The Dread Of Night

Ghosts, derangements and strange happenings abound in Victorian fiction. Even more so in stories from the Raj written by English writers, overwhelmed, often unnerved, by the vast and alien land they ruled but could not quite come to grips with. To them, India’s jungles, village squares and railway stations—even their own colonial bungalows—bristled with the longdead, the undead, the unexplained and the terrible.

Women writers of the Raj brought greater imagination and skill to the spooky tale than men. And among them, Bithia Mary Croker and Alice Perrin were easily the best. This collection brings together, for the first time ever, the spookiest short stories of these mistresses of the Raj supernatural.

The khidmatgar of a derelict mansion is curiously always at his master and mistress’ service, but only after dark. A dead woman comes calling for her devoted husband, the Collector of a colonial outpost. An unwelcoming khansamah in a secluded dak bungalow hides a sinister secret. An ayah bewilders her mistress when she sings lullabies to her imaginary charge. A missionary ‘halfcaste’ Eurasian discovers the powers of a native goddess. And a stately hill station home comes to be occupied by a family of four, happy for the surprisingly low rent they must pay, until they discover why.

Drawing upon local legends, colonial records and Indian folklore, these gripping, atmospheric tales will send shivers down your spine and yet leave you craving for more.