So the news of his accident would also be unknown to them. Then who had come visiting? 

The purpose of the visit of this stranger took Amar totally off guard when he got to know the reason. This man said that the Khushi Lodge was his maternal uncle's house. Many years ago they had stopped going there after the death of the last occupants. The last occupant was his uncle. Last night this uncle of his had come in his dream and asked him to help this man named Amar to find a godown to keep his stock. 

Amar was spellbound hearing this. The man further said that he had a vacant godown which he wanted to let out. If Amar was interested he could take it on rent. Amar was feeling too foggy to react. Was he hallucinating? Momentarily he seemed to be losing his senses. Was this the continuation of the paranormal activities happening to him since last night? 

The events seemed too simplistic in its occurrence. Amar also found it difficult to relate the events rationally. But, Amar believed in destiny. Perhaps it was destined that he would be helped by people dead long ago. But the Khushi Lodge was really haunted or was it due to the influence of a weak mind unable to face things boldly and rationally, Amar could not decide. However, his problem was solved and he could hire a godown eventually. The saga of the 'haunted house' had helped him in his business dealings.