The Haunting of the witchcraft
What does it take one to be haunted ? Or rather what does it take an entire dormitory to be haunted ? Even worse, what does it take to make a whole shining, bright boarding school to be haunted ? You knkw what ! Just a chart. A bloody Rectangular piece called a planchette board.
Notorious and yet loved as a drug. Specially in all those all girls’ schools, it is such a dominant thing, one can only imagine.
Hundreds of incidences to vouch for its might and dominance and thousands of victims to tell one the nerve wrecking, spine chilling stories of horrors they went through. One such testimony comes from the riverside school, ooty, India. Every dormitory, every class, every path and every bloody single brick, they all moan in fright when they speak of the terror they underwent alongside the girls, teachers, matron, warden, janitors, all of them. That summer, to them was so terrible that they went on to believe that even the gods tremble at the terror of the evil.
The monsoon of 1980:
July 3rd, 1980, Riverside school, ooty. Class 11th. New batch of girls. The induction ceremony could only follow the befriending ceremony of these 7 girls. Deepti, Sophia, Naina, Alka, Radhika, Mahima and Sanjana. All 600 girls were introduced one by one to the principal Elenor, the teachers sister Rosemary, sister Blair, sister Gabriella, Sister Wesley, warden Priscilla and the PT teacher Albert Swamy. The janitors and guards outside. Everyone got introduced. The rules and regulations of the school, tough as they should be in one guided by the church, were told to all the new and old girls.
Days were passing by. It can’t be any better season than Monsoon to begin with a new session. The girls would often pray for teachers missing the classes because of the rains so that they could play their games.
One such day was the 13th of july 1980 when one of the girls found something in the dormitory’s store. It was Mahima who had found it. She tried to understand what was written on it. Very hard to understand. It was devnagri script but the language was alien to her.
“What are you doing here ? Where did u get this from ?” Warden Priscilla asked her while looking at the wooden thing in shock and horror. “Give it to me. Never come to the stores without asking me. You should be in your dormitory. Go !” Warden Priscilla was breathless while saying all this and she almost pushed Mahima out of the store and into her dormitory.
“ strange ! Why is this mad woman shouting at me ? O god ! They age and they become senile and want us to behave like them. Disgusting.” Mahima kept murmuring these words to herself as she was literally shoved back into her dorm.
It was 10 in the night and late to roam around by the standards of any school in the world.
“These teenage girls ! Oh jesus ! Why do they behave like this ? Why do they not listen ?” Warden Priscilla kept talking to herself on her way back to her room. She was afraid. “This piece of wood. How did it come here ?” She kept talking to herself. Warden Priscilla locked the wooden board in her cupboard and went off to sleep.
The next morning was usual except that it didn’t rain and the sun was out. Ooty looks beautiful after every rain. Clearer skies, greener trees and cleaner roads. The falls would roar louder and the birds sweeter.
10 pm.
Warden Priscilla was on her round as usual and she saw some light in the room of the seven sisters. Yes, thats how it was known now. These seven girls had grown so strong in their bond that even the teachers would call them the seven sisters. “Those girls must be up and trying to read some comic with their torches. “ warden Priscilla murmured to herself as she approached that room. Strange ! Nothing here. She realized there might be someone with some light behind her. She turned back only to find no one. Warden Priscilla had started to feel sick in her stomach and rushed straight to her room. She reached her room and bolted it from inside.
The next morning was quite warm and sunny. An amazing thing for Ooty, a hill station. The teachers were all having tea in the garden, near the gate.
“ Are you okay Priscilla ?” Asked sister wesley. “Of course ! I am sister Wesley”.
“Well you don’t seem to be. Is everything okay ?” Sister wesley pushed. She strongly felt something might be wrong.
9:45 pm in the night, senior girls’ dorm:
Warden Priscilla roams around the dorm as usual to ensure that all the girls are asleep. Again, she overhears some murmur in the very same room. She enters it to check but seems like all of them are in deep sleep. Warden moves back to her room. She is brisk and her heart is a bit faster than usual. She is sweating although its not hot. She has to check something. Cupboard. The board isn’t there. She rushes back to the girls’ room. The murmur can be heard again. Priscilla is worried. She is feeling sick in the stomach for what she presumed can be disastrous. She cusses herself for keeping that board in her room. Its not there now.
“Where has it gone ? Oh ! You girls ! I hope you haven’t done something undesirable.”
Talking to herself Priscilla kept pacing towards the dorm. Her face was full of expressions. Expressions of fear, anger, disgust and hope. Fear of the horror that might trigger any moment. Anger towards that board and its being placed in the store room. Disgust of not being able to get it disposed off and Hope that they might not have done anything with that dreaded planchette board. The warden kept saying her prayers and the old lady panted on her way to the dormitory. It was getting tough to walk. The steps. Each one of them gets heavier as she approaches the dormitory.
9 pm of the same night. The seven sisters. All Sitting on the ground. Candle light was spread behind the tightly shut doors. Some incense. Lavender. Deepti was very fond of essential oils. They had made a circle and in between lay that dreaded piece of wood which had a quote in sanskrit “ mrityor mokshah bhavatu”- Death is liberation.
Naina knew how the planchette works. She felt cool about it. She shared all the details with her friends. They started the game. The game that could land them up in serious trouble. The coin. The candles. And the chant to call any nearby spirit. Joining their hands they kept reciting the same dreadful chant. Almost 10 minutes later Radhika broke the chain and said,” enough is enough guys. This isn’t going to work. I think its broken or something. Lets stop this. I am sleepy.” Others agreed to it as well. They started to gather back all the stuff not before Sophia read something written in the board. “ Property of Shavalika ๐. Only she is the key to it.”
“Hah ! What bullshit is this ? How can a planchette board be the property of a person. Isn’t it supposed to be just a game ?” Sophia said to her roommates.
Mahima voiced her opinion too,” this seems like a fake thing Sophie. Lets put it aside and dispose it off in the morning.” Off they went to sleep. All the girls. Within moments of tucking themselves, they were all sleeping. Peacefully. Peace. Momentary. For they didn’t know whats coming their way will make them forget the existence of peace.
“Tuck !” Thats the sound it makes when Something falls against a hard surface. So it did. Something hard on the planchette board. The dreaded planchette board. It was a tooth. A tooth drenched with blood. Fresh blood. The room had become awkwardly cold. The girls woke up. Surprised to see the planchette board placed on the ground. The exact same place where it was before Mahima put it under the bed. The candles were lit. And the tooth was moving across the board. The scratching sound had woken them all up. “Y” it said. A deep sense of fear prevailed amongst them. They were looking at each other. Scared, frightened, petrified. “How did all this happen ? How is it moving on it’s own ? How did it come out ? Where did this tooth come from ? How is it moving on its own ? What does Y mean ?”
They were all having chills through their spines. Scared to death already the poor girls didn’t know what was coming their way.
Drops of blood started to fall on the board. The ceiling. There is someone hung in the air. A girl. Their own age. Dressed in the dormitory dress as them. The blood was trickling from between her legs on to the board. Her shoulders were shrugged and the head hung as if she was dead.
Heartbeats had risen through the top and they were so silent out of fear that they could hear the drums beating in tandem.
Deepti whispered,” she isn’t dead. She is alive.”
“Yeah ! She seems to be breathing.” Added sanjana.
“ is she crying ?” Asked Sophia.
“Must be. The way she is hung and seems hurt.” Radhika suggested.
“ who is she ?” Asked Alka.
They had to ask that question because nobody could be inside given that the doors were locked and all 7 of them were sitting together, frightened as much as to be sitting all together on one bed. They were all quiet till Alka broke the silence,” shall we check who she is ?”
“Yeah ! We need to know that because tomorrow morning we’ll have to answer to the Warden.” Said Sophia.
Warden Priscilla. She is on the door of the very room where she suspected the dreadful planchette to be in. “Jesus ! Help the little girls. Save them from whatever peril they are in. Mother Mary ! Have mercy. They are only Kids.” Priscilla kept murmuring while trying to open the door with the master key. Her hands were shaking at the thought of what might be awaiting her.
The lamp in one hand and the Holy cross in the other, she entered the room and she wasn’t much surprised although she was terrorised at the sight inside.
Even the strongest of hearts would shriek at the sight of a girl hanging in the air. Shoulders shrugged. Head hanging. Face covered with her hair and trickles of blood dripping down her legs on to the planchette board. There were drops of blood all over and the tooth, that bloody tooth was gliding through them, making a trail of blood all over the board. Sometimes it would hop like a teenage girl would do in a garden, singing her song and playing alone. Sucking away all the falling blood the tooth was dancing on the planchette. The sight had frozen all of them. All the seven girls and now even the warden. But the girls had no such idea of the fear that the warden could feel. The girl hanging up in the air was Naina, moaning as if she wanted to cry out of pain but that same pain isn’t letting her do that.
“How are there 7 girls on the bed ? “ warden Priscilla gathered herself and the first thing that came to her mind was this. Naina hangs in the air and there should be 6 girls on the bed. But Naina was sitting right in between her friends. A sparkle in her eyes and a sinister smile. Wait ! Why are her lips red ? Every time the tooth stops Naina lick her lips. “O god ! Is she possessed ? Which one is the real Naina ?” Warden Priscilla couldn’t blink. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She kept looking at Naina in the air and on the bed. Couldn’t move till she saw Radhika step out of the bed to see the face of the girl in the air. “ No !” Priscilla screamed,” don’t get off the bed. Don’t set ur feet on the ground.”
Radhika couldn’t understand why the warden was stopping her. She committed the mistake. The mistake of her life. She stepped on the ground and before she could move a step towards Naina, Radhika was dragged beneath the bed. Radhika screamed with all the might of her lungs but her voice was taken over by the growl like that of a wolf. The girls screamed and jumped out of that bed. On to their bunk beds in a flash. Naina was with Alka in a flash. Deepti saw the face of the girl hanging in the air. “Naina ! How can this be possible ? Bloody hell. She was sitting right next to me a moment before. O god ! What is this ?” Her thoughts we’re scaring her even more now. “But Naina should be with Alka.” Thinking of this possibility, Deepti turned towards Alka. Alka was sitting in her bed. On her knees. Kneeled forward to see the things better. Naina was trying to hide behind Alka. There was a momentary relief before Deepti realised that there can’t be two Nainas there. The one behind Alka looked terrified till Deepti looked closely at her. That sparkle in the eyes and a sinister smile. She wasn’t licking the lips anymore because the blood dripping from Naina had dried up. She seemed quite contented. she took her tongue out and moved it up in the air as if trying to lick something . “What !! The blood on Naina’s leg was wiped off in a moment !”
Deepti thought to herself,” how is this even possible ? How can Naina do that ? And how are there two of them anyways.”
The room was silent. The whole room. So much that they could hear the sobbing of Naina hung in the air. There were two voices. The second one. From beneath the bed. Radhika ! Oh bloody hell. She needs help. But who could dare in that situation. They were scared to death. Warden Priscilla gathered some courage to find Radhika. But she isn’t beneath the bed. “Where did she go ? We all saw her being dragged beneath the bed by something. What was that thing ? How did it come in the room ?” She questioned herself. The lamp had enough light. The old lady gathered some courage to look beneath the bed. After all, it was about a girl. One amongst the most loved ones in the school. She took Alka and tried to sneak under the bed. No. Nothing. Not even a trace. “Bloody hell ! How is that even possible ? She was right here. This can’t be real.”
Distant scream. As if someone is calling for help. Priscilla got up and tried to see outside. “Radhika !” She gasped. “For the love of dear god ! This can’t be real. This just can’t be real.”
Radhika was hanging upside down in the air as if someone very huge held her and was going far. She looked at Radhika as their eyes, their pained eyes met. Radhika’s were pained by terror and the warden’s were pained by guilt. Guilt of not getting that stupid planchette board destroyed. Radhika was out of sight. Priscilla screamed for help but her voice had choked and then there was fog on the window screen. The fog was from the vapour of breath. Breath of an animal. “Grrrr.” She heard an animal outside. Two red eyes through the fog. Priscilla had her heart in her mouth. She got even more petrified when someone patted on her shoulder. Thankfully it was Swamy, the PT teacher. She turned back to check the girls. “What !!” They were all sleeping in their beds. “The hell ! What is this ? Is it even possible ?” The warden was shocked. “Where is the girl hanging in the air ? All the blood !! That planchette ? Wait there were two Nainas. I am sure there were. How can this be possible ?” All seven of them Deepti, Alka, Radhika, Mahima, Sophia, Naina and Sanjana. She counted again. Just to be sure. Or to be unsure. She was confused. Warden Priscilla was stunned. She told Swamy about everything that happened in the past two days and tonight here in the dorm. Swamy had a look of disbelief on his face but he meant no disrespect to warden Priscilla so he kept mum. Warden Priscilla was surprised, shocked but yet thankful that she won’t have to explain all that happened in the dorm or as a matter of fact didn’t happen at all. She slipped inside her bed and tried to sleep.
The next morning, July 10th 1980:
Warden Priscilla wasn’t sure of it but she decided to inform Principal Elenor about the incidences of the past few days. The horror of the last night couldn’t be explained but she had to. Elenor was confused and so were the others. Sister Blair and Gabriella almost laughed at this story but there was some sense of belief in sister Wesley’s eyes. With that sense of belief she assured Warden Priscilla. Swamy couldn’t testify any of it as he hadn’t seen anything.
The School Assemblies on the next few days were seriously watched. Even more seriously than usual. Specially those 7. But everything seemed normal and in a few days they forgot about that weird night.
16th july,1980. It was a no moon night.
It was a usual evening. All the dorms were buzzing with the girls busy doing their homework and preparing for the next day. At 9:30 pm, warden Priscilla got up from her study table to check the dormitories. Check. All the rooms were okay. The girls were sleeping cozily. It was dark outside. Pitch dark. It was a no moon day. Priscilla turned back towards her room when she heard a heavy voice breathing at her neck. She turned back to find no one. The lamp had enough light to show the long and empty passage. But then she decided to move ahead and check the whole gallery. “Should i check the girls’ room as well ?” This thought reminded her of that night and sent chills through her spines. The poor lady gulped, gathered her wits and walked through the gallery. She reached the door of the room she never wanted to enter anymore but then she had to check. She cupped the door with both her hands and tried to hear if there were any sounds from inside. She waited for a few moments before she heard a slurping noise as if some animal is eating. An animal inside the dormitory again ! She was petrified now. She raised the lamp and looked around. Poor old lady tried to check whether the noise was coming from inside the room. No, it wasn’t. It was coming from outside. She moved towards the window to have a look. The noise was becoming louder as she was inching closer to the windows. “Slurp ! Slurp ! Nom nom ! Chomp chomp.” It actually sounds like an animal or rather a beast. “What !!” Poor lady was terrorized to see outside. And what she saw there was even more terrorizing. A girl, one of her own, sitting outside has got some small animal in her hands and is gnawing on to it. “Thats where the sound was coming from.” “But how is it even possible ? “ she was drinking and slurping the blood of the little animal and chewing its meat. “Tuck” a little sound that the handle of the lamp made while keeping it on the window slab. The girl turned around. “Naina !! O god ! How is this possible ? I just saw her tucked and sleeping in her bed.” She thought to herself ,”And why would she kill and eat a small animal.” Her thoughts continued,”Dear lord ! Its the rabbit from the school’s own botanical garden that Naina was playing with yesterday. But why this rabbit ? Yesterday she was playing with it !”
“But she might be playing with it for a different purpose. She might be smelling her prey.” Priscilla’s thoughts were cut short by something that was even more eerie. Naina tore the rabbits’s skin apart and gulped it all at once. Priscilla was horrified with that and almost fainted but then she saw something even more petrifying. Naina took two steps forward, put her feet on the window and came inside the dorm. “What !! I was hungry. “ she grinned at the warden. “How could she open the window which was locked from inside ?”
Naina opened the room and stepped inside. There was a sinister smile on her face as she closed the door. Priscilla gathered all her strength to get up and move towards the room and tried to open the door. It was open as if she had been given an invitation to come in. Priscilla entered the room with her lamp in one hand and her rosary in the other. She kept chanting the “the lord’s prayer” more out of fear than faith this time. Somehow she reached Naina’s bed. Slowly, she removed the cover with trembling hands. Naina ! She looked as peaceful as a sleeping infant. Priscilla checked all of them one by one. Each of them slept peacefully.
“Am I hallucinating ? Or did i hallucinate then ?” Warden Priscilla was perplexed with whatever was happening around. While having all these thoughts she quietly came out of the room and closed the door.
“Slurp slurp chomp chomp nom nom” the sound was still there. “ am I hallucinating ?” Thought Priscilla to herself. But the sound was very loud and clear. She decided to look around. Outside the window first. Her mind was asking her to do it despite shaking legs and hands but the heart would say otherwise. She wanted to go back but couldn’t stop herself. She reached near the window and looked outside. Thankfully there was nothing outside. All clear. But why was there still a sound coming. Loud and clear. She couldn’t be hallucinating. Its so clear that it has to be there. She thanked god for being merciful and veered back to go to her room. “ Mother of god !! What !! This can’t be real. This shouldn’t be real.” She saw something that anybody would better believe didn’t happen ever. Naina was standing in front of her. Her head tilted to one side. The face half covered with her choppy bob cut hair but an evil look on her face. She had put on a sinister smile on her face. “She just went inside the room in front of me. I saw her sleep. How can...” Priscilla’s thoughts were cut short as something appeared on Naina’s hand. In the little light that was there, it looked like a little cherry. Round and red. It had a string attached to it. “O god !” Priscilla almost puked on realizing that was an eye of the rabbit. “You didn’t like it warden Ma’am ? But its so delicious you know !” Said Naina and gulped the eye of the rabbit. Priscilla couldn’t take this sight and fainted.
“Wake up Priscilla. Wake up. Are you okay ?” It was Sister Gabriella who saw something from inside her room and decided to check.
Somehow Warden Priscilla got up but she didn’t believe it was her colleague or some evil thing. “ Thank god. Is that you sister Gabriella ?” She touched her rosary in sister Gabriella’s hand just to be sure. “ its me Priscilla.” Gabriella replied and asked,” but why are you lying on the floor ? Are you okay ?” Priscilla couldn’t hold herself anymore. She told the whole story to Gabriella. Gabriella was stunned to hear all this. But she believed if there is god then there has to be evil as well. The two of them now decided to check the girls again. So, they walk into the room again. They checked the girls one after another. Two of the beds were empty. Naina and Radhika were not in their respective beds. The two sisters were puzzled and scared to add to it.
The other girls had woken up. They were puzzled to know about Naina and Radhika as well. “What should we do now sister Gabriella ?” Asked Sophia. But before anyone could say anything Deepti with her finger on her lips, quietly asked all of them to keep mum. She had looked on the face of Alka and chased the direction of her eyes that were going outside. Naina ! Radhika ! Hung in the air, almost walking on it. Not walking. They were playing. Playing with a piece of meat. Gnawing on to the flesh and licking the blood off it. This one seemed like bigger than the rabbit. Looks humanoid. Mahima and sanjana almost puked at realising that it was a small monkey. They were all scared to death. And then it was time for more fear as Naina and Radhika were now coming back towards the room. They had finished their “meal”. Very quickly warden Priscilla decided to take all the girls and leave the dreaded room where evil presides. Warden Priscilla, sister Gabriella, Deepti, Mahima, sanjana, Alka and Sophia left the room at once and brisk walked to warden Priscilla’s room. “Tuck” a soft sound of something falling on the ground. That blood stained tooth was following them now. Sister Gabriella and warden Priscilla arranged some mattresses and bedsheets from the store. They made beds on the floor and all of them slept. They were trying to but couldn’t.
The view of Naina and Radhika tearing apart that little monkey and relishing the flesh and blood of it was terrifying and horrible. And now to add to it there was a heavy breathing voice on the door. As if some animal is speaking like a human. “Deepti ! Sophia ! Girls ! Open the door. Why did you all leave me behind ?” It was Naina speaking in a husky voice, like an animal. “Please open the door warden Priscilla. I want in.” That voice was scary as death.
“I am alone outside and its cold out here.” Now she spoke like a meek little girl. Nobody buzzed for they knew its death calling.
They were so silent that they could hear each other’s heartbeats. Somebody was walking towards the door while Naina was already lying down on the floor and breathing through the door to smell them. Naina’s horrible breathing sound was soon joined by Radhika’s sweetly pleading murmurs,” please warden Priscilla ! Please open the door and let us in. There is some monster lurking around outside. We are scared.” “And hungry too.” Added Naina in a rough, husky, almost masculine voice.
“Why don’t you let us in Warden ? Its so late in the night and we are scared.” Said Naina. Followed by Radhika,” and cold too. Some warmth from your bodies would be good.”
Again Naina spoke,” Warmth from your warm bodies and hot blood.” This sentence sent chills through the spines of all of them. Sister Gabriella had already warned all the girls to not to open the door irrespective of whatever happens. They kept on chanting “our lord in the heavens” and those two innocent looking demons were lurking on the door. The clock was ticking at 1:45 amand already felt like the longest night to them all. And While they kept chanting for safety’s sake.
“Crrr- crrrr-crrr” there was a strange sound near the door. As if something is getting rubbed against wood. Deepti went down to check. “Oh god !” She gasped. The blood stained tooth was trying to sneak through the very narrow gap between the door and the floor.
“ Are you okay Deepti ?” Asked Sophia but she didn’t get any answer. Deepti’s stoned eyes told something wasn’t right. So, Sophia went down to see. But she didn’t have to exert much. The tooth, the bloody blood stained tooth was already in by then. All 7 of them, warden Priscilla, sister Gabriella and the girls were stunned by what was in front of them. The tooth ! It started dripping blood all over and then fume. Streams of blood were trailing into two parts. The fume took a human shape. And the blood started climbing upon the structure. It started taking a clearer shape. The shape of a girl. The shape of a teenage girl. The shape of Naina. The shape of Radhika.
It was enough to terrorise one enough to wish for death rather than dying at their hands. Sister Gabriella gathered some courage. In fact, all the courage that she could have. She took her cross out and extended her hand towards Naina. Naina, the evil Naina shook and trembled at the sight of Jesus. Encouraged by this, warden Priscilla and the girls also took their amulets out. Priscilla had a cross too and so did Sophia. Deepti, Alka, Mahima and Sanjana didn’t have any amulets or holy symbols with them. They were scared and angry upon the school administration for not allowing non-christian symbols. Warden Priscilla did well to cover them all and Gabriella took the holy bible to cover them. Warden Priscilla had the aspergillum with holy water in her hand. Naina wasn’t quivering anymore but had a silly sheepish grin on her face. Her normally innocent looking face looked horrible with the blood stains on it. Evil Naina and Radhika looked at each other, smiled and looked at each other and moved ahead.
Priscilla warned them both,” stop or i will sprinkle this holy water on you both. Leave our girls and go away.” All the while she held on to her courage somehow and tried not to faint for the sake of the girls’ safety. Naina leapt towards the girls but Sister Gabriella extended her hand towards them and so did Sophia. The evil stopped for a moment and then held the crosses. Their hands started burning and so did the crosses. The crosses melted and evaporated even before anyone could understand the smallest thing. Deepti and other girls screamed
Bam ! Bam ! Bam ! The door opened with a thudding sound and it was swamy standing there. He had a concerned look on his face. He was concerned for his colleagues and the girls. He had seen all the things from the window of his room. Initially, he thought the girls are playing some game but seeing Naina and Radhika become fume and disappear was enough to tell that the game was a terrible one.
