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Body In The Bedroom!

by Vimala Ramu
(Bangalore,India)

The houses these days are planned well. Every comfort and convenience of the residents is taken into consideration. For example, the light switches are placed in such a way that the people need never enter a dark room. The switches are accessible from outside and the person enters a lighted room after switching on the light.




In my mother’s rented house in 1940’s no such attention had been given to the location of any of the switches. One had to venture deeply into a room before one could access the switch. This would result in traumatic experience to faint hearted persons.



In the above mentioned house, the third bedroom could be accessed either through the second bedroom or from the inner courtyard. Unfortunately, the light switch had been located next to the courtyard entrance. With that door closed shut most of the time (to provide extra space), the third bedroom could be entered only by the door linking it to the second bedroom and thus far from the light switch.



My niece was a nervous type of girl, with lot of fertile imagination and wild fantasies. One night she had to fetch something from the inner bedroom. Unfortunately the light bulb in the second bedroom had fused out and had not yet been replaced. So, she hesitantly tiptoed through the second bedroom in dark and reached the third one which was even more dark, if such a degree of comparison existed between ‘dark’ and ‘darker’. On her way to reach the light switch she must have fumbled and moved her hands.



We saw her rushing out of the room screaming. We were all shocked at her strange behavior. We asked her to control herself and tell us what the matter was. Shivering, she said, “There is a body in the bedroom hanging. I could feel it swinging.”



We were stunned. This was downright inexplicable. We looked at each other. Every member of the joint family could be accounted for. No outsider could enter the house without alerting the inmates. Whose body could be hanging there?



I have always boasted of better night vision than others, probably because of the brownish tinge in my Iris. With great bravado I entered the room and reached for the switch directly.



When the light came on, everything was clear. There indeed was something hanging. It was not a body but my brother’s coat. It had been hung on to the corner of the rectangular wooden frame on the cot which was used for draping the mosquito net when needed.



So, this coat swinging in mid air when disturbed had created all the panic in the pitch dark third bedroom!

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Apr 02, 2012
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Body In The Bedroom
by: Anonymous

Hi Vimu, Right from my younger days, have appreciated your sense of humour. While reading this, was imagining the house in front of which I frequently walk :)So the story was all the more interesting & I enjoyed.

May 16, 2011
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Thanks
by: vimala ramu

Thank you, Safia.

May 14, 2011
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Good one
by: Safia.A.R

Really a nice post.
Enjoyed it.So true about how we all fear venturing into a dark room!:-))

Apr 29, 2011
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creepy
by: vimala ramu

Thank you Pankaja. I am glad the ambience caught your attention.

Apr 29, 2011
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creepy!
by: nuggehallipankaja

Vimala,the way you went on I really thought there must be a body hanging, and was disappointed. Also,the creepy title you gave the article ignited my imagination !

The description of the house conjures
up the discomfort of such houses experienced
long back. As usual your style makes it very interesting!

Apr 27, 2011
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Thanks
by: vimala ramu

Thanks a lot for the positive comments,Sujaya.

Apr 26, 2011
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Nice one!
by: Sujaya Narahari

This is a really good one!! I love the way you write :) Makes very interesting reads

Apr 26, 2011
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Thanks
by: vimala ramu

Thank you, Mr Vamanacharya.

Apr 26, 2011
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Nice Story
by: vamanacharya

It's a nice story.

Apr 26, 2011
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Modern houses.
by: vimala ramu

Thank you,Lakshmi. I know the houses of Kerala and South Canara did have such rooms.

Apr 26, 2011
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prompt
by: vimala ramu

Hi Geeta, this time your reply has come very promptly. Thank you.

Apr 26, 2011
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Nervous
by: vimala ramu

Thank you, Seetharam for your response, My niece was naturally gifted with imagination, no reading needed!

Apr 26, 2011
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Thanks
by: vimala ramu

Thank you Tanuja for detecting the streak of humour in the 'spooky'tale.

Apr 26, 2011
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With a scent of humour
by: Tanuja Chatterjee

It was an enjoyable read. Light flavour of humour is evident which changes the mood for the better.

Apr 26, 2011
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Fertile imagination !
by: Seetharam

Your neice must have been an avid Agatha Christie reader !

Apr 26, 2011
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Hilarious
by: Geetashree Chatterjee

I remembered many such weird anecdotes as I read this blog. On hindsight they are amusing but when one is actually going through one of them....Baap re!!!

Apr 26, 2011
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Interesting...!
by: Lakshmi

Interesting post. I can vaguely remember in our ancestral home we had a large store room which was always dark. The children were not allowed to go inside. The elders would never step in without a lantern.

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