Bhoots of Begunkodor: India's Haunted Railway Station

For over forty years, Indian Railways had officially kept the Begunkodor Railway Station shut down because it was 'haunted'. Passengers would hear the sounds of a sad woman and a wailing baby while they crossed this station. However, what was the truth behind these hauntings?

Begunkodor Station. Illustrated by Dishani Goswami: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

Begunkodor Railway station in the Purulia district of West Bengal is infamous for being haunted. This is perhaps the only railway station that was closed by the Indian Railways because of the paranormal incidents that occurred here.

It all started in 1967, when a railway employee saw the ghost of a weeping woman at the station. Since then, the woman has supposedly been haunting everyone who hangs around this station in the night. And when it fails to find a victim at the station, it runs with the trains that pass through here.

Witnesses have claimed to have seen the ghost of this woman who runs with the trains, crying and screaming. Her terror gave birth to a ritual where the train staff, like flight attendants, would shut down every window and door before the arrival of this station. The passengers and staff of the trains passing through this station have reported hearing the wailing of a woman.

What is more, the wailing supposedly puts the female travelers in a trance — it is said that they stand up and get ready to throw their children out of the train.

Due to such incidents and reports, the station was shut down for good in 1967. It remained closed for over forty years, but the hauntings never stopped. The passengers heard the wailing every time their train would pass through this station.

But in the year 2009, the station was reopened by Mamta Banerjee,  the then railway minister. And since then, there has been no report or incident of any haunting. So what happened to the ghost of the woman who used to cry?

Apparently, the employee who first witnessed her ghost made it all up. The man did not want to remain posted at this station and after repeated denials of his application he came up with this brilliant plan to make the station haunted. His plan worked and the station was closed in 1967.

The employee got what he wanted, but the legend stuck. The passengers and lost travelers would hear strange noises and see shadows here at night. Turns out it was also a lie. A grand scheme by good-for-nothing locals who used to scare away the travelers and steal their belongings.

After the intervention of the local authorities, the hauntings have magically stopped and Begunkodor is now running smoothly.