THE BOOK OF INDIAN GHOSTS (HB)

Every community tribe and sub-community in India has its own ghosts. For centuries the spirit world has captured the imagination of Indians. Some are believed to live near waterbodies and sneak up on passers-by; others roam around fields on summer afternoons seduce lost men and in some cases protect you from evil. From the north Indian chudails who are said to prowl neighbourhoods in search of their victims and the mechho bhoots from West Bengal that love fish to the fearsome ghosts from Tamil Nadu called muni pei—the Indian ghost family is enormous with no official headcount. Who are these shadowy creatures that haunt dense forests? What are the mysteries hidden beneath the surface of deep calm waters? And how are we to understand these restless spirits who have permeated our memories psyches imaginations and literatures? Riksundar Banerjee an authority on Indian ghosts investigates stories of creatures from the spirit world from all over India in an effort to unravel the truth behind the legends beliefs superstitions and experiences all of us are aware of. The result is The Book of Indian Ghosts—an authoritative deeply researched and spooky account of the otherworldly beings that haunt India and Indians.