In the thick forest at Dow Hill in Kurseong, locals have reported seeing strange things between the trees and in the old school from colonial times are said to have ghosts in attendance even when the school is closed.
In the picturesque hills of Kurseong in West Bengal, lies a forest as well as a school shrouded in mystery and dark legends. About 30 kilometers from Darjeeling, this place has been the subject of numerous paranormal sightings and eerie occurrences.
The Dow Hill of Kurseong is also known as the Land of White Orchids in the Lepcha language. The Lepcha people were the first people that settled in the area and the place has been fought over by both the Indian kingdoms as well as Nepal.
Read more: Check out all of the ghost stories from India
The town also offers a fantastic view of the Teesta Valley and the surrounding Himalayan ranges. It is high up in the mountains with a pleasant climate and therefore popular to the British when they colonized India.
But it is also known as a very haunted place. From ghostly apparitions to inexplicable footsteps, many visitors and locals have reported feeling an unnerving presence, especially in the dense forests surrounding the old school. What makes Dow Hill so haunted?
The Ghosts of the Dow Hill Forest
The Dow Hill Forest is a dense and eerie forest that surrounds the school. Many people have reported feeling an unnerving presence in the forest, as if they are being watched by someone or something.
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In the forest people keep talking about seeing the ghost of a boy close to what the locals call the Death Road between the Dow Hill Road and the Forest Office. Visitors as well as local woodcutters have reported seeing a young boy walk along the road and disappearing into the forest. According to those telling the story, the boy is headless. When people tried to follow him, he had just disappeared into thin air in the thick forest.
Some have even claimed to have seen him chasing after them or have been watched by some red eyes.
The forest is also home to the ghost of a young girl or woman wearing gray wandering in the mystic forest. The worst rumors about this haunted forest though, is that some people have been driven mad by it or sent them into a sort of trance.
The History of Victoria Boys School
There are two historical schools in the area, one is Dowhill Girls and the other one is the Victoria Boys School was established in 1879 by the British Government and is one of the oldest schools in India. The school was named after Sir Ashley Eden, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal from 1877 to 1879. The name was later changed to Dow Hill School in 1926.
It was originally meant for the children of British officers stationed in India and people working for the railway. It was later opened to Indian students as well. It is the boys school that is supposedly haunted.
However, the school’s history is not all sunshine and rainbows. The area around Dow Hill has witnessed several tragedies over the years, including murders and accidents according to legends. The school has also had many students and teachers pass away due to illnesses. Some think that it is the haunting and darkness found in the forest that have entered the school as well. Or could it be the other way around?
Although there are no written records about this, the haunted rumors persist. It is particularly in the months of December to March a lot of the hauntings are supposed to happen. The school is closed then, but even if there is no one there, you can still hear whispers and footsteps coming from within from children.
Many of the stories are told from the guards looking after it throughout the holiday, and they claim to hear voices of children in the dark corridors and seeing students there when there are not supposed to be any.
The ghost of the headless ghost of the boy from the forest is also said to haunt this area. People have also claimed that the ghost of a boy has been seen looking at them through the window.
Even though the ghost stories are plenty, the school management keeps insisting that there have never been a death on the school grounds.
The Hauntings of Dow Hill
Dow Hill School as well as the surrounding forest is a place shrouded in mystery and dark legends. Especially in the last couple of years during October people have been reported to visit the school and forest in search of ghosts after the legends about the place started to spread and reach a wider audience.
The school and police have seen it’s necessary to put up signs notifying people where there are protected areas and no entries to keep people out from the schools. They also deny people permission to spend the night in the forest. For what reason could there be to keep them our from these woods?
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References:
Victoria Boys’ School (Kurseong) – Wikipedia
The Headless Ghost Of Dow Hill, Kurseong
Dowhill ‘ghost stories’ draw visitors to Kurseong – The Statesman
Spirits of the Dow Hill of Darjeeling
The haunted Dow Hill of Kurseong is the stuff real horror stories are made of
Dow Hill Kurseong: The Most Haunted Places In Darjeeling | Zee Zest
