Every community, tribe, and sub-community in India has its own ghosts. For centuries, the spirit world has captured the imagination of Indians. Some are believed to live near waterbodies and sneak up on passers-by; others roam around fields on summer afternoons, seduce lost men, and, in some cases, protect you from evil. From the north Indian chudails, who are said to prowl neighbourhoods in search of their victims, and the mechho bhoots from West Bengal that love fish, to the fearsome ghosts from Tamil Nadu called muni pei—the Indian ghost family is enormous, with no official headcount.

Who are these shadowy creatures that haunt dense forests? What are the mysteries hidden beneath the surface of deep, calm waters? And how are we to understand these restless spirits who have permeated our memories, psyches, imaginations, and literatures?

Riksundar Banerjee, an authority on Indian ghosts, investigates stories of creatures from the spirit world from all over India, in an effort to unravel the truth behind the legends, beliefs, superstitions, and experiences all of us are aware of. The result is The Book of Indian Ghosts—an authoritative, deeply researched, and spooky account of the otherworldly beings that haunt India and Indians.