Fear at the Mall
From the Day the world came into existence, people debate on the fact “Do Ghosts really Exist? Is paranormal really a thing? Is there a supernatural world hidden from us?” Parties from both the ends have always made compelling arguments. You'll be forced to believe what people say. So many movies have been made about hauntings theories and paranormal phenomenon. Take a walk around the neighborhood, you'll come across places that people say have been unvisited since a long time. These places usually have spooky and mysterious stories LURKing in the background with it. This, once again, brings me to the question that I had mentioned above and that is "Do ghosts exist?"
I do have had my experiences which makes me believe the fact that "If there is God then there’s also Evil." Going by the Indian Hindu mythology, if there’s an unnatural and untimely death somewhere and no last rites have been performed on the deceased then there will be supernatural presence. The Islamic and Christian mythology is slightly different. They say that in an unnatural death, if no last rites have been performed and the place is left unvisited for more than forty days then it gets possessed by the Supernatural. Today I will be writing about one of my experiences which fit both Hindu and Islamic Phenomenon about the Paranormal.
This happened back in the year’2015 when I worked in this mall. It was in Howrah, West Bengal, India. It was a four Storey mall with food court at the top floor and had almost all the branded showrooms in every floor. The place was lit most of the week, especially on weekends. I worked for a renowned men’s fabric showroom’s outlet there. We mostly dealt with formal clothing for men. The showroom was on the ground floor.
There was a floor below that which was the basement but it had showrooms and a spa too. The parking area was in the other half and below the basement. For my convenience, I used to go to the restroom in the basement because it was nearest to the showroom. Moreover, it was usually empty even after the place outside being so crowded. I think I’ve only seen a poor housekeeping staff using the toilet there once. But I noticed that most people avoided using that washroom.
Maybe, it could be because the lights there had a mind of its own and they
used to go off randomly but came back within a minute. Since people did not used the washroom, it was never cleaned. I thought of complaining about the same to the security manager who was
a regular visitor to our showroom. I once found a chance and told him about how
the washroom in the basement was not well maintained and how bad it smelled.
The
security manager in return asked me why I use that washroom
and not the ones in my own floor.
"Because its closer to the showroom... And convenient for me." I replied.
“Please do not go there. It’s a request. It’s not the right place to be." The security manager replied to my amazement. "Why exactly?" I asked him.
"There is a Supernatural presence in that place. People have complained of being picked up and thrown away at far away distance by an unusual force every time the lights go off." the security manager said. “Okay… I was there. The lights did go off, but no one picked me up and threw anywhere. I never felt anything. Nothing happened to me.” I rebutted.
“It’s good that nothing happened with you, or I can say it’s good that nothing happened with you 'till now'. And that doesn't mean that we ignore what majority of them have felt and narrated. It’s a request son. Please do not go there." the security manager said. I agreed to his request and did not go back to that washroom and rather used the one on my floor.
However, what this person said made me curious and I wanted to know more about this place. I met him outside the mall one day when he was on a break. I had tea with him and casually asked him if there have been similar cases in any other parts of the mall and he narrated everything from the beginning.
"During the construction of this mall, one of the walls broke down killing many laborers and their families including women and children. The government had seized the place for more than three months, but the owners managed to prove that there were no casualties when the wall collapsed. Without any clean up, the Mall was built. They were unaware of the consequences this would lead to.” He narrated.
“Since day-one, there have been complaints of people being thrown in the washroom in the basement when the lights go off. They have spotted a man in uniform who disappears. Similar incident has been reported from the third floor's washroom when the lights go off. But instead of being picked up and thrown, people of seen the reflection of men and women in the mirrors of the washroom.” And the Manager kept going off with his own version of The Conjuring.“The
guards still refuse night shift in the parking area because they
have been stopped there by random people who looked like laborers. They kept saying
'Please help us! We're still stuck here.' Apart from that all the security
guards have complained of spotting an unknown woman with a little boy walking
around the food court everyday between 1am to 2:30am in the night. Mirrors of
some of the shops suddenly break on its own." He added.
It was hard for me to believe what I heard. I was surprised. I didn’t know whether to believe it or to ignore it. The same day I was stuck with some work and had to work late night. By the time I was about to leave, it was midnight. The front gate was closed. So, I had to go from the back gate which means that I'll need to pass from the same parking area. I felt a bit scared but then I plugged in my earphones and walked towards the Exit.
Initially I did not feel anything but when I kept moving, I could
feel an abrupt change in temperature. It began to get cooler around me. It was
supposed to be 40°C but I was literally shivering with cold. Also, there was a
rotting smell around me. It got so strong that I felt suffocated and dizzy for
a while. I felt like throwing up. Suddenly, the smell disappeared, as if it
never existed. Moreover, the temperature got back to normal once I left that
spot and left for home. I still did not believe it because it could be my para-psychology at work after hearing everything about the mall.
Two days later, I sat alone in the showroom behind the counter in the morning when the staff members were about to start coming in. I had a pen kept on my table. Suddenly I could see it move as if someone had struck it from one side (Just like we do when we play pen fight). It happened multiple times and the pen kept on moving. That scared the hell out of me, and I came out of the showroom and decided to be there till my other colleagues comes in.
I was still outside when the guy from the bookstore beside mine came out. He looked stressed out. He was sweating profusely. I asked him about what happened. "Freaking pen was playing up all by itself!" He said and shockingly he narrated the same thing that I had just experienced. That was the first instance when I started to believe that there was something wrong with the place. I kept trying to ignore that but things kept happening and it kept reminding me of the paranormal presence within the store.
On one instance, I found a weird looking man staring at me from a distance. He used to stand at the same spot for three continues days and later would be gone. I tried to search for him but found no one. I still ignored all these I continued with my work at that Mall for almost a year. I believed that if I don't try to bother the spirits in any way, the spirits won't bother me.
I still remember it was the first week of December that year, when I was on the third floor for some work and decided to use the washroom there. While I was washing my hands, the lights went off. I remembered what security manager had said about this washroom. It was pitch dark for a while and I felt a bit terrified. The lights came back in a couple of seconds. Like my previous experience in the basement's washroom, I did not see anyone's reflection in the mirror. Once I was done, I pushed opened the door and came out of the washroom.
Suddenly, I hear a bucket being thrown around in the corner of the loo. I looked and there was a bucket laying on the floor. Water spilled all around. I thought it could have been a pipeline blasting. I looked around and no pipeline or flush-line has blasted. The water that spilled on to the floor was from the bucket. I picked up the bucket and kept it on the side of the floor. I then walked back towards the washroom's exit.
Once again, the bucket made a noise. I turned around to see and it looked as if it has been thrown from a distance by someone and it came and smashed the wall beside me. I realized that if I was about 3 feet to my right, the bucket would have hit me. That was the moment I realized that something was off about this place. I wasn't supposed to be here. Without wasting another time, I turned around and silently came out of the washroom.
I felt someone push me while I was getting out. When I turned around, I saw no one. The washroom's gate just shut in my face as if someone had closed it from inside. While walking outside towards the escalator, I just felt an invisible force run past me and then I saw a huge crack developing on the mirror of a footwear shop right in front of me. The mirror then broke and fell by itself. People gathered around to see how this happened. This was something that happened in broad daylight.
"This is the third time this has happened." I heard someone saying. I turned around to look at the washroom and I saw the gate opened. And then it shut like before. It looked as if someone had come out, caused the damage and then walked back in anger. That was the moment, I realized that I wasn't safe anywhere in this mall. Anything could happen at anytime.
I still have no idea what it was, but I do know that it had an intention to hurt me. That was the day I decided to quit my job at that mall. I never went back to that place since I left. Later, I came to know that the showroom that I worked in was closed because the owners were unable to make any profits there.
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