Lakkidi Gateway — the British engineer's ghost guards Wayanad's mountain pass, Kerala

Lakkidi Gateway on the Thamarassery Ghat road is the shortest route to cross the mountain pass into the Wayanad district of Kerala. However, the road has earned a reputation for paranormal encounters that date back to the British colonial period. According to local legend, a British engineer who oversaw the road's construction through the densely forested mountains was murdered — possibly by workers he had mistreated — and his body was buried near the road. His ghost, described as a European man in colonial-era clothing, has been reported along the ghat road for generations. Drivers traveling the winding mountain road at night describe seeing a figure in the headlights who gestures as if directing traffic before vanishing. Others report their vehicles stalling at specific points on the road and seeing a man in a solar topi (pith helmet) standing at the roadside. The ghat road's 9 hairpin turns, dense tropical forest, and frequent fog create naturally dangerous driving conditions that have resulted in numerous accidents. Locals believe the British engineer's ghost either warns travelers of danger or causes the accidents himself, depending on the version of the legend. The lush Western Ghats landscape — one of the world's biodiversity hotspots — gives Lakkidi an atmosphere of primordial wildness.