You don’t believe in ghosts because you’ve never seen one. But then again, you don’t see a ghost, you experience one. And what happens once you do? Would life ever be the same again? Would your answer still be no?

We asked our friends and acquaintances about the paranormal activities they have witnessed. The answers we got gave us goosebumps. These 10 uncanny real-life accounts of encounters with an unknown entity will send chills down your spine. But before you read them, make sure you’re not alone.

1.

This happened when I was living at the hostel in Sophia High School, Mount Abu, Rajasthan. My friend and I decided to bunk class. Since we weren’t allowed to go out of the school, the huge washrooms would be our Mecca for gossip. The washrooms were very dingy and dungeon-like, descending towards the basement. I went inside a loo and my friend was waiting outside the door for me. Suddenly, the light went off and it became pitch dark. My friend said she would wait for outside, at the loo entrance. “Don’t worry Himanshi. I’ll call your name and you can follow my lead,” she said.

Just when I was figuring my way out, I bumped into someone and held ‘her’ arm. “Hello? Who is this? I can’t see you,” I asked the dark figure whose face I could not see, but got no response. I tried again: “Are you a junior? A senior? Have you also bunked class?,” I kept asking, but my voice was the only one that I could hear. Why was she not replying to my repeated questions? I could hear her breathe, so I was sure somebody was there. I shook her arm vigorously, trying to get her to answer. It shook like there was no body attached to it! A chill ran down my spine and I sprinted my way out howling, still trying to figure out what had just happened. There was nothing that could possibly be suspended right in the middle of the washroom. It was an arm. My friend waiting outside said she was standing there the whole time and that nobody had gone inside. Meanwhile, the lights came back. Still scared, I went inside with my friend, but there was no one inside. Not a single soul.

2.

This happened with my uncle, who was driving on the Jaipur-Kota Highway. He decided to drive throughout the night, while his family was sleeping. It was around 12 AM. The road was spookily empty when he saw a hitchhiker in a white shirt and denims asking for a lift. Since it was late and he was with family, he decided to keep driving. To his surprise, he saw the same guy half an hour later, still thumbing a lift. He had a blank look in his eyes. Still figuring out what was happening and how it was possible, he drove past him when he saw him again. It happened again twice over the next hour. And then he appeared right in the middle of the road. This time my uncle totally freaked out and pressed the accelerator and drove right through him! When he looked back, there was no one on the road, just a dent on his car. When he told people about the incident, they said they had heard similar stories from other people traveling on that route.

3.

My friend narrated this story to me about two police constables posted at a village in Rajasthan. They were on their daily patrol duty when they saw an abandoned baby on the road. They picked him up and decided to take him to the police station. While one of them rode the bike, the other sat on the back-seat with the baby, who was covered in a cloth. They discussed how people were so inhuman to leave a little baby on the road.

“Yaar, ye bacha bohot bhaari hai,” the constable holding the baby said. ” He is getting heavier,” he added. This was rejected by  the other constable. But the one holding the baby kept complaining about how it was getting freakishly heavier and heavier. Suddenly, a hairy leg crept out of the cloth. Terrified, he removed the cover to see what had happened to the baby, when he saw a demon child who stared right back at him, and smiling creepily at them, ran into the darkness. Traumatized, they rushed to the Police Station. They were granted medical leave, but they are still scarred with the memories of that incident.

4.

I went to Goa with my sister, her husband and their three kids. One of these days, I was sleeping with the kids when I heard a knock on the door. I got up and asked who it was, but got no response. Just when I was walking back to bed, I heard the knock again. Thinking that it was my sister or jiju, I asked, “Is that you didi?” All I heard was a ” hmmm .” Scared, I called up my jiju and asked him if my sister had come to my room. His answer scared me even more. “No, she is sleeping,” he said. I narrated the incident to him after which they both came to my room. We inquired at the reception if anyone had come upstairs, but the receptionist said the gates were locked and no one had come inside the hotel. So much was I scared that even after changing my room, I could not sleep throughout the trip.

5.

During my hostel days, my friend and I hung out in my room a lot. After she retreated to her own room each night, I usually forgot to lock my door. One night around 2 AM, in my stupor, I heard the door creak. I shrugged it off thinking my friend was messing with me, so I called out to her. But even after a few minutes, the incessant creaking did not stop. So I stood up and walked towards the door and to my horror saw a silhouette swoosh by. I also suddenly realized that it was not windy at all, which could have explained the creaking. I nearly crapped my pants (and to think I love horror movies and swear by Stephen King).  Naturally, I ran out screaming through the hallway, and did not sleep in my room that night.

6.

This happened to my uncle. He was in Class 10 and had his Board Exams in a week. His tutor lived in another village across the river. Usually, he returned from her place at around 4 PM, but this time he got late (by village standards). It was around 8 PM and all the boats that ferried people across had left for the night. Not a soul was to be found. He waited for 30 minutes before deciding that he’d return to his tutor’s place and spend the night there. But at that moment, he saw this lone boatman about to leave the muddy makeshift docks. He called out to him and the guy agreed to take him along, as he was going towards the other side anyway. The guy refused to take money. Being a Class 10 student, my uncle didn’t mind. Within 7-8 minutes, they had reached the other side. As my uncle got off the boat, he realized he had left his bag on it. He turned around and the bag was lying on the ground. Entirely wet. And so was his entire body. There was no boat or boatman.

7.

My friend’s parents were away and she decided to throw a house party. There were around 15 of us. Half an hour into the party, all of us were totally sloshed and this friend started recounting paranormal things that happen in her room. I was a few shots down and badly wanted to pee. A little spooked out, I asked my friend Ishan to accompany me. After coming out of the washroom, I was washing my hands when I looked into the mirror. To my disbelief, I could see an eerie reflection behind me. Traumatized, I shouted, “Ishan. We need to leave!” Ishan asked me if I saw ‘him’ too.

We had both seen a ‘man’ with no legs floating in mid air.

8.

It was the winter of 2011. We had heard a lot of stories about Bhangarh Fort, so we decided to go there and check for ourselves. The fort closed at 5 PM, but if we had come this far, we would not go this early, we decided. We bribed the keeper who then let us sneak in. An hour into the fort, we were hanging around and laughing because we didn’t witness anything paranormal. Just when we were about to leave, we saw a man sitting near a grilled window. He looked completely zoned out and wasn’t looking at us. We looked closer in the room to see who it was, when my friend said, ” Bhenchod! Room ka darwaza nai hai.” The figure smirked at us. Scared out of our wits, we just ran away.

9.

My parents were coming back home late one night. Just when they were passing by North Delhi, a woman in white (I know it’s cliched, but this really happened to them!) stood in the middle of the road asking for a lift. Since it was way past midnight and she was alone, my dad decided to give her a lift. Everything seemed normal by then. Two minutes later, my dad looked at the rear view mirror to ask her if she was okay. He couldn’t see a thing. Shocked, when he turned back to check, she was there staring blankly at him.

10.

I was in the second year of my college at St. Stephen’s, Delhi, and lived in a single seater room in the hostel. I am a night owl and usually don’t sleep before dusk. This one particular day, just when I was about to close my eyes, I saw a shadow pass by the window of my room. Seconds later, I felt someone sitting on my chest and pinning me down. Perplexed, I assembled some courage and after minutes of twitching, overpowered the body. I was terrified and moved out of the hostel soon.

WARNING: Don’t look into the mirror tonight!