August 21, 2009

10 Minutes In A Ghost Domain

All of us have a story or two to tell about ghosts, the ghost stories told to us by someone or the other. So is the case with me. I was around twelve years old when we lived in a campus which was a hospital once. This was a very old hospital, established in mid 1800 by Christian missionaries. Later, when the hospital was shifted to the new building it was converted into a residential quarters by the hospital authorities for their employees. While some wards and private rooms were converted into quarters, others were left untouched. We used to play hide and seek in one such area which had yet not been converted into residential colony. There was an old deserted operation theatre with some of the instruments lying around. Though the theatre always remained locked but there were some broken windows which were used by the boys to enter it.
It was a time of summer vacations, I along with my friends were resting under a tree, talking and boosting about our heroic deeds, when one of my friends proposed that whoever agreed to stay inside that deserted operation theatre alone for ten minutes would be considered as the bravest of us all. All of us went mute for some time as this operation theatre was considered to be haunted. I decided to take up the challenge since it was an opportunity to show to my friends how brave I was. But then I had to stay inside the operation theatre to earn the title of the bravest. I decided to take the challenge anyway. I had to get inside from a broken window and stay inside for ten minutes all alone and had to come back out from the same window. I was warned that during afternoons the ghosts were most active. This scared me a little though but my determination overtook the fear in no time.
I entered the haunted operation theatre from a window and walked to the middle of the room where there was a big table, which must be the operation table. The smell was disgusting and injections and needles were scattered all over the room. Suddenly intense fear started to engulf me and I was tempted to leave the room at once. I decided to pray and stay there. I closed my eyes to pray but as soon as I closed my eyes I felt as if there was something moving around me, circling me, a touch of chilled air made my hair stand on their ends. I was filled with goose bumps from head to toes. I opened my eyes at once and found everything was okay around me. I could feel that there was something there right next to me, watching me closely. I stood there for some time and then decided to be brave and walk around the room. I somehow gained a little courage, maybe it was because of the Lords prayed I was chanting. I knew that I was almost there as only few minutes were left for me to come out of that hell. I felt I had company and it wanted me to leave. In my heart I was asking for a little more courage from God.
Finally I was told that ten minutes were over and I could come out. I felt relieved but all of a sudden strange thought came to my mind. I felt that something was there which would not let me leave now. I ran towards the window and felt something was following me which was trying to get hold of me and trying to pull me back. I gave my hand to my friends and told them to pull me out. When they pulled me out, my body was all scratched and bruised by the glass of the broken window but yes, I was out of that hell. I started running towards my home and did not even look back.
It was a nerve chilling experience which I will never forget and I still have goose bumps as I write this story. Now at the age of thirty six, mature enough to analyse things in better perspective, I really wonder if there was really something there circling around me or it’s just my fear which was making me imagine things. I still believe that there was a Ghost there and I was in its domain. It didn’t like my presence there and hence wanted me to retreat back from the room. My soul came in contact with it and was repeatedly telling me to leave at once. I stayed back because my brain was refusing to accept this theory and was more inclined towards completing the challenge it had taken. I fully agree that the Ghosts do exist and we should leave them alone. Though it’s my personal opinion, but I think it will always be a topic of debate and an element of skepticism will always surround this topic.

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