The Mystery of the Mossy Pond – A Bengali Horror Story

 

The Mystery of the Mossy Pond

The sun was about to set. A faint reddish glow had spread across the horizon. Outside the village of Kulinagar, Subol sat alone beside the Mossy Pond. Around fifty years old and a fisherman by profession, Subol supported his family solely by catching fish from this very pond. But today, he wasn’t in a good mood. He had cast his nets all afternoon, but not a single fish had been caught. The pond’s water felt strangely still, almost lifeless. There was an eerie stillness in the air.

Mossy Pond. The name itself said it all. Its water was covered in a thick layer of green moss. Villagers usually avoided it. The shadow of an old banyan tree made the water look even darker. According to village elders, a beautiful young woman had once drowned in the pond many years ago. They believed her spirit was still hiding beneath the moss. On certain nights, villagers claimed they heard her sorrowful cries—and sometimes, a figure in a white sari would rise from the pond.

Subol never believed in such tales. He was a man of logic. But today, something felt different. The air itself carried a chill. Disheartened by the empty nets, he sat beside the pond, wondering what his wife and son would eat that night.

Suddenly, a bubble surfaced in the middle of the pond. Startled, Subol looked up. Perhaps a big fish had surfaced? But then he noticed—this bubble wasn’t caused by any fish. It seemed something was rising from deep beneath the pond.

A faint white figure began to emerge, piercing through the mossy layer. Subol’s heart started pounding. It was that woman in the white sari! Was she really rising from the depths? He stood up. His hands and feet were going cold. He wanted to run, but his legs felt glued to the ground.

Slowly, the white figure floated above the water. In the dim light, Subol could clearly see a womanly form. Her wet hair clung to her back. Her eyes were hollow, staring blankly. Her face pale, with water dripping from her lips.

Subol’s entire body shivered. This wasn’t a human—it was a ghost!

The ghostly woman began moving toward him. With each step she took, the moss parted. A strange icy breeze blew across the area. Subol felt like he was suffocating.

When the spirit finally reached the edge of the pond, Subol thought his heart would stop. She didn’t speak—just stared at him with those empty eyes. Her gaze pierced into the depths of his soul, pulling out every hidden fear.

Gathering whatever courage he had left, Subol shouted, “Who are you? What do you want from me?!”

The woman’s lips curled into a sorrowful smile. A smile that seemed to hold years of buried pain and grief. She reached out her hand, beckoning him to come closer.

To Subol, that hand felt like it wanted to pull him into the pond’s dark depths. He didn’t wait another moment. He turned and ran. He dared not look back. He just ran, as fast as his legs could carry him.

By the time he reached the village, he was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath. He ran straight to the home of village elder Hashem Chacha, the oldest man in Kulinagar. Hashem Chacha knew many things about the supernatural.

Subol told him everything—the terrifying experience at the pond, the ghostly woman in white, and her haunting gaze.

After hearing it all, Hashem Chacha sighed deeply. “I knew something like this would happen one day.”

Subol asked, voice trembling, “Who is she, Chacha? Is she that girl who drowned?”

Hashem nodded. “Yes, Subol. Her name was Ranjana. Many years ago, her husband betrayed her. She was a simple, trusting soul. She couldn’t bear the heartbreak. So she jumped into that pond. Her spirit has never found peace.”

“But what did she want from me?” Subol asked. “She didn’t say a word.”

“She doesn’t speak,” Hashem replied. “She preys on human weakness. Her only desire is to drag someone else into the pond with her—to make them one of her own. That sorrowful smile and empty gaze... all meant to draw you in, to make you come willingly.”

“But I resisted,” Subol said.

“That’s why you’re alive, Subol,” Hashem Chacha said. “Ranjana never forces anyone. She only tempts. Those who reach out to her are never seen again. You turned away, and that’s why she didn’t follow.”

Subol shivered. He had thought maybe it was just a trick of the mind, a hallucination caused by frustration. But after Hashem’s words, he had no more doubts. He had narrowly escaped death that day.

Hashem Chacha continued, “Such spirits follow their own strange rules. They prefer solitude, but loneliness can become unbearable. Then they seek a companion. Ranjana’s soul has been trapped in that mossy pond for decades. She wants release—but she doesn’t know how to find it. So she pulls others in, just to escape her loneliness.”

From that day, Subol never went near the Mossy Pond again. He realized there are forces in this world beyond logic. And at night, when the chirping of crickets fills the air, he remembers that empty gaze. He had learned one thing: the greatest fear comes from within. And only by confronting that fear can one truly survive.

The mystery of the Mossy Pond had added a new chapter to the history of Kulinagar village.