BHOOT KHELI A SHORT STORY ABOUT GHOST FAIR ) IN BIHAR
This story is based on an ancient tradition of Bihar known as “Bhoot Kheli” — a ritual fair that takes place every year. Thousands of ojhas (exorcists) and tantriks (occult practitioners) gather at this fair to exorcise ghosts and spirits from people believed to be afflicted by black magic, possession, or evil charms. Even today, many people have deep faith in this tradition. But amidst this belief, no one pays attention to how many lives are lost due to the torture inflicted by these ojhas, aghori sadhus, and tantriks. Our story “Bhoot Kheli” is an attempt to shed light on this dark reality.
After passing her matriculation exam, 22-year-old Ganga goes to college in Bihar. But she never talks to any boy — not even by mistake — because she knows how strict her father and brother are. They cannot tolerate her even speaking to a boy, let alone befriending one. Her brother Daya was especially ruthless — just last year, he had killed a boy from Ganga’s school merely because he used to talk to her daily. Daya had recently come out of jail, and Ganga now lived under constant fear of him. Her father supported Daya fully. Because of his criminal record, Daya could not find any work — his only occupation now was keeping a 24-hour watch on his sister to ensure that no boy ever came near her.
Unlike other girls in college who lived freely, Ganga’s life was suffocatingly restricted. But one day, she met a boy named Sunil at her grandmother’s house — he was from a nearby village. After that meeting, Ganga began secretly meeting Sunil. Within a few days, she fell deeply in love. She started hiding her phone calls, letters, and messages from her family, being extra cautious not to get caught. Both knew that marriage between them was impossible. One day, Ganga said, “Let’s die together.”
They chose a secluded spot and a date for their death. On the decided day, Sunil climbed a tree and hanged himself. But watching him struggle and die in agony, Ganga lost courage. Terrified, she fled back home, leaving Sunil’s body hanging. She told no one what had happened.
But Sunil’s restless spirit did not leave her. He had tied a black thread — a pishach bandhan (demon’s binding thread) — around her ankle before dying. Now, every night, his spirit appeared before Ganga and whispered, “You didn’t die, but I did for you. This pishach bandhan will keep you mine forever. The day you marry someone else, you will die.”
Already living under fear of her brother and father, Ganga was now haunted by Sunil’s ghost. Her condition worsened day by day. Her family took her to doctors, but nothing helped. Then they called in tantriks and ojhas, who declared that she was possessed by an evil spirit. To exorcise the ghost, they began torturing her — until Ganga, in unbearable pain, finally confessed everything about Sunil.
Word spread throughout the village. Police came to investigate and found that a boy named Sunil from the neighboring village had indeed gone missing — though his body was never found. Ganga was accused of being responsible for his death. To avoid jail, her family bribed Sunil’s relatives with a large sum of money.
Then, to “cure” Ganga of her ghostly possession, they took her to Bihar’s most famous Bhoot Kheli fair. There, the tantriks and aghori sadhus tortured her mercilessly — until Ganga died during the so-called ritual.
On the day of her funeral, Sunil suddenly returned home alive. The entire village was shocked. He said he had never even met Ganga — he didn’t know her at all. He had simply run away from home after a family quarrel and gone elsewhere for work.
At that moment, Ganga’s cousin Neha came forward with Ganga’s diary and phone. She revealed that Ganga had been suffering from loneliness and had created an imaginary world of her own. She had seen Sunil just once — and in her loneliness, imagined him as her companion, talking and meeting him in her mind. Eventually, she even imagined a love story and their suicide pact.
There was never any ghost or pishach haunting Ganga. She was killed — tortured to death in the name of exorcism.
