The capital city of West Bengal, Kolkata, is India’s second-largest city, and it was a crucial place in the Indian economy, politics, and culture during the British Raj. Kolkata is renowned for its historical monuments, rich culture, and vibrant festivals. The town has made a significant contribution to the fields of literature, Arts, and drama—legends like Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Stayjit Roy are from this city of Joy. The city hosts the most extravagant Durga Puja celebration, which is famous worldwide. Kolkata, lying on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, has a tropical wet-and-dry climate. During the Summer season, the city experiences a hot and humid environment. But winter keeps the city under its grip from November to February. If you plan to visit Kolkata, ride the tramp, enjoy the street food, and attend the vibrant festivals.

Typically, libraries are considered quiet reading places. However, the National Library of Kolkata is not your typical library. It is one of the most haunted places in Kolkata, with many spine-chilling secrets hidden deep within its walls. Once the residence of the Governor General during the British era, it is now a treasure trove of artefacts and a vast collection of books and publications. Many eerie stories exist about the ghost appearance of the Governor’s wife, Lady Metcalfe, who was a freak about cleanliness. One can still see her roaming between shelves, dusting the old books and shelves, hearing footsteps and seeing grey shadows on the wall. Furthermore, sometimes it feels like someone is breathing down your neck while reading alone. This feeling is said to be amplified if you don’t keep a book in its rightful place.

If you’re a fan of horse racing, you’ve probably heard of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club. But did you know that it’s also one of Kolkata’s most haunted places? Imagine the thrill of witnessing a ghostly white horse racing on the tracks under a full moon. It is said that the white horse Pride, belonging to George Williams, a British horse racing enthusiast, died on these tracks. The racers also claimed that the shadow of a horse still runs through the tracks. The locals call William Saheb’s shada ghora. It is genuinely one of the most haunted places in Calcutta.

India is home to numerous holy rivers, and you can witness various cremation spots on the banks of the sacred river. Among them is Kolkata’s Nimtala Ghat, one of the oldest. What else can be more haunted places to visit in Kolkata other than a place where bodies are burnt? The Nimtala Ghat is also home to many aghoris. It is thought that the Aghoris consume the leftover flesh of burning bodies along the ghat and use them for occult powers on the night of the goddess Kali Puja.

Ghost stories are very common in educational life. Some are fictional, and some aren’t. But the eerie tales of an underground women’s college of Calcutta University are one of the top five haunted places in Kolkata. Today’s women’s college once was a residence of Warren Hastings, so the palace is also known as Hasting House. The students claimed that they usually saw an Englishman, supposed to be Hastings entering the premises and galloping in the vast grounds of the college. Furthermore, there is another story associated with this place. A few years ago, a young boy had died an unnatural death while playing football on the grounds, and it’s rumoured that his spirit still

If you are a history buff, you will love Putulbari, also known as the House of Dolls. It is a century-old house in North Calcutta that is almost in ruins. Although some people stay on the ground floor, the upper stairs are kept vacant and locked for their paranormal activities. Putulbari has a tragic and bitter truth; it was a house from the British era that witnessed the cruelty of innocent girls by the landlords. Locals hear screaming and crying of women’s footsteps and the sound of ornaments and bangles of unseen people from the second floor. It is believed that those suffered souls of innocent women roam here and make it one of Kolkata’s most haunted places.

It is one of the most haunted places in Calcutta. We might have seen spooky cemeteries in movies and series, but no cemeteries can be as creepy as the Lower Circular Road cemetery. The cemetery’s back story is spooky and blood-chilling. It was the story of a British Civil Servant, Sir William Hay MacNaghten. He was killed brutally during the First Anglo-Afghan War; when his wife got his body, it was found body parts were ripped apart. She assembled the parts of his body and buried it in the Lower Circular Road Cemetery after returning to Kolkata. Locals say the tree above his grave starts shivering whenever the story is narrated.