As night fell, the four walked with their backpacks and reached the mansion gate. The rusty gate gave way and fell off its hinges as John gently nudged it open to enter the grounds. The mansion sat in the middle of the land, partially taken over by nature. The mansion looked scarier in the moonlight.
John ended the silence and asked, “Does anyone know how the mansion turned out to be haunted? Guys..?”
Anjali spoke,
“My grandma had told me the story of this mansion. The incident happened when she was a child. Mr. Raja was a landlord and a well-known advocate of the time. He leased out his land for agriculture. He worked for well-known clients and invested in owning land. He wished to own a mansion and spoke to one of his clients, a popular British architect. The architect readily agreed. Both of them were looking for ideal land. The British had captured an area of land where the villagers used to carry out final rites for their loved ones who had passed. The land was clean, and a beautiful river was within walking distance. More than half the villagers sacrificed their lives fighting the soldiers to protect their rightful land. The British architect called in a favor, and the viceroy gifted the land to Mr. Raja for his exemplary services to the British Empire…”
“Wait. Wait. What services did this Raja provide to the British?” asked Manu, interrupting Anjali with a curious look.
All four sat on the steps outside the mansion to listen to Anjali’s story.
John hushed Manu and said, “Who cares what services he provided? We need to know about the mansion and its hauntings. Anjali, please continue the story.”
Anjali continued,
“The architect built the mansion in a span of three to five years. Mr. Raja and the architect overcame various obstacles during construction. Even a portion of the mansion caught fire, and a few laborers were injured, and two of them succumbed. Mr. Raja finally moved in with his family and named the mansion. The villagers were agitated by this move and staged protests in front of the mansion but were forcefully arrested and jailed. The troubles within the mansion intensified. Mr. Raja found his eldest son mysteriously disappeared. The son was found dead the next day on the mansion premises. His youngest son stayed away from the village for his higher education. Mr. Raja and the remaining family members were murdered within a few weeks. People found out about the murder only when a strong stench came out of the mansion a few days after the murder.The youngest son was forced to return to handle his father's assets. He saw ghosts and poltergeists of villagers, especially by nightfall. He held various religious rituals at the mansion to ward off the evil, but it had only intensified. The architect offered to buy the mansion from the youngest son at a cheap rate. However, the youngest son lay in a pool of blood on his bed when the architect visited him the following day. The architect tried to lend the mansion to important British family members when they visited. None of them stayed overnight at the mansion, as they had sightings and eerie incidents happen. The architect is said to have committed suicide following an episode of mental illness. The mansion was abandoned.”
“Few ghost hunters and explorers tried to stay overnight at the mansion but barely escaped. They doubt the presence of a demon and multiple ghosts. No one dares to stay here,” added Manu.
Sammy asked, “Shall we go back then? I don’t think we can explore this mansion.” Anjali agreed with Sammy.
Manu remained skeptical, while John just announced, “I have decided to explore this place after listening to this story. Let’s find out if we can meet the ghosts of villagers or Mr Raja himself!”