Most of us think Himesh Reshammiya’s popularity was fuelled by his baseball cap, signature nasal twang and proficiency with mixing qawwali and modern beats. But some say the actual cause… is ghosts. Why did multiple villages in Gujarat ban his song ‘Jhalak Dikhla ja’? Did they really believe it caused listeners to become possessed by spirits? One strange story. One disturbed place. Many unsolved questions. This is Spooks, a new miniseries in the world of ‘Rumors’.  Just like Rumors, Bound...

Back in 1983, Pavagada taluk in Karnataka was shaken by a horrifying series of child abductions. Children sleeping right next to their parents were taken from their beds in the middle of the night. Their remains would later be found at the edge of town. Who took these children? And why? What really happened? Let’s dive into the unsolved mystery of Pavagada’s missing girls. One strange story. One disturbed place. Many unsolved questions. This is Spooks, a new miniseries in the world of...

Day or night, The Three Kings chapel in Goa remains shrouded in silence. But the peace of daytime transitions to eeriness after sundown. Visitors often experience an uneasy feeling or see creepy shadowy figures. If a legend attached to this church is to be believed, this was once the site of violence and bloodshed. What if the violence and bloodshed still linger on as a haunting? One strange story. One disturbed place. Many unsolved questions. This is Spooks, a new miniseries in the world of...

The village of Jatinga in Assam is haunted by a deadly secret. Every year, at the end of the monsoons, Jatinga turns into a site of mass bird suicides, earning this quaint mountain hamlet an ominous title: “The Valley of Death.” Why do hundreds of birds swarm the skies above Jatinga and plunge to their deaths? Do birds intentionally come here to die? Or is there something else that pulls them here? One strange story. One disturbed place. Many unsolved questions. This is Spooks, a new...

A knock on the door in the middle of the night. A voice, sounding suspiciously like someone you know, calls out your name. And if you open the door, that’s the end of you. This is how the ‘Nale Baa’ lore from Karnataka plays out. Who is this female spirit that hunts men? How did the ‘Nale Baa’ legend originate?  One strange story. One disturbed place. Many unsolved questions. This is Spooks, a new miniseries in the world of ‘Rumors’.  Join The Bound Publishing Course, a comprehensive...

Bhangarh Fort, once renowned for its grandeur, is now infamous for a lover’s curse that continues to haunt it to this day. But Bhangarh in not the only place in Rajasthan associated with curses and resulting ghost sightings. Kuldhara and Kiradu also have similar rumors attached to them. The stories of all three places warn of dire, and supernatural, consequences if anyone should try to re-populate them today. So, what are the common threads that connect Bhangarh, Kuldhara and Kiradu, the...

The word "bhoot" is typically associated with ghosts and hauntings. However, among Tulu-speaking communities on the southwestern coast of India, bhootas are revered as deities who bless the land and its people. Bhoota Kola is a ritualistic dance in which a bhoota is believed to possess the body of a human performer. But where did the bhootas come from, and why is Bhoota Kola so significant in Tulu culture? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction...

Nestled in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, Kurseong town in North Bengal is famous for its lush tea gardens. But the people of Kurseong have also been growing a crop of terrifying ghost stories! Today, it’s become known as the most haunted hill station in India. What is it about Kurseong that brings out the ghosts… or the love of ghost stories in people? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting stories. ...

From taking the form of beautiful human beings to avenging the death of their loved ones, Indian folklore grants snakes a lot of natural and supernatural powers. We love the icchadhari naagin so much that our popular culture just can’t stop spinning stories around her. So where did the icchadhari naagin come from? Did she always exist in this form? Or is she just the most recent phase in a long-running cultural fascination with snakes? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of...

Stories from the Raj usually focus on how the British empire exploited the people of the sub-continent. But some stories look into the oppression of trees! Why were banyan trees in places as far off from each other as Pakistan and Kerala kept in chains during those times? Why have people still not removed those chains so long after independence? Do the chains actually hold back something… supernatural? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine...

The rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra and Padma mingle and create the ever-changing delta known as the Sundarbans. This wild country of mangrove forests is like no other on earth. And its folklore is just as unique. Ghostly lights, a shapeshifting were-tiger who may be a god or a demon… and a benevolent lady of the forest. Why are so many strange tales born in the shadows of the Sundarbans? Deep Dives: Junglenama: A Story of the Sundarbans by Amitav Ghosh: https://amzn.eu/d/1sy5BNx The Hungry Tide by...

For hundreds of years, Mayong village in Assam was known as India’s ‘black magic capital’. The village was once thronged by mystics, sadhus, and seekers of truth, but also by tantriks, aghori babas and seekers of power. They came here drawn by magical stories of armies disappearing into thin air, or men being turned into animals. Who built this terrifying reputation and why? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting...

 As children, the most common way many of us experienced the world outside our hometowns was through train journeys. During these trips, snacks were shared to pass the time and so were ghost stories. From a tunnel in the hills of Himachal Pradesh to an abandoned railway station in rural West Bengal, wherever the Indian railways go, ghost stories seem to follow. What is it about trains and train stations that attract the supernatural?  ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India,...

Dona Paula in Goa is not just a tourist attraction. It is also the backdrop of a folk story about star-crossed lovers that has been haunting these rocky cliffs for hundreds of years. How did a folk legend turn Dona Paula into a symbol of love and of longing for honeymooners? Does the shine and glory of this well-told folk story end up obscuring actual historical facts? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting stories. ...

Two hundred years after British rule ended in the Indian sub-continent, some colonial-era English men and women are still celebrated, but not as historical figures. They are worshipped as deities. What was so special about them that the locals turned them into gods? Why do people continue to believe in them even today? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting stories. Brought to you by Bound, a company that helps you...

Captain Harbhajan Singh remained a serving member of the Indian army for over 40 years, even after his death in 1968. 70 years after World War II, soldiers buried at Digboi war cemetery are still whispering and plotting against the enemy from their graves. Can the call of duty influence soldiers even after death? Why do these ghost soldiers continue to serve and protect? ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting stories....

Popular culture is overrun by stories of the witch. But South Asia has its own homegrown stories of feminine supernatural creatures with evil powers: from Pakistan, to Bengal, to Maharashtra. Do these witches really exist? And are they being hunted even today? Let’s explore the many faces, and the unfortunate consequences, of the Chudail lore. ‘Rumors’ shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting stories. Brought to you by Bound, a...

‘Rumors’ is a brand new podcast that shines a light on the darkest corners of India, where fact and fiction combine into magical and haunting stories.  Join bestselling author and storyteller Chandrima Das as she navigates the murky worlds of myths, superstitions, and horror stories. And find out how real people, places and creatures from history have transformed into unbelievable, unexplained, and unsettling lore.  How did these stories come about? How do they shape our culture and our sense...