(ONE)
In the quiet town of Manikpur, nestled among the hills and surrounded by an ancient forest and a small population. It is a lovely peaceful township away from the busy city life. But suddenly, the People of the town on every moonless night, witness a peculiar phenomenon of a heavy wind surrounding the forest and the screaming of a woman followed by a power failure in the town area. It was happening every moonless night. Some of the residents of the town reported having seen a young girl in white attire running towards the forest during the wind and vanishing to oblivion. No one believed at first, but when it started happening in every moonless night people got scared. The entire town was awoken by blood-curdling screams that seemed to emanate from the depths of the forest.
The townsfolk gathered in panic, whispering tales of an evil presence in the woods. They described glimpses of shadowy figures and unnatural lights flickering among the trees. Fearful for their safety, the townspeople decided to form a young group of people volunteering to uncover the truth behind these sinister events.
The young team, led by the town’s self-proclaimed ghost hunter, Dipen, gathered on the moonless night in the outskirts of the forest, their flashlights piercing the oppressive darkness. They ventured deeper into the woods. Soon the wind started and after some time, the screaming of a girl made the scene frightening. They heard the screaming and the eerie cries grew louder and more unsettling. The heavy wind started coming and twisted the branches seeming to reach out for them, and the cold night air hung heavy with an otherworldly aura. The light went off suddenly. Some of the team had seen a young girl in white attire running to the forest. The team followed the girl and suddenly she vanished, they stumbled upon an ancient, overgrown path that led them to a clearing where an ominous, dilapidated structure stood. It was the backside of the once-busy Town Library, its grand facade now a crumbling, ghostly silhouette against the night. An icy wind swept through the clearing, and a faint, mournful tune could be heard, like a piano playing in a long-forgotten chamber.
As they cautiously approached the library, its windows emitted an eerie, ethereal glow, and strange symbols flickered on its weathered walls. The doors swung open with an eerie creak, inviting them inside. The young team, though terrified and intrigued, entered the library, unaware that they were about to uncover a centuries-old curse that would lead them down a path of chilling revelations and unimaginable horrors.
As the team entered the forsaken library, an eerie silence enveloped them. Their flashlights cast quivering beams of light that revealed a frozen scene. Dusty, cobweb-covered bookshelves lined the walls, and ancient tomes lay scattered across the floor as if discarded in a hurry. The air was suffused with the pungent scent of decay.
Just as the explorer began to question the wisdom of entering this supposed-to-be haunted place, a sudden gust of icy wind swept through the library, extinguishing their flashlights in a chilling, collective gasp. Darkness closed in around them, and the nightmarish symphony of haunting events began.
From the shadows, disembodied whispers and ghostly laughter echoed through the room, making the investigators shiver with dread. Unseen hands tugged at their clothing as if trying to pull them deeper into the library’s sinister embrace. Dipen, the self-proclaimed ghost hunter, felt a cold hand clutch his shoulder with a vice-like grip, causing him to recoil in terror.
The explorers fumbled to relight their flashlights, their trembling hands struggling to find the switches. With each flicker of the lights, they caught unsettling glimpses of the library’s ghostly inhabitants. Pale, spectral faces appeared in the darkness, their eyes hollow and filled with sorrow.
Books floated off the shelves, their pages flipping wildly as if guided by an invisible force. The explorers watched in horror as words and images from the books twisted and contorted, telling tales of ancient curses and forgotten sorrows. It was as if the library itself was revealing its tragic history through these malevolent manifestations.
The grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling suddenly swung with unnatural vigour, casting grotesque, dancing shadows on the walls. The investigators realized that they were not alone in this haunted library; a presence, ancient and vengeful, lurked among them, and it was determined to make them face the chilling truth that had remained concealed for far too long.
Amid these horrifying phenomena, the investigators exchanged fearful glances and understood that they had stepped into a nightmare from which there might be no escape. The library had come alive with malevolence, and they were now entangled in a web of terror that would challenge their courage and wits like never before. They leave the place as fast as possible without looking back in the fear of someone following them.
Santa, the young and inquisitive librarian of the state library, had been following the unsettling reports about the haunting of the old library with a mix of fascination and trepidation. She had always been drawn to mysteries and the unexplained, and the library’s reputation as a haunted place only fueled her curiosity. Further people have stopped visiting the library for a long time because of all the things that were unfolding.
One gloomy afternoon, as Santa sat at her desk in the quiet state library, the whispered tales of the eerie occurrences at the Manikpur Library weighed heavily on her mind. She couldn’t resist the urge to investigate the place herself, to separate fact from fiction.
Armed with her determination and an old torch, Santa entered the forsaken library on a stormy night. The rain lashed against the windows, casting distorted, dancing shadows on the walls. The faint, distant rumble of thunder added an ominous soundtrack to her journey. The screaming was now audible and piercing.
she ventured deeper into the darkened library, the air grew thicker, and an oppressive sense of dread washed over her. It was as if the very walls of the building held secrets that yearned to be uncovered. The flickering Torch cast eerie, ever-changing shapes on the walls, making them appear to come alive with spectral images. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the library. Santa’s heart pounded in her chest as she followed the sound, her Torch’s light trembling with each step. She arrived at the main reading room and saw an apparition, a pale figure in a tattered, white gown, standing before the grand chandelier. Its hollow eyes fixed on her with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. Before her eyes, the chandelier above began to sway with menacing vigour, casting grotesque shadows on the walls. Whispers of sorrow filled the room as if a chorus of lost souls was weeping in the dark.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati 2/11/2023
To be continued
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