Ghosts amongst the ruins of Bhangarh

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Regarded unequivocally at the most haunted place in India, Bhangarh is a large, ruined 17th Century city of mystery and beauty. Records indicate that it was founded by Madho Singh, the younger brother of a successful general who served under King Akbar in 1631, but the inexplicable and sudden desertion of the city several centuries later is rather less well documented. Local explanations have been handed down through generations and are jumbled and varied, but the overriding concept is one of an evil curse, placed on the city by a dark magician. One story suggests that the magician used the site to practise his dark arts and when the city's founder came to build there, the magician told him that all would be well as long as none of the city's buildings ever overshadowed his own. Generations later, a heedless young king mocked the story and built the palace to such a height that it towered over all the surrounding buildings. The moment that its shadow reached the magician's house, the city began to crumble and its inhabitants deserted it in terror. Another suggests that the magician fell in love with a beautiful princess who lived at the palace and poured a love potion into some oil as her maid bought it for her at the market. However, the princess caught him in the act and poured the oil onto a large boulder, which sprang to life and crushed the magician as a punishment for his wickedness. In his death throes, he cursed the city with a promise of a great disaster, which followed in the form of a great battle, which wiped out the entire population. There are many more, but one thing is certain; no one will remain at Bhangarh after sunset for fear of meeting the ghosts of the ten thousand vanished inhabitants, and even the tourist office will not open an office there, preferring to remain some kilometres away, close to a protective temple. Visitors have frequently stated that a sense of unease and sadness is prevalent at the site, and photographs taken there in the evening supposedly show strange shadows and light anomalies. A few visitors claim to have seen the spirits themselves.

1 / 5 Review by editor larapiegeler