Like one that on a lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread
And having once turn'd round, walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.

- S. T. Coleridge
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Medieval conditions were prevailing in Kollam, my native town, in the early part of the twentieth century. Electric lighting and mechanised transport were unheard of and the only mode of conveyance available was the bullock cart for the common man or the horse-driven cart for the rich.

My grand uncle was a prosperous grocery shop owner. The shop was situated on the main road and the house, a mile away in a desolate area. He used to cover the distance on foot. In the absence of street lighting, the shops used to close down before nightfall and even the main road would be deserted but for the rumbling of an odd bullock cart.

Somewhere mid-way down, there was a turning on the road leading to a lane through which my grand uncle had to pass. The sides of this lane were overgrown with vegetation. There was also a pond which was lying unused for many years with weeds floating on the water. For some strange reason, neither birds nor animals stopped at this pond for a drink of water. People avoided it and cautioned their children not to go through this lane after dark.

Enquiries revealed that unearthly music accompanied by clang of cymbals, beating of drums and strains of nadaswaram was heard there during the entire night and half-a-dozen beauties were seen having a bath and later dancing naked to the tune of exotic music. The whole area - the pond and its surroundings - was enveloped in an eerie blue light through which the apparition could be seen. Those who could describe it after the experience were few, that is, if they lived to tell the tale. Some others who continued to live were mentally traumatised for life.

One day, my grand uncle had to stay late for closing of accounts with the help of kerosene lamps, and did not notice how time passed. It was past eleven when he closed the shop and started rushing home. The unearthly music had already begun at the pond. For a while, he stood captivated by the music, enthralled by the dance. At that moment the music reached a crescendo and the dancing became more animated. When he realised that the whole scene was out of this world he panicked and started running. He ran as fast as his old legs could carry him, for he was around sixty - an advanced age for those days.

When my grand uncle reached home, he was sweating so profusely that his clothes were wet and he could hardly speak as he was gasping for breath. He lay in that unconscious condition accompanied by high fever for two days and all efforts made by doctors failed to revive him. He passed away on the third day despite the offerings made at the local temple and rituals performed by practitioners of the occult for driving away the evil spirits from his person.

While analysing this incident, Bhadran Bhattathiri, a famous tantrik of that era said that the moment my grand uncle fainted, the evil spirits had already entered his body. These supernatural beings frightened and shocked people out of their wits so that their victims' souls also went to their realm. This was the only way for them to swell their ranks.

The night after my grand uncle's death, there was one more addition to the six naked beauties at the pond.