CHENNAI: Every urban city has a spooky side to it and so does Chennai. Right in the heart of Chennai, in a by-lane tucked away from the bustling St. Mary’s Road, people say ghosts dwell. Taxi drivers who park their vehicles on the deserted road do not venture there after sundown and rag-pickers frequenting the area wind up before dusk.
A slew of stories on paranormal activity are associated with the ‘haunted’ De Monte Colony near the St. Mary’s Road. “For years the properties in the colony had no guards. When one was posted some years back, he was dead the next day on duty,” claimed Mathivannan, a peanut- seller near the Corporation Park attached to the colony. Residents living near the colony have more stories of unusual activity. “You see the front house with the big lock? On certain days, the door suddenly opens and then closes by itself,” says a resident of St. Mary’s road.
People point to John De Monte, a 19th century businessman and the original owner of the entire stretch, who they say had a miserable personal life. “Evil spirits afflicted his family. His wife apparently became mentally ill and his son disappeared. This is the story we hear from the old timers,” say auto drivers near the colony.
However, some residents, who have occupied a couple of houses in the colony, dismiss the stories as pure “mischief”.
Similarly, the super smooth two-lane East Coast Road that connects Chennai and Puducherry is a motorist’s delight. Yet, there is a badly lit stretch that gives the jitters to many drivers, particularly when they have to cross it late at night. There have been instances of vehicles ramming onto the crash guards because they were spooked by an apparition that suddenly became visible right in the middle of the road.
A few days ago, there were news reports that a ratha kaateri or vampire was on the prowl in a village in Vellore, knocking at the door of every home. With power cuts at midnight, the time when the knocks were heard, many villagers were terrified. To bolster their courage, they began to write “Indru Poi Naalai Vaa” (Go Now, Come Tomorrow) on their doors, as a means to ward off the spirit.
Karikattu Kuppam, a fishing hamlet in Muttukadu, 32 km from Chennai, which was hit by the tsunami in 2004 that killed two children and a 70-year-old man is also believed to be haunted.