Photo Travelogue :
Read first part -
Here!
I have named just two haunted attractions in my post title; but, if rumours are true then Kurseong is a haunted town in itself. I reached Kurseong from NJP at around 11.40 am. There is a small ( old - cart ) road just opposite the Kurseong Toy-Train Station that goes up to Dow Hill
( the starting place down below is also known as Dilaram ) . Its 3kms away, so, I thought it best to take a shared cab. But waiting for other passengers seemed a drag, and wanting the cab all to myself ~round-trip, I booked it for myself at 100/-
( I know, it should've been lesser for so little distance, having already being conned at Siliguri by that sumo ). Anyways, nevermind, I told to myself.
I'll earn that money back someday, lol. I consoled myself! Having armed myself with numerous haunted stories of Dow Hill, Kurseong, I was excited to be finally on my up way there.
leaving Kurseong Station ( the yellow tin-roof structure ) behind...
( one can also go to another beautiful location called 'Chimney' from this point...
we spot the forests far up there in the background, as we speed the steep climb...
come across two signs - a deer park (left ) and a forest ( right ), we choose the forest!
1 ( A )...
however, the first forest ( an eco-park ) we enter is maintained by the forest department...
it has a path, a view point, reservoir view...looks like picnic spot, I'm not scared at all!
see, what I mean?
the trees ( Cryptomeria japonica ( Japanese Cedar ) locally known as Dhupi Sallaa) planted
by the British, are no doubt tall, but its not enough to scare me yet, show me more!
1 ( B )...
THE DOW HILL FOREST WITH THE 'DEATH ROAD'...The real spook begins at the middle, a path
( going left ) that we had ignored earlier while going to the first compounded forest. It lies just between the deer park and that maintained forest. I saw the small path going somewhere, and asked the driver where it goes. He mumbled something
( ghane jungle ~ deeper jungle, also ahead is Bagora ), and then, I asked him to take me there. The look at his face was of sheer fright. He was hesitant
( like, kaha phass gaya mein, and who is this spooky lady, lol ), but I egged him on. I told him, we'll just go a little way, click a few photos and then be back. Otherwise, there was no point really coming all the way there, hmph! I told him. His reaction convinced me that this was the main thing I had come for, not some curated garden cum forest
( that we had just visited ). Since there was a small but
concreted path, I knew it also led to somewhere atleast ( the forest office, I gather, and was this the famous 'death road ' ? )!
We got on the cab
( an Omni ) and drove few kilometres deep. The place was eerily silent. No birds chirping, which I noticed is the case with many spooky forests that I have visited. The more spooky the forests are, the more birds seems to avoid them. Here, there was pin drop silence, we could only hear our own
heavy breaths. With the driver sweating away in fright, I looked around,
also walked a bit alone ahead, recorded a video...wondering, if I would be lucky to spot any ghosts too -
headless or not didn't matter. It was definitely creepy and gave me the goosebumps. I'd definitely not want to be lost here
( forget after sun down, not even in day time, lol ). This forest and its
chill vibes were completely different than the previous one. After spending some more time, we decided to head back. The driver, I could see, finally breathed in much relief and got back to his cheerful self, that he was, on our way from Kurseong earlier.
headless ghost, where art thou?? Come touch my finger...
( The 'rumours' - Its here where the main haunted stories of headless corpse following people, and disappearing into the woods, feelings of being watched happen. Nightmares happens to those who sees it, they go into depression and even commit suicide. There's also some creepy red eyes that stares at night time, whispers and voices, a woman in grey roaming the roads. Locals strictly avoid it during day time too. Here, multiple murders and suicides had occurred in the past and bodies left in the forests. which could be one of the main reasons for them being so haunted )
2...
VICTORIA BOYS SCHOOL...This is the second haunted spot in Dow Hill itself, near the forest. When its winter vacations
( dec-mar ), children's voices, laughter and footsteps are heard inside the premises. Also, a boy stares from one of the windows, when the school is supposedly closed. One person whom I knew, had apparently been inside one of the classrooms once, and something moved beside him and heard a giggle...when there was supposed to be no one else. I walked inside the gates. It was December end, the holiday season
( seemingly the peak season of ghosts there ), would I have any luck? It is a vast compound. I got chatting to a woman who was sitting in one of the compound walls. She spoke a lot, asked me about myself, told about herself too, but would suddenly become hesitant whenever I asked about the spooky things in the school, looking at me suspiciously,
almost. She said, these were just rumours floating about and didn't want to reveal more. All the time she was speaking, I couldn't resist glancing back at the one open window of the main building. Why was it open, when all the rest were shut? Was someone watching our conversation from up there?
hmm
( Barely, two months after my visit ( in dec'15 ), and
with three weeks still left for the vacations to end ( mar 3rd ), in mid-feb'16, Dow Hill Girls school adjacent to the Victoria Boy's school - visible in the first pic below - was completely gutted in fire, Mysterious coincidence, no? )
why is that window open? is someone watching?
3...
KURSEONG RAILWAY STATION...
like many other things/spots in Kurseong, the railway-station is supposedly haunted too...
however, in broad day-time, with it serving as the town's main centre, it hardly looked so...
Kurseong ~ Kharsang ~ the 'Land of White Orchids', is a city and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Located at an altitude of 1,458 metres, Kurseong is 32 kilometres from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout the year. It is famous for its orchid gardens, forested hills, tea plantations, waterfalls, temples and Buddhist gompas apart from the excellent vistas. Kurseong is also home to a death road, headless ghost, haunted school, haunted buildings, mysterious forests, sinister treks, red eyes, mysterious deaths, ghost of a woman wearing grey running after people, whispers in the wind, screams of women and countless other real ghost stories ( wiki ).
Address : Victoria Boy's School, Dow Hill Forest, Dow Hill Road, Kurseong, Darjeeling, WestBengal
Read next part - Here! Stay tuned for all my road, rail, flight, cruise & walk trips.
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