Lal Bangla — the blood-red haunted villa of Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Lal Bangla (Red Bungalow) is an abandoned villa near the Serikhedi Interchange of Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh, regarded as one of the most haunted locations in central India. The villa, painted in a distinctive red that gives it its name, has been abandoned for years and has deteriorated into an imposing ruin. Local legends attribute the haunting to a tragic event — possibly a murder or a suicide — that occurred within the building, though the specifics vary depending on the storyteller. Visitors and passersby report seeing lights in the windows at night when no electrical connection exists, hearing screams and moaning from inside, and seeing a figure in the upper-floor windows. Those who have entered the building describe an overwhelming feeling of dread, sudden temperature drops, and the sensation of being touched by invisible hands. The red-painted walls have become even more striking as the building has aged, the colour taking on an almost organic quality as though the walls are stained with something other than paint. Auto-rickshaw drivers in the area refuse to stop near the bungalow after dark. The villa's location near a major highway interchange, surrounded by the developing infrastructure of Naya Raipur, creates a contrast between modern India and the unresolved darkness within.