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People who know me, know that I love horror. A horror fascination does something to the way you see the world. It sharpens you to atmosphere, to silence, to the way abandoned things look in fading light. Over the years, I feel that my liking for horror has made me see ordinary things in a different light. There have been moments on my travels where my imagination turned ordinary scenes into something more. In this post, I’m recounting three travel moments that left a lasting, eerie imprint on me. Was it really eerie, or was it just me? You decide.
A Hotel in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu, India
On one weekend my friend Bhanu and I had planned to go the small hill station of Yercaud which lies at an altitude of 1500 MSL in the eastern ghats in the state of Tamil Nadu. An hour before the journey to Yercaud from my then base of Nellore, Bhanu told me that he had missed his bus from Bangalore and may not be able to join. Instead of cancelling the trip I decided to go alone. Typical horror movie stuff. After reaching Yercaud the next day, I checked in in my hotel and had a pleasant day of walking around the pretty and quaint streets. Having wandered quite far away from the city centre and not wanting to be stuck in the dark lonely roads after dark I was back in my hotel at around dusk. A slight drizzle was also starting around this time and I was glad to be back in the comfort of my room. My hotel was situated on the side of a hill and the window of my room opened to an empty space with a view of an abandoned bungalow nearby. This bungalow was in various stages of decay with plant growth on the lower walls. Some sections had fallen off completely. In the dying light of the day, the bungalow already looked forlorn and eerie. As I was standing in the middle of the room and gazing at it, thinking about what it could have been in its heyday, suddenly the power went off and everything was enveloped by darkness. Complete silence accompanied this change. As I stood there, in the darkness, with total silence everywhere, I was thinking what I should do when suddenly a brilliant bolt of lighting shot across in the sky illuminating the bungalow for a brief second and then again complete darkness which was broken by the crackling sound of the lightning. This scene was so magical that I stood there transfixed. Two more flashes followed and every time the flashes bathed the creepy bungalow in front of me in brilliant light for a second and then darkness. It was one of the most creepy yet beautiful moments of my travels. Within minutes the power was back on and everything seemed normal again. I carried on as if nothing happened and had no problems falling asleep.
A Hotel in Kochi, Kerala, India
Many years ago, I was on a weekend trip to Kerala with my friend Bhanu, who had booked a hotel in Kochi online. We were a bit apprehensive about it as booking random hotels online is not always a good plan. Our apprehensions turned out to be true. After checking in with the solitary figure at the reception we started to make our way to our room which was on the 4th floor. There was no staff to help with the bags. As I was thinking about this, I noticed that forget about someone helping with the bags, there was no one except the person at the reception. No staff no guests. The hotel was huge with 5 floors and each floor having around 10 rooms. All the rooms faced an inner open hall and as I peeked below and above, neither could I see anyone nor could I hear anyone. It was the creepiest hotel I ever stayed in. Everything was neat and in order but simply no people. The coffee shop on the ground floor was deserted. The restaurant empty. It felt as if we were the only people in the hotel except the guy in the reception and a cleaning lady. The only sign of other life was when we were coming back to our floor after having dinner outside. I could hear the sound of laughter coming from somewhere in the hotel but we were not able to pinpoint the location. I could think of multiple horror movies which this hotel resembled. ‘The Shining’ was the best fit. Just this thought sent a chill down my spine. I remarked to Bhanu that had I been alone at that time I would have checked out right then and there.
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
A few years ago I was doing site visits in some remote areas of British Columbia. On one such day, my last site visit was in a hilly part in the outskirts of a town. As we drove through the winding snow covered roads in the mountains it was already beginning to get dark. And the address I had was difficult to find. After searching for it for a while we found a road branching off from the main road and based on google maps it looked like it was leading to my destination. This road was covered by a thick layer of snow and there were no car tire marks on it meaning no vehicle had passed that way for a while. I told my friend not to take the risk of driving the car on that road and I set off on foot, telling him to wait for me there. As I walked, I looked around my surroundings. It was a dark, cold day and it was snowing lightly. To my left were all trees, their leaves covered with snow. Now and then, when the weight of the piled up snow became too heavy for the branch to handle, mounds of snow fell off. And this made a sound. In the complete stillness and quiet of the area this was the only sound I could hear. Not used to such sounds, it was unnerving for me. To my right, the land sloped downwards, covered with more trees. As I walked on that road my shoes were sinking in the layer of snow dotting the carpet of snow with my footprints. Straight ahead I could see a structure with a house in front which I believed to be my destination. Beyond the house, I could see fog slowly creeping in, enveloping everything. There were layers of tall trees beyond the house, the first of which were only visible, the rest disappearing in the fog. The whole scene was something right out of a horror movie. I soon found out that this was not the address I was searching for. Google maps was wrong as it is sometimes. I looked at my mobile and the battery percentage was now 4%. I was beginning to feel uneasy now. Even though my friend was just some distance away in the car, the creeping fog, the advancing darkness and the remoteness of the area just made me queasy. To top it all there was no one around. Not a soul. It was just me. I was a stranger in a strange place poking my nose around. Not wanting to take the risk of exploring further on my own I walked back to the car.
Share your own stories if you have any!