Embrace Spooky SZN With A Homegrown Guide To Mumbai’s Most Haunted Places

Mumbai, with its relentless pace, glamour, and chaos, hardly seems like the kind of place where spirits would find time to linger. Yet, beneath the city’s bustling streets and glitzy skyline lies a shadowy underworld filled with stories that will give even the most seasoned horror buff a chill. This Halloween, why not trade the glitter of Marine Drive for something a little darker? Grab a flashlight, say a prayer, and venture into these haunted nooks of Mumbai — if you dare.

At first glance, D’Souza Chawl is your typical Mumbai chawl — busy, noisy, and unremarkable. But as dusk falls, the bustling energy drains away, leaving behind an unsettling quiet. According to the local lore, a woman tragically fell into a well here decades ago. Ever since, residents report seeing her wandering the corridors, perhaps still searching for water or a way out. While harmless, they say, the sight of her ghostly figure gliding through the chawl is enough to make anyone scurry indoors after sunset.

Imagine enjoying a peaceful evening stroll through the lush greenery of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, when suddenly, a woman dressed in white appears by the roadside, flagging you down. The guards here will tell you: it’s best not to stop. Legend has it, if you do, this eerie hitchhiker will chase after you with inhuman speed, vanishing only after thoroughly scaring the life out of you. Sure, the park is home to leopards, but it’s this ghostly figure that makes even the bravest stick to the well-lit paths after dark.

Mumbai’s haunted places don’t just lurk in its residential streets — they make their way to its film sets too. Enter Mukesh Mills, a defunct textile mill that has earned a reputation for being the creepiest film location in town. Ruined by a fire in 1982, the mill has since been the setting for many Bollywood films — and ghost stories. Actors have claimed to see shadowy figures moving in the corners of the rooms, and some even swear they’ve felt an icy presence guiding their every move. If Bollywood’s finest won’t stick around here after dark, maybe neither should you.

Real estate in Mumbai is famously expensive, so it’s telling when a building like the Grand Paradi Towers sits with vacant flats. The towering complex has been the scene of multiple suicides, all linked to the same eerie spot — the eighth floor. A cursed floor, some say, where an “unseen force” lures people towards the edge. In one particularly tragic case, three generations of the same family ended their lives here. Today, few dare to rent apartments in Grand Paradi. And the apartments on the eighth floor? Well, they remain empty.

In 1989, a girl named Salma set herself on fire at the Pawan Hans Quarters in Juhu, leaving behind a legacy of terror. Residents whisper about sightings of her burning figure, running in anguish before disappearing into a peepal tree. The fear runs so deep that a Hanuman temple was built nearby in an attempt to protect locals from her fiery apparition. Yet even today, some still claim to see a girl engulfed in flames darting through the darkness, leaving only singed leaves and a palpable sense of dread in her wake.

Perched atop Malabar Hill, the Tower of Silence is where Mumbai’s Zoroastrian community lays its dead to rest in the most unique way imaginable — by leaving them exposed to the elements and scavengers. And while it may be an environmentally sound practice, it’s not without its haunting tales. People passing by this towering structure often report feeling an unseen presence nearby. Whether it’s the unsettling thought of vultures feasting overhead or something more sinister, one thing is for sure: the silence here is deafening.

Once a place of worship, now a ruin surrounded by tales of possession and exorcism, St. John’s Baptist Church in Andheri is not for the faint of heart. Built in 1579 and abandoned in 1840, the church is said to have been haunted by the ghost of a young bride. In 1977, an exorcism was performed, and the results were anything but peaceful. Witnesses reported hearing screams, wailing, and strange laughter, culminating in a splash in the church pond that killed all the fish. While the spirit is said to have been banished, the church’s crumbling walls still seem to hum with a ghostly energy.

This scenic road is flanked by mangroves and boasts some of the best views of the city, but if you're driving here after dark, keep your eyes on the road—literally. According to local legend, a bride was brutally murdered on her wedding day and left in the mangroves. Her spirit, dressed in bridal attire, now haunts this road, appearing to drivers and causing accidents. If you ever find yourself face to face with her, remember: don’t look into her eyes. That is, if you can keep your wits about you when the supernatural beckons.

Close to Mahim railway station lies Nasserwanj Wadi, where a Parsi landlord named Nasser was brutally murdered in his own cabin. Burnt alive, his spirit is said to haunt the property, wreaking vengeance on anyone who dares cross his path. Seven deaths have occurred on this land since his demise, and locals are careful not to venture too close, especially after dark. Whether it’s the fear of his wrath or the chilling whispers of the wind, this wadi is not a place for the faint-hearted.

An old building with an eerie reputation, SNDT Girls’ College in Juhu may be one of Mumbai’s more obscure haunted locations, but it’s no less chilling. The story goes that if you pass by the building at precisely 2 a.m., you can hear the sounds of a woman reciting multiplication tables, followed by eerie slaps and children crying. Some intrepid students have tried to investigate, but none have stayed long enough to solve the mystery. Is it a tortured teacher from beyond the grave? Or just the wind playing tricks?

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