STORIES: 3/5 WRITING: 2.5/5 SPOOKINESS: 2.5/5 ENTERTAINMENT: 2.5/5
“As we move ahead, we found a note scripted over a red rock saying something like this, “These ruins are 200 years old. Strangely they were vacated overnight by a tribal community who used to live here. There are many stories related to sudden departure of the tribals, but there is no authentic proof left behind to reach to the conclusion.”
– Shivam Saxena, Dark Roads of Dehra
I was looking for a short and spooky read on my Kindle when I came across Shivam Saxena’s Dark Roads of Dehra. Dehra, Mussoorie, and the hills nearby have a special place in my heart because of the numerous Ruskin Bond books that I have read over the years (many of them have been ghost stories). So, it was only natural for me to pick this one over the plethora of choices that are now available on the Kindle Unlimited platform.
What is the book all about?
Dark Roads of Dehra is a collection of short horror stories and there are 10 such stories in the collection. While most of the stories are based in and around the area of Dehradun and Mussoorie, thereby justifying the title, a few others take us on a ride to different parts of the world.
Some of my favourites
Though all ten stories are good in their own way, there are a few that I recall liking more than the others.
A Road to Forget is the story of a young man Albert who is driving home to his wife of one year, in the middle of stormy weather, when a strange thing happens to him and changes the fate of his life.
Haunted Haveli takes us to the area near Deer Park on the road to Mussoorie, where on a deserted road, an old abandoned haveli beckons and lures weary and confused passengers to its confines only to give them the scare of their lives.
Kuldhara: Something Behind Me takes us to the ruins of the medieval village of Kuldhara near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan where the haunted ruins of an entire village creep the hell out of whoever decides to explore the vicinity. When our main character starts to explore the sinister place, he is shocked by what is captured by his camera and decides to run for his life.
Stree 2 takes some inspiration from the famous Bollywood movie and narrates the story of a woman who calls upon easily scared and unsuspecting people to feed her hungry self with some food. Once they succumb to her cries, she unleashes the full wrath of her supernatural powers only to devour her victims in the most gruesome way.
The underlying theme
Most stories are narrated from the first-person point of view with the narrator himself becoming the main character in the story. In most of these, he is someone who is new to the area and is guided about the various mysterious and haunted locations by one of his acquaintances, after which he decides to explore the place and experiences the hauntings and the supernatural elements of the place.
The settings, location, and geographical background of these stories are often remote locations either in the hilly areas, with their unpredictable weather and isolated forest areas, or the buildings that have been abandoned for more than decades.
The major elements that are used to create that perfect spooky vibe are isolated areas, abandoned buildings, ghostly legends, and elements of weather that are highly unpredictable, thus lending the overall narrative a convincingly spooky vibe.
The writing and the spookiness
When it comes to writing, Dark Roads of Dehra uses simple and easy language that can be effortlessly understood by beginners. Though it is very easy to flow through the text, given that it is sans complex words, I cannot help but be disappointed at the quality of grammar and editing. There is a lot of scope for editing in the book and hence the finesse of language that one expects in a good book is missing.
Speaking of the scary quotient or the spookiness factor, I very much enjoyed the mild tones of the book. For anything very scary is a sure-shot deterrent for me. Therefore, I found it perfectly okay, but serious readers who have a stomach for real horror (unlike me) may find this book to be mild or less spooky.
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