Some forests are beautiful because they hide their darkness well.
---
"If a boy walks behind you on the forest road…
…don't turn around."
---
The first time I heard about Dow Hill, I thought it was just another ghost story.
Every place has one.
A haunted house.
An abandoned building.
A road where people claim they hear footsteps.
A forest where someone supposedly disappeared years ago.
Stories grow wherever people are afraid.
At least, that's what I believed.
Until I went to Kurseong.
And walked into the forest myself.
---
The town looked peaceful when we arrived.
Mist rolled slowly over the hills.
Small houses stood along winding roads.
The air smelled of pine and wet earth.
Everything felt quiet.
Almost too quiet.
My friend Arjun looked out of the car window.
"So this is Dow Hill?"
I nodded.
"Apparently."
He laughed.
"You sound disappointed."
"I expected something scarier."
Our driver, an elderly man named Prakash, looked at us through the rear-view mirror.
"You should not say that."
Arjun laughed again.
"Why?"
Prakash didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he kept his eyes on the road.
"Because the hill might hear you."
The laughter disappeared from Arjun's face.
I smiled.
"You're joking, right?"
Prakash shook his head.
"No."
That was the first warning.
We ignored it.
---
By afternoon, we had reached the forest.
Tall trees surrounded the narrow road.
The branches formed a canopy above us.
The sunlight barely reached the ground.
There was something strangely beautiful about it.
But after a few minutes, I noticed something.
There were no birds.
No insects.
Nothing.
Just the sound of our footsteps.
Arjun looked around.
"Where is everyone?"
I shrugged.
"Maybe it's just quiet today."
Prakash stopped.
He pointed toward the road ahead.
"That is where people see him."
I looked.
There was nothing there.
"See who?"
He hesitated.
Then said quietly:
"The boy."
---
The story was simple.
People had reported seeing a young boy walking through the forest.
Usually from a distance.
Sometimes wearing old-fashioned clothes.
Sometimes appearing suddenly along the road.
But the most frightening part of the story was what happened when someone looked closely.
The boy had no head.
According to local folklore, the figure is sometimes described as a headless boy who appears along the forest road.
Some people claim they have seen him standing motionless.
Others say he walks ahead of them before disappearing.
And then there were the stories of footsteps.
Footsteps that followed people through the forest.
Even when nobody was there.
Arjun listened.
Then he smiled.
"That's it?"
Prakash stared at him.
"You should not make fun of him."
"I'm not making fun."
"You are."
Arjun shrugged.
"I just don't believe in ghosts."
Prakash looked toward the trees.
"You don't have to believe in something for it to notice you."
---
We continued walking.
The forest became darker.
The road curved around the mountain.
Then we saw a wooden sign.
DOW HILL.
Below it was another path.
The sign pointed toward an older section of the forest.
Arjun took out his phone.
"No signal."
"Mine either," I said.
Prakash immediately said,
"Let's go back."
Arjun looked at him.
"Why?"
"It will be dark soon."
"We still have time."
Prakash shook his head.
"You don't understand."
"What?"
"This forest is different after sunset."
I laughed.
"Every forest is different after sunset."
Prakash didn't smile.
"No."
He pointed deeper into the trees.
"This one remembers people."
---
We stayed.
That was our mistake.
---
The sun disappeared faster than we expected.
The forest became grey.
Then dark.
We started walking back.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Then I heard footsteps.
Behind me.
Step.
Step.
Step.
I stopped.
The footsteps stopped.
I looked at Arjun.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
I didn't answer.
We continued walking.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The sound returned.
Closer.
I turned around.
Nothing.
Only trees.
"Someone is behind us," I whispered.
Arjun looked.
"There is nobody."
The footsteps stopped.
He laughed.
"Probably an animal."
"Animals don't walk like that."
"Maybe a person."
"There isn't anyone."
He looked at me.
"Exactly."
We kept walking.
Then Prakash stopped.
His face had changed.
"What?"
He raised one finger.
"Listen."
We listened.
Nothing.
Then—
Step.
Step.
Step.
But this time the footsteps weren't behind us.
They were ahead.
Arjun whispered,
"How?"
---
A figure stood in the middle of the road.
A boy.
He looked young.
Maybe twelve or thirteen.
He was wearing dark clothes.
His back was facing us.
He didn't move.
Arjun whispered,
"Is that him?"
Prakash grabbed his arm.
"Don't go closer."
The boy began walking.
Slowly.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
We watched.
His footsteps echoed through the empty forest.
I couldn't see his face.
"Should we follow him?" Arjun whispered.
"No."
The boy stopped.
Then slowly turned around.
I froze.
There was no face.
No head.
Just an empty space above his shoulders.
Arjun stumbled backward.
Prakash whispered something under his breath.
The boy didn't move.
Then he raised one hand.
And pointed directly at us.
---
We ran.
There was no discussion.
No decision.
We simply ran.
Branches struck my face.
My shoes slipped against the wet ground.
Behind us, I heard footsteps.
Fast.
Very fast.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Arjun shouted,
"DON'T LOOK BACK!"
I didn't.
But I could hear something running behind us.
And then...
It stopped.
We kept running.
"It's gone," Arjun said.
I stopped.
"What?"
He turned around.
"It's gone."
We looked behind us.
Nothing.
The road was empty.
For a moment, we stood there trying to catch our breath.
Then I noticed something.
There were footprints on the muddy road.
Bare footprints.
Small ones.
They started several meters behind us.
And continued toward us.
But they stopped exactly where we were standing.
Arjun stared at them.
His face went pale.
"Those weren't there before."
I whispered,
"I know."
Then we heard a voice.
A child's voice.
Right beside us.
"You came back."
---
We ran again.
This time we didn't care where we were going.
The forest seemed endless.
Every turn looked familiar.
Every tree looked the same.
Then we saw a building through the trees.
A large, old structure.
Its windows were dark.
Prakash stopped.
"Victoria Boys' School."
Arjun looked relieved.
"People are there, right?"
Prakash shook his head.
"Not now."
"Why?"
"It is closed."
We approached the building.
The atmosphere around it felt different.
The wind had stopped.
Even the mist seemed to avoid the entrance.
I looked toward the upper windows.
For a second, I thought I saw someone standing there.
A child.
Watching us.
I blinked.
Nothing.
"Let's go," Prakash said.
Then a window slammed shut.
Everyone jumped.
Another window slammed.
Then another.
One after another.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
The entire building seemed to wake up.
Arjun grabbed my arm.
"Run."
---
We reached the main road sometime later.
A car was waiting.
Prakash unlocked it.
We climbed inside.
Nobody spoke.
As we drove away, I looked through the rear window.
The forest was disappearing into the mist.
Then I saw him.
The boy.
Standing between the trees.
Watching the car.
I turned away.
But something caught my attention.
He wasn't headless anymore.
For just one second...
I saw his face.
A frightened little boy.
His lips moved.
I couldn't hear what he said.
Then the mist swallowed him.
---
We returned to the hotel before midnight.
Nobody slept.
At around 2:30 a.m., Arjun finally spoke.
"Maybe we imagined everything."
I didn't answer.
"Seriously," he continued. "Fear can make people see things."
Prakash was sitting near the window.
He hadn't spoken since we returned.
Then he said:
"Perhaps."
Arjun looked relieved.
"See?"
Prakash turned toward him.
"But fear doesn't explain photographs."
My heart stopped.
"What photographs?"
Prakash looked at me.
"Your phone."
I checked it.
There were several photographs I didn't remember taking.
The first showed the forest road.
The second showed the trees.
The third showed Victoria Boys' School.
The fourth showed us running.
And the fifth...
Was taken from behind.
It showed the three of us standing in the forest.
But there were four shadows.
I zoomed in.
The fourth shadow belonged to a small boy.
He was standing directly behind me.
I dropped the phone.
Arjun picked it up.
His expression changed.
"That's impossible."
Then the phone vibrated.
A new photograph appeared.
Taken only seconds ago.
It showed our hotel room.
All three of us were visible.
Prakash.
Arjun.
Me.
And behind us...
The boy.
---
Nobody moved.
The photograph disappeared.
Then another one appeared.
This time, it was a close-up.
The boy was standing behind me.
His face was visible.
His eyes were completely black.
Under the photograph was a message.
YOU LOOKED BACK.
The room went silent.
Then came three knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
From the hotel door.
Prakash stood up.
"Don't open it."
Nobody moved.
Another knock.
Knock.
Then a child's voice came from the other side.
"Can I come in?"
Arjun looked at me.
I shook my head.
The voice came again.
"I'm lost."
Silence.
Then—
"I can't find my way home."
The door handle slowly moved.
Prakash whispered:
"Don't answer."
The handle stopped.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then footsteps moved away from the door.
Step.
Step.
Step.
We waited.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
Finally, Prakash opened the curtains.
Outside, the road was empty.
The forest stood in the distance.
Silent.
Still.
But on the window glass...
There was a small handprint.
From the inside.
---
We left Kurseong the next morning.
None of us spoke about returning.
None of us wanted to.
But even after we left...
The story didn't end.
Because three days later, I received another photograph.
I hadn't taken it.
The image showed Dow Hill.
The forest.
The empty road.
And far in the distance...
A small boy standing beneath the trees.
This time, he had no head.
Underneath the photograph was a single sentence.
YOU LEFT THE FOREST.
A second message appeared.
BUT THE FOREST DIDN'T LEAVE YOU.
I stared at the screen.
Then my phone camera opened by itself.
For a second, I saw my bedroom.
Then the screen went black.
And from somewhere behind me...
I heard footsteps.
Step.
Step.
Step.
I didn't turn around.
Because I remembered the warning.
If a boy walks behind you on the forest road...
don't turn around.
And sometimes...
The scariest thing isn't seeing a ghost.
It's knowing that it is standing behind you...
and wondering how long it has been there.
---
To be continued…