The Ghost Story Collective brings Bengaluru together for an evening of real-life paranormal tales
Mangalore Today News Network
Bengaluru, Oct 30, 2026: Tarun Sridharan and Akanksha Dutta are reviving the age-old tradition of sharing ghost stories through The Ghost Story Collective, an initiative that brings people together to recount eerie encounters and unexplained experiences.
The idea took shape over dinner when a casual conversation between the two turned to ghost stories. At each gathering, participants get around 10 minutes to narrate an unscripted account of a supernatural experience they have either witnessed or heard about.
The organisers create an atmospheric setting with dim lighting and a carefully curated playlist, featuring everything from haunting throat singing to thunderous rock music. Since launching in August, the collective has hosted four events, with attendance growing from 20 to 50 people.
The stories shared at these gatherings could easily inspire horror films. Participants have spoken about translucent apparitions, shape-shifting yakshis and shadowy figures with unnaturally long arms and distorted heads. Some accounts have even left sceptics questioning what they witnessed.
One participant recounted running up a hill near Vaishno Devi to retrieve keys his family had left behind. Feeling dizzy during the climb, he was reassured by what seemed to be his father running alongside him and talking to him. However, when he returned to the foothills, he found his father waiting there with the rest of the family. His father had never followed him up the hill.
The co-founders have their own unsettling experiences to share. Tarun, a lawyer and YouTube documentarian, recalled hearing a child giggling outside his apartment door soon after moving into a residential complex in Malaysia. The sound seemed to invite him to come out and play. He later learnt that the complex had been built on a former graveyard without any rituals being performed before construction. A shaman was subsequently called in, after which the giggling stopped.
Akanksha, a lawyer and researcher, shared a story from her grandmother’s childhood in Nainital. While searching for water one day, her grandmother wandered into a bungalow and encountered a little girl who invited her to play. As dusk approached, the child refused to let her leave.
After an extensive search, the family eventually found the grandmother. They later learnt that the bungalow had belonged to a British military officer whose family had died in a cholera outbreak. The youngest daughter, who was the last to die, had reportedly been left alone in the house for a brief period. Locals would later speak of seeing the girl waiting by the window and calling out to passers-by.
Not all the stories are frightening. Some describe encounters that offer comfort and reassurance. Akanksha recalled one woman who spoke of hearing the radio switch on or doors opening on their own at home, and sensing a presence whenever she met someone new. These experiences began soon after her father’s death, and she interpreted them as signs that he was watching over her.
Each gathering features around 10 storytellers, although audience members often take the microphone spontaneously to share their own experiences. The sessions recreate the atmosphere of storytelling during power cuts, when people would gather and exchange tales.
The collective’s Halloween edition will be held on October 31 at 6.45 pm at Shoonya, Lalbagh Road. More details are available on Instagram at @ghoststorycollective.