The Painted but Haunted House

A fiction...

 

If we happen to visit the hamlet of Wachey in Wangdiphodrang, we will come across an elaborately painted house which is believed to be haunted. It is a majestic piece of architecture overlooking the peaceful village.

       Not long before, Ney-Chey Ap Novu (Treasurer of Wangdi dzongpen) build his house on a ridge above the main village of Wachey. He had two sons and a daughter. Since he has been a rich and prosperous person, the house was well furnished and painted. It looks elegant overseeing the whole village but the contradiction is that, the house is deserted and believed to be haunted.

         Aum Lem (daughter of Ap Novu) who was known for her beauty married a Tibetan businessman. The couple did not have a single child. When her husband died, she was not near him to hear his final words. She was the one who took care of the house as her two brothers went to the dzong as boedgarps (attendants of the dzongpoen).

After her husband’s 21^st death day or nyisho tsa chi, her father died. He had a miserable death. He had fallen off the balcony and smashed his head on the stone paved courtyard. This death wounded Aum Lem so much that she was ready to end her life too.

          Since then, there was death every now and then in the village. Her two brothers also died. The two fell off the mighty bjaeda roed che cliff while going to Trongsa. It is said that a black horse with red stripes is seen running near the house, neighing in troubled mood. If some one sees this, death is for sure. The lo ta of the dead Tibetan was Horse.

         One day Aum Lem felt uneasy and somewhat different, so she called Aum Bakhu to stay with her. Aum Bakhu was a poor lady with no one too look after. She grasped the opportunity and agreed to stay with Aum Lem. After three weeks something out of the ordinary happened. That evening Aum Bakhu saw Aum Lem acting abnormal. She was speaking in a man’s voice. She had bruises all over her body. Terrified, Aum Bakhu ran to seek the help of the local lama.  The lama arrived and tested Aum Lem in many ways. He pricked her with needle to test her sense. He said that Aum Lem was suffering from shi-ngo(spirit of a dead person entering the living body). He also said that it was her late husband’s spirit. The lama blessed Aum Lem but she didn’t survive long. She died a few moments later. Aum Bakhu fled the house and she too died on her way to her house. Her body was bruised with marks of horse hooves.

       With this fact no one dared to go near the house. It is believed that the spirit always affected the villagers here and there causing death and pain. On this the villagers held a meeting and decided to invite a great lama to put an end to the chaos and death turmoil.

       That time, lam Khamchu Singye (a great Tibetan scholar) was in Trongsa. So the villagers invited him. On arriving, the Lam slept in the house for one week. After that he held a Jeen-ser (blessing of the land) for three days. Then he locked and sealed the door of the house. He told the villagers not to venture near the house.

        From that day  the majestic dzong like mansion of Ney-che Ap Novu is a topic on line for new comers and a place to avoid for the pioneers. My grandfather says that the house is full of sounds of cry, pain and horses at night but it was less heard after after the Lam’s visit.  Only rats, wild animals and trees flourish near it.  So, this is the story of the painted but haunted house of Ney-che Novu.