Locals report seeing strange things between the trees in the dense forest at Dow Hill in Kurseong, and in an venerable colonial-era school, ghosts appear even when the school is closed.
In the picturesque Kurseong Hills in West Bengal, there is a forest and a school shrouded in secrets and dim legends. This place, located about 30 kilometers from Darjeeling, has been the subject of numerous paranormal sightings and eerie events.
Dow Hill in Kurseong is also known as the Land of White Orchids in the Lepcha language. The Lepcha people were the first people to settle in the area, and both Indian and Nepalese kingdoms fought over the site.
The city also offers a fantastic view of the Teesta valley and the surrounding Himalayan ranges. It is located high in the mountains and has a pleasant climate, which is why it is popular among the British who colonized India.
But it is also known as a very haunted place. From ghostly apparitions to unexplained footsteps, many visitors and residents have reported feeling an unsettling presence, especially in the dense forests surrounding the venerable school. What makes Dow Hill so haunted?
Ghosts of Dow Hill Forest
Dow Hill Forest is a dense and eerie forest surrounding the school. Many people have reported feeling a disturbing presence in the forest, as if someone or something was watching them.
In the forest, people still report seeing the ghost of a boy near what locals call Death Road, between Dow Hill Road and the forest office. Visitors and local loggers report seeing a newborn boy walking along the road and disappearing into the forest. According to those telling this story, the boy is headless. When people tried to follow him, he simply disappeared into the dense forest.
Some even claimed to have seen him chasing them or had red eyes watching them.
The forest is also home to the spirit of a newborn girl or woman dressed in gray, wandering through the mystical forest. The worst rumors about this haunted forest, however, say that it drove some people crazy or put them in a kind of trance.
History of Victoria Boys' School
There are two historical schools in the area, one is Dowhill Girls and the other is Victoria Boys School, established in 1879 by the British government and is one of the oldest schools in India. The school was named after Sir Ashley Eden, who was Lieutenant Governor of Bengal from 1877 to 1879. In 1926, the name was later changed to Dow Hill School.
It was originally intended for children of British officers stationed in India and people working on the railways. Later it was opened to Indian students as well. This boys' school is said to be haunted.
However, the history of the school is not all sunshine and rainbows. The Dow Hill area has witnessed several tragedies over the years, including, according to legend, murders and accidents. Many students and teachers at the school also died from disease. Some believe that this haunting and the darkness in the forest also made its way into the school. Or maybe it would be the other way around?
Although there is no written record of it, terrible rumors circulate. Especially in the months from December to March, many hauntings take place. The school is then closed, but even if no one is there, you can still hear whispers and footsteps coming from the children inside.
Many stories are told by the guards who took care of him throughout the summer, who claim that they hear children's voices in dim corridors and see students there when they shouldn't be there.
It is said that the area is also haunted by the ghost of a headless boy from the forest. People also claimed that the ghost of a boy was seen looking at them through the window.
Although ghost stories abound, school officials insist that no deaths have ever occurred on school grounds.
The Haunting of Dow Hill
Dow Hill School and the forest surrounding it are a place shrouded in mystery and dim legends. Especially in the last few years, in October, there have been reports of people visiting the school and the forest in search of ghosts, as the legends about the place began to spread and reach a wider audience.
The school and police found it necessary to put up signs informing people about protected areas and prohibitions to enter schools. They also refuse to allow people to spend the night in the forest. For what reason can they be kept out of these forests?
Reference:
Victoria Boys' School (Kurseong) – Wikipedia
Headless Ghost of Dow Hill, Kurseong
Dowhill's 'ghost stories' attract visitors to Kurseong – The Statesman
The ghosts of Dow Hill in Darjeeling
Haunted Dow Hill in Kurseong is where real horror movies come from
Dow Hill Kurseong: Most Haunted Places in Darjeeling | Zee Zest
Image Source: Pixabay.com
