Nirbachita Bhuter Galpa by Ranjit Chattopadhyay [Hardcover]

The phrase "ghost story" carries an irresistible charm. Ghost stories offer a distinct taste, an expectation of eerie mystery or spine-tingling thrill. They involve activities that break the boundaries between reality and fantasy, appealing in a unique way. It is rare to find a reader who doesn't enjoy ghost stories, regardless of their belief in ghosts or their age. Ghost stories have been widely written in Bengali literature, and several anthologies have been published. However, a comprehensive and extensive anthology of ghost stories was long overdue.

Most existing anthologies are incomplete in two major ways. Firstly, they often select stories with children in mind, making them less universally appealing and depriving readers of many notable adult stories. Secondly, these anthologies are often small in size, failing to preserve the tradition and continuity.

This anthology, titled "Nirbachito Bhuter Golpo" (Selected Ghost Stories), is a successful, engaging, comprehensive, and diverse collection. It includes stories from prominent Bengali writers over the past hundred years. Starting with Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay and including Rabindranath Tagore, Pramatha Chaudhuri, Abanindranath Tagore, Hemendra Kumar Roy, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, Premendra Mitra, Achintya Kumar Sengupta, and many others, this anthology features stories from every major writer of the last century. Readers will also discover memorable ghost stories from contemporary authors like Satyajit Ray, Samaresh Basu, Bimal Kar, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, and Shekhar Basu.

This collection has created a new bridge among the writers of the last hundred years and includes memorable ghost stories for adult readers. It showcases a variety of ghost stories, including pure ghost stories, supernatural stories, and horror stories, making it a comprehensive and delightful anthology.