In the last few days, several instances of women’s braids being chopped off mysteriously have been reported in Delhi and Haryana.

In almost all the cases, women experienced a pain in their head, fell unconscious and then woke up to realise that their braids have been snipped off. The police is still trying verify these accounts. Meanwhile, not surprisingly, stories connecting these unverified accounts to witchcraft have already surfaced. 

This is not the first instance of Indians succumbing to superstitions. Let’s have a look at some instances in the past where mass hysteria, fear and superstition defied scientific logic.

b’In almost all the cases, women experienced a pain in their head| Source: Representational Image’

Lord Ganesh Drinking Milk

On 21 September 1995, rumours of Lord Ganesha sipping milk from a spoon spread across the country. Huge crowds of people queued at temples to try to catch a glimpse of what many believed was a miracle. Radha Krishna Bharadwaj was a Hindu priest at the Shree Durga Vishno temple in New Delhi when the rumours first emerged, reports BBC News.

The Kala Bandar or Monkey Man Of Delhi

There was ‘Monkey Man’ scare in 2001 in Delhi. There were reports of a strange monkey-like creature attacking people at night. There were reports of sightings of a strange monkey-like creature at night. Though different eyewitnesses had different versions of the body type, some said the creature had a height of 4 feet, covered with thick body hair, wearing a helmet. Some often said that the ‘Monkey Man’ had iron claws, while some described it as taller, and wearing a helmet, reports Millenium Post.

The Red Rain Of Kerala

The red rain of Kerala is another incident which was a cause of panic among the people in India. In 2001, the people of south India especially those living in the coastal regions of Kerala experienced a weird red coloured rainfall . Eyewitnesses said that the rainfall started normally and the colour gradually turned pink to dark red. The red rain which lasted for about 20 minutes was a cause of great chaos among the people. What caused the red rain became a matter of scientific discussions and several theories were presented to back up the reason behind it. One of the most widely accepted theory about the red rain is that the rain consisted of red cells from an extra-terrestrial life form. However no official statement was released by the government to support any theory, reported The Hindu.

b’There werexc2xa0rumours of Lord Ganesha sipping milk| Source: PTI’

The Muhnochwa

A mysterious object termed by locals as “Muhnochwa”, had created terror in rural areas of Mirzapur, Chandauli and some parts of Varanasi in July 2002. The locals said the flying object emitting beams of red or green light, gave an electric shock and injuries to persons who come in its contact. The object remained a mystery for police also as there was no concrete evidence, except the statements of the victims who came in its contact and sustained injury marks similar to nail bite. Psychiatrists, however, dismiss it as a rumour and phobia among the people having a sense of insecurity, reports The Times Of India.

Onion Witch Of Delhi

In March 2005, rumors began circulating about a witch that had been visiting homes in parts of Delhi and was behind the cause of several deaths. According to the rumors, a witch in the guise of a hungry woman rang the doorbell and asked for an onion. If she was given the onion, she cut it in half and blood squirted out of it following which the onion donor died instantly. These rumors were reported mainly by the residents of Sagarpur area of Delhi.

2006 Mumbai Sweet Sea Water Incident

In 2006, the Mumbaikars witnessed a strange phenomenon. According to the locals the water of Mahim Creek had suddenly turned sweet . Soon after this, the residents of Gujarat claimed that sea water was getting sweet. The news spread like wild fire and people were seen drinking and collecting sea water. Many theories were presented by scientists as to what was the reason behind the sea water going sweet but none of them give a hard rock proof to it. The phenomena lasted for about a day and the sea water was salty again.

b’The news spread like wild fire and people were seen drinking and collecting sea water| Source: PTI’

Tamil Nadu Vampire

In April 2012, villagers from several villages in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu reported blood-sucking vampires (Ratha Kaatteri in Tamil) had been attacking their cattle and could harm them as well. The villages wore a deserted look after 6 p.m. and people confined themselves indoors. Due to some strange reasons, cattles in the villages were dying mysteriously one after the other. The villagers painted holy namam signs (pictured above) outside their homes and wrote messages on doors asking vampires to spare them, reported The Asian Age.

A Crying Hanuman In Allahabad

Earlier this year, there were reports of a Hanuman idol in Allahabad shedding tears. As the news spread, people thronged the temple to watch the idol, with some claiming that it was a bad omen. Scientists, however, had a different explanation for the phenomenon and said the tears were a result of a chemical reaction, reports Hindustan Times.

b’Earlier this year, there were reports of a Hanuman idol in Allahabad shedding tears| Source: PTI’

Secret vaults of Padmanabhaswamy Temple

According to the temple officials and the government of India, the temple has seven secret vaults beneath it. Six of them when released open were filled with jewels and artefacts of an estimated 100 crore rupees. Surprisingly, one of the doors is not sealed with any sort of lock. According to the temple priests, the door is locked by sound waves from secret chant which is lost in time and only that very particular chant can unlock the door. Two enormous Cobras are rumoured to be protecting the inner most chamber. Legend has it that anyone who opens this vault’s door and goes inside will be met with disastrous curses, reports The Economic Times.

b’Two enormous Cobras are rumoured to be protecting the inner most chamber| Source: PTI’

(Feature Image Source: Youtube)