Strawberry Lodge — the haunted guesthouse of Nainital, Uttarakhand

Strawberry Lodge in the Himalayan hill station of Nainital, Uttarakhand, has been the subject of documented paranormal reports by its own owner, Dinesh Chaudhary, who admitted publicly that something unexplained inhabits the property. The lodge, set among the pine forests above the famous Naini Lake, has produced reports including EVP recordings of voices speaking in Hindi and English, objects being moved in locked rooms, and the sensation of being watched from the forested slopes surrounding the property. Some guests have described seeing a figure on the balcony at night who does not respond to calls, and others report doors rattling violently during calm weather. Nainital, founded as a British hill station in 1841, is one of India's most popular mountain retreats and has a long history of ghost stories connected to its colonial past. The town sits around a natural lake at 6,358 feet, surrounded by seven hills, and the forests of oak and pine that cover the slopes are the setting for numerous local legends about churels, bhootni, and other spirits from North Indian folk tradition. The owner's willingness to acknowledge the haunting sets Strawberry Lodge apart from most Indian properties, where supernatural activity is typically denied by owners concerned about property values.