Paranormal forces have no standard way of manifestation. They may show their presence in the way that they prefer. Sometimes they make the temperature drop with their presence. Sometimes they drop objects on the floor to assert their dominance. Sometimes they make loud or soft noises. The manifestations vary. My friend Aditya (pseudonym used for protecting the identity of the individual) experienced paranormal in form of shadows. This is Aditya's experience.
Aditya was born and raised in Mumbai. For his college education, he could not secure a seat in Mumbai and hence he had to move to his native place for the college studies. He was able to secure the admission in a good college in his village. Though his grandparents were staying in the village, he decided to stay in the college hostel. With college exams and projects, he would need to study in the late night (he was a night owl). He knew that would disturb his elderly grandparents, hence he had decided to stay at the college hostel. He did not know that his decision would backfire.
Aditya had started the college and was living in the college hostel. He had made friends. He was studying and having fun. He would visit his grandparents every Sunday for lunch. Throughout the week, he would stay at the college hostel and study. He would feel that the time passed slowly in the village. He was getting plenty of time to study, play, and learn new hobbies. He had started participating in cricket which he had stopped in Grade 7. He had started learning piano, which he always wanted to try. He still would have time each day for new hobbies, sports, and studies. Overall, he had started liking the laidback lifestyle of the village.
It was around November. The first term exams were about to begin. All students were concentrating on their studies and projects. Aditya was no exception. He would study each night till 12. Sometimes he would study till 2. His only aim was to study well and score well in his exams. Everything was going well until that night.
Aditya was studying late night for his exams. He was sitting at a desk and was immersed in his studies. His college friends and hostel friends too were studying. Some students used to study while sitting in their rooms while some would prefer walking while studying. While studying, Aditya looked outside his room. He saw a moving shadow - someone walking at a slow pace, back and forth. He assumed that one of his friends is walking while studying. He ignored it and continued to study. Aditya noticed the shadow next day as well. However, it was the exam and study time, he did not find it unusual. He knew a lot of his friends preferred walking while studying. He thought one of them is walking outside the room. Of course the hostel rooms were too small to walk around. He noticed the shadow each day and he continued to ignore it.
Finally, the exams got over. That night all friends decided to gather at Aditya's room and play games. Aditya was relaxed as his exams were over and he was confident that he would get good grades. All friends gathered in his room. They chatted, told stories, and played cards. It was around 1 AM. One of the friends got up to get water. He noticed the shadow outside - walking slowly back and forth. He told his friends that someone is outside. Aditya got up and saw the shadow. It was the same shadow he had been seeing for the past few days. Today he found it unusual. The exams were over, so who was walking outside? No student would study today.
Aditya told his friends that he would see the shadow every day while studying. He thought that it was a student walking while reading. That is why he never suspected anything. But seeing the shadow today was suspicious. One of his friends, Raman (another pseudonym) wanted to see who was outside. Raman got up, opened the door, and went into the corridor to see who was outside. Raman, a boy scout, was not afraid of anything. His physique and training in contact sports would be giving him an advantage to overpower the intruder. Raman was fearless. He stepped outside and looked around. He found no one outside, but the shadow was still there - doing the same activity again and again. Raman decided to move further ahead across the corridor. The corridor was dark as the lights were switched off. Raman returned to the room. He had found nobody in the corridors. Yet they were still seeing the shadow - dark silhouette, taking careful steps, walking towards and then away from Aditya's room. Now all boys were scared. But nobody had the courage to do anything. Nobody even knew what to do. All of them decided to stay at Aditya's room that night.
Next morning, with the sunrise the shadow disappeared. The students returned to their rooms. But nobody had forgotten the previous night's episode. Aditya and Raman both wanted to find out the truth about the shadow. They met the hostel manager. Aditya narrated the story and subsequently asked for the room change. The hostel manager promptly agreed and gave him another room. Raman wanted to get to the bottom of this anomaly. He kept asking the hostel manager about the incident. Hostel manager did not give much details but said that some people had seen shadow near some hostel rooms. The origin of the shadows is not known.
Aditya started living in his new room and had not seen the shadow again. That weekend he visited his grandparents. One of his cousins had also come to visit them. While privately talking to his cousin, Aditya mentioned about the shadow incident. Aditya's cousin had also stayed in the village for a few years. He gave a possible explanation. The college and the hostel was built in the British era. The hostel was built on a land which centuries ago used to be a place for cremations. The place did not have good vibes. Though no ill events had occurred at that place, a lot of students had experienced unusual activities in the college and the hostel. What they saw as a shadow possibly was a lost soul. Aditya was frozen after hearing this explanation. He could not believe that he and his friends came face to face with a paranormal entity. In cold December night, Aditya was covered in sweat. He was shivering because the fear.
Next month he had cancelled his hostel tenancy. He decided to stay with his grandparents. After hearing the story from his cousin, he could not dare to stay at the hostel. If the land was a cremation ground, then there could have been more such entities like the shadow. The shadow was harmless, but what if other entities were malevolent. He warned his friends. But most of his friends had no other option but to continue to stay. Aditya was glad that he was no longer at a place where he could face paranormal forces.
After all these years, the hostel still continues to operate. It still caters to the needs of the students. Probably, the shadow is still there in the hostel, tirelessly walking back and forth in the corridor. Nobody knew who or what kept roaming in the corridors of the hostel. For Aditya, the hostel was no longer a place to study and sleep - it was a chapter of a horror story book. And he surely did not want to be a character in it.
[Note: Above image is AI generated]
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