Top 7 haunted places in Northeast States

The mystical landscapes of Northeast India is a treasure trove for haunted stories, legends, folklore, and spine-tingling tales passed down through generations.

Beyond the breathtaking beauty, the Northeast region harbors a secret world of the supernatural – tales of restless spirits, strange apparitions, and inexplicable phenomena that have left locals bewildered and awestruck.

Here, we take you to the hauntingly intriguing realm of Northeast India, where the line between the living and the departed blurs, and ghostly encounters are not mere stories but living, breathing realities.

Jatinga, Assam

Located in Dima Hasao District of Assam, Jatinga is known as the place where the bird commit suicides on moonless nights. Every year, hundreds of local and migratory birds fly over to this village in Assam and simply fall off the sky dead. Just after the monsoon season (usually in September and October), different species of birds such as Kingfishers, Pond Heron, Black Bittern, Tiger Bixten etc. also die mysteriously in Jatinga every year.

There is no scientific explanation why this suicide frenzy among birds takes place in this area. Locals claim that the birds are being drawn to death by the restless spirits of three women who were put to death for practising black magic way back in the early 20th century. According to local history, the Nagas were the first to settle in Jatinga, but left the haunted place forever after witnessing the events and took it as a bad omen.

Nohkalikai Falls, Meghalaya

Meghalaya’s Nohkalikai Falls is one of the tallest plunge waterfall in India with a breath-taking height of 1,115 feet. Located near Cherrapunjee, this waterfall drops from the summit of large plateau and the unrestrained water is spooky to some.

Folk story behind the waterfall’s name is that a woman named Ka Likai, jumped down the cliff after learning that her second husband had murdered her daughter from her first marriage. She only wanted her daughter to experience the love of a father and that’s why she got married for the second time. However, her husband wasn’t thrilled about Ka Likai spending most of her time with her daughter, so one day, while the mother was at work, he killed the daughter and prepared her flesh for their supper. Terrified and outraged at the realization of what had happened, she ran until she reached the edge of the falls and threw herself into it, meeting her end. This heart-wrenching tale is the reason why the falls are called Nohkalikai and believed to be haunted by the spirits.

Sepoy Harbhajan Singh’s Shrine, Nathula, Sikkim

Sepoy Harbhajan Singh died at the tender aged of 22 during the Sino-Indian war in 1960s. Singh drowned in a glacier in Nathu La pass while leading a column of mules carrying supplies to a remote outpost. His remains were found after a three-day search and was cremated with full military honours.

According to army legend, the ghost of Singh would warn the Indian soldiers in advance of any impending attack during the war. There are stories of many army jawans slapped and haunted by Singh’s ghost for not maintaining a clean and disciplined attire. Legends also say that Harbhajan Singh’s uniform which hangs in display at the shrine still today, and it reportedly does not need any cleaning from anyone and get cleaned supernaturally by itself.

Kawnpui road, Mizoram

Kawnpui road is a British-era road on the outskirt of Kawnpui town, just outside of Aizawl. The narrow road pierces through the mountains and connects Kawnpui to Aizawl city. It is infamous for the numbers of tragic vehicular accidents that regularly occur on the road, most notably a bus accident on July 1981, which left 34 people dead. Large number of accidents have been reported on the road after the incident and locals considered it to be haunted by the spirits of those who died in the accident.

A large memorial stone inscribing the names of the 1981 bus accident victim can be seen on the site of the accident. Other smaller memorial stones remembering all the people who have tragically died there can also be seen dotting the highway. The forest along the road with all the tombstones does give out a spooky and haunted vibe.

Drivers and commuters avoid taking the route at night. Drivers tell stories about people waving at them from a distance as if trying to hitch rides but disappears when approached. Others have reported hearing all sort of noises. Some people even tell stories about drivers who actually gave rides to these restless ghosts only to realize that they were carrying ghost passengers.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), Dhalai, Tripura

The school was in the news as recently as 2022 when students vacated their haunted rooms after experiencing the paranormal activities in the hostel premises. Speaking on the issue, the hostel warden said “on June 27, a group of the girls claimed to have seen a shadowy figure clad in white saree-like attire that disappeared all of a sudden at night. One of them fell ill and started behaving frantically.”

In 2018 too, a series of paranormal events has sparked panic among locals with two girls ‘behaving erratically’ and then overpowering the villagers who went to the haunted hostel.

The Haunted JNIMS Hospital, Manipur

The Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences hospital (JNIMs), located in Porompat, Imphal is known for some of the weirdest activities. Patients, doctors and visitors have all experienced some kind of a presence hovering over them. People have hands on experience of the temperature suddenly dipping and some breathing right into their skin.  Most of the activities take place in isolated wards, gynaecology department, washroom, toilets, and the haunted corridor side leading to it from the ward area.

Jungle near Joli village, Arunachal Pradesh

People going to the jungle near Joli village for fishing or hunting have reported that they are pelted with stones with no clue or direction from which it was coming from. Many people have shot dead people believing it to be some animal like bear, hog, boar, even tiger and leopards. Locals say that the forest is haunted by Yapom or Dimi (witches), in local language.