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Spirits I Have Known
From the author of Sacred Evil and Beloved Witch comes a chilling new collection of real-life stories
Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, practising Wiccan,tells tales of the spirit, the unknown, the supernatural, based on true encounters. An ageing actress gets obsessed with a mannequin replica of herself. A grieving husband tries to call up his wife's spirit. A young woman haunts a famous hotel in Puri. These are stories that will leave you feeling unsettled, disturbed, intrigued; stories that seem to come from another time.
Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, practising Wiccan,tells tales of the spirit, the unknown, the supernatural, based on true encounters. An ageing actress gets obsessed with a mannequin replica of herself. A grieving husband tries to call up his wife's spirit. A young woman haunts a famous hotel in Puri. These are stories that will leave you feeling unsettled, disturbed, intrigued; stories that seem to come from another time.
216 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
7 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
15 books16 followersIpsita Roy Chakraverti is a Wiccan priestess based in India. Born into an elite family in India with a diplomat for a father and royalty for mother, Chakraverti spent her early years in Canada and the US where her father was stationed. There, she was allowed to join a select group of women studying ancient cultures of the world and the old ways. Chakraverti studied with them for three years and finally chose Wicca as her religion. After coming back to India and getting married, Chakraverti declared herself as a witch in 1986. Amidst the backlash that followed her declaration, Chakraverti explained to the media the Neo Pagan ways of Wicca and its healing power.
Chakraverti started administering Wiccan ways of healing to the people of India, including traveling to remote villages and teaching the Wiccan way to the female population, several of who were often accused of black magic and "witchcraft" by male folk, and murdered. In 1998, Chakraverti campaigned as an Indian National Congress candidate for the Parliament of India in the Hooghly district, but was not elected. She released her autobiography Beloved Witch in 2003. A second book titled Sacred Evil: Encounters With the Unknown was released in 2006, and it chronicled nine case studies during her life as a Wiccan healer and explained why those events happened. Both books received positive critical acclaim.
The book, Sacred Evil was made into a motion picture by Sahara One Pictures. Titled 'Sacred Evil – A True Story', the film starred Bollywood actress Sarika playing Chakraverti. The film was a commercial disappointment but received mixed reviews.
Chakraverti started the Wiccan Brigade, a platform for those who wanted to study Wicca. Later, Bengali TV channel ETV Bangla, created two tele-serials based on Chakraverti's life and her experience with the paranormal. Chakraverti, who believes that Wicca is the first feminist movement in history, has been credited with throwing new light on the taboo subject of witchcraft in India, and the rest of the world.
Chakraverti started administering Wiccan ways of healing to the people of India, including traveling to remote villages and teaching the Wiccan way to the female population, several of who were often accused of black magic and "witchcraft" by male folk, and murdered. In 1998, Chakraverti campaigned as an Indian National Congress candidate for the Parliament of India in the Hooghly district, but was not elected. She released her autobiography Beloved Witch in 2003. A second book titled Sacred Evil: Encounters With the Unknown was released in 2006, and it chronicled nine case studies during her life as a Wiccan healer and explained why those events happened. Both books received positive critical acclaim.
The book, Sacred Evil was made into a motion picture by Sahara One Pictures. Titled 'Sacred Evil – A True Story', the film starred Bollywood actress Sarika playing Chakraverti. The film was a commercial disappointment but received mixed reviews.
Chakraverti started the Wiccan Brigade, a platform for those who wanted to study Wicca. Later, Bengali TV channel ETV Bangla, created two tele-serials based on Chakraverti's life and her experience with the paranormal. Chakraverti, who believes that Wicca is the first feminist movement in history, has been credited with throwing new light on the taboo subject of witchcraft in India, and the rest of the world.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 24, 2015
Can you live with your servant for a year who happens to be a ghost or maybe your alter ego. Can the human spirit or soul leave or enter the body on its own will, can you be in the realms of the dead and still come back to the living, does black magic exist. Is there a very thin line between the worlds of the living and the dead.
The stories may appear to be bizarre to say the least as majority of the people do not even encounter a single such experience in their lifetime. Such instances are often heard from others and become part of the urban legend.
Nevertheless I firmly belive that such incidents do happen and there is a world beyond our own which can’t be easily seen or felt. Maybe to feel it you need higher level of consciousness/enlightenment which the author Ms Chakraverty possesses. She also has excellent command over the English language which gets reflected in the lucid prose.
I would love to learn more about the Wiccan brigade and will definitely be reading the author's other works as well as the suggested reading material recommended at the end of this book.
The stories may appear to be bizarre to say the least as majority of the people do not even encounter a single such experience in their lifetime. Such instances are often heard from others and become part of the urban legend.
Nevertheless I firmly belive that such incidents do happen and there is a world beyond our own which can’t be easily seen or felt. Maybe to feel it you need higher level of consciousness/enlightenment which the author Ms Chakraverty possesses. She also has excellent command over the English language which gets reflected in the lucid prose.
I would love to learn more about the Wiccan brigade and will definitely be reading the author's other works as well as the suggested reading material recommended at the end of this book.
April 14, 2021
This book contains short paranormal stories, which are different from the others. The language is simple and helps you visualise the story in your mind as you read. My personal favorites are Tea for One and Mannequin.
October 6, 2021
It's the first book of this author which I read, and would say some stories were interesting to read. The book includes nine paranormal stories which are absolutely different from one another. All in all it was wonderful.
June 7, 2020
Wonderful
December 3, 2016
Is this book a collection of ghost stories, ranging from excellent to boring?
Is it a collection of narratives describing actual events, with some gentle modifications?
Is it a gigantic prank played by an extraordinary author, who wanted to toy with those who like their ghost stories to be more haunting than they can actually accept?
You tell.
Because, even after reading these stories/incidents/narratives/speculations (take your pick) rather minutely, I remain befuddled.
If these are narratives describing actual incidents & events, which had involved actual individuals & places, I’m rather glad that the veil separating our mundane world from the ‘other’ one is thick enough.
On the other hand, if these are concocted stuff, then all that I can say with some asperity is: the author writes better ghost stories than most bestselling authors.
My personal favourite is “Trapped”, very closely followed by “Mannequin”, both of which managed to terrify a jaded reader like me, with their imagery, and intoxicating mix of voices where the real & unreal merged & separated.
And yes, “Tea for One” has left me badly disoriented. I have never felt such ‘weirdness’ since reading the exquisite ghost story nested within “The Calcutta Chromosome”.
“Crossroads” began like a thriller, and had me in a vice-like grip. Same thing happened with “Revenge”. But then, it petered out in an open-ended manner. Perhaps, life offers only such solutions, instead of things bearing features of metronomic precision.
“The Spirit Machine” and “Hand of God” were very good, but were clichéd. Again, life is more often like that only, than we predict.
“The Guardians” and “Chinar” were philosophical, but very-very well written.
Overall, I’m really unsure as to whether these were occult detective stories, ghost stories, or true incidents. Whatever, they may be, in this season when darkness pervades everywhere and the nights appear too lonely & cold, THIS BOOK is an outstanding companion whom you can have within your blanket.
Highly Recommended.
Is it a collection of narratives describing actual events, with some gentle modifications?
Is it a gigantic prank played by an extraordinary author, who wanted to toy with those who like their ghost stories to be more haunting than they can actually accept?
You tell.
Because, even after reading these stories/incidents/narratives/speculations (take your pick) rather minutely, I remain befuddled.
If these are narratives describing actual incidents & events, which had involved actual individuals & places, I’m rather glad that the veil separating our mundane world from the ‘other’ one is thick enough.
On the other hand, if these are concocted stuff, then all that I can say with some asperity is: the author writes better ghost stories than most bestselling authors.
My personal favourite is “Trapped”, very closely followed by “Mannequin”, both of which managed to terrify a jaded reader like me, with their imagery, and intoxicating mix of voices where the real & unreal merged & separated.
And yes, “Tea for One” has left me badly disoriented. I have never felt such ‘weirdness’ since reading the exquisite ghost story nested within “The Calcutta Chromosome”.
“Crossroads” began like a thriller, and had me in a vice-like grip. Same thing happened with “Revenge”. But then, it petered out in an open-ended manner. Perhaps, life offers only such solutions, instead of things bearing features of metronomic precision.
“The Spirit Machine” and “Hand of God” were very good, but were clichéd. Again, life is more often like that only, than we predict.
“The Guardians” and “Chinar” were philosophical, but very-very well written.
Overall, I’m really unsure as to whether these were occult detective stories, ghost stories, or true incidents. Whatever, they may be, in this season when darkness pervades everywhere and the nights appear too lonely & cold, THIS BOOK is an outstanding companion whom you can have within your blanket.
Highly Recommended.
February 23, 2014
The title itself suggest that the book is based on the supernatural. There are 9 different stories in this book based on spirits. The people who are dead but haven't left yet because they want someone to hear their story. The author claims that it is based on true stories but to be honest I didn't really feel it was for certain stories. I can't imagine things like this happening and even if you discuss it with someone...there's no way you can convince them that these stories are real. They might be real but as I said difficult for me to accept. It's an average read if you are just looking for passing time or are interested in spooky stuff.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews