Author Archives: tsharmin

The Jinn among the Trees

Age: 17

Q: Before we begin, who and where did you first hear about this story and the general context?

A: It happened in Bangladesh and I learned it from my brother. 


Story: This happened in Bangladesh and I was told it from my brother but basically they were staying right next to this deep forest. And if you go there, a lot of kids love to play around and hangout, and it’s like a bunch of trees in the surrounding area. The thing is though, most people don’t really like to go there because they believe there’s Jinns. So for this specific story it was maybe around, like, 7:30-ish at night, and some of the kids were playing out there and just messing around. And because it was getting late, they thought they saw, like, this tall figure. So then they decided to, like, leave, because they were getting spooked down. Like, everyone knew there were Jinns already there, but they realized too late. And one of the kids apparently ended up getting the jinn stuck to him. So then that kid became possessed and took him and immediately the kids screamed and ran to the parents. But as they did so, the possessed kid started to act super weird talking about having a past life and how he was a soldier and some other nonsense. When the parents found out they immediately went to find an exorcist, but I don’t know what happened after. 

Q: And what do you think about this story?

A: Well I think that if I was in that little kid’s position I’d definitely be scared y’know? 

Interviewer’s thoughts on the story: I think this is a very interesting story. Especially because looking at the conversation, Jinns which are heavily present in islamic stories is the first thing to be thought of as the causation for the behavior and also as a cautionary for the unknown. As jinns have a will similar to humans, they can be both ‘evil’ or ‘good’ natured allowing them to freely express themselves. Yet as a result, most Bengali people tend to focus inherently on the idea that they can be ill-natured and cause possession, enforcing this idea to avoid the unknown much like in the forest. 

Forbidden Forest

Age: 18

Q: Before we begin, who and where did you first hear about this story?

A: I saw it in this old tv show I can’t remember the name of years ago and I was watching at night. 

Story: There’s two really poor people in this village that faces a gloomy forest. They are a mother and son and this forest was believed to be cursed, holding spirits that would cause the death of anyone who goes inside. Despite this, the mother and son decided to go into the forest out of desperation for a source of food as they had been starving. When they went in, the had unexpectedly found tons of food and told all the villagers, but the villagers were skeptical but the mother and son ignored it. Instead they ate the food and went home, but that night the villagers claimed they saw a green haze wandering into their home that night. The next day, the villagers found the mother dead and the son barely surviving looking so pale it was like he had no blood left in him. The son’s last words were to never go into the forest again, reiterating what the villagers had said to them before that it was both evil and cursed. 

Q: And what do you think about this story?

A: I think it was a very common ghost story I’ve heard throughout the years. It was from a tv show so I don’t think it’s really a true one, but I’d say it could be scary. 

Interviewer’s thoughts on the story: This story, much like the teller said, is a very classic cautionary tale about ignoring warnings and desperation.  I think it does a good job showing how the mother and son were pushed into a dangerous decision because of their situation, which makes what happens to them more tragic than just a simple “they should have known better.” The mysterious green haze adds a creepy, supernatural element that reinforces the idea that the forest is truly cursed, not just a rumor and overall I would say would be classified as a ghost story.