Bandigoat: A Collection of Strange & Horrible Tales

by Rakesh Khanna, Kuzhali Manicakavel, M.L. Krishnan

Seven Indian authors. Seven stories of the eerie, the gruesome, the demonic, and the melty.

Ever watched a girl you barely know get eaten alive by murder hornets in the mess hall? Ever spoken to a dead guy who came home to tell you about the demon who killed him? Ever had your lover abducted by a bogeyman riding a kohl-black rooster the size of an autorickshaw? Ever tried to reconstitute your best friend after he was melted down in a softie machine?

If you've never had any of these experiences... have you even travelled? There are exotic manifolds hovering close around you, and even stranger realms that lurk within.

The Bandigoat will take you there.

Don't think twice. Blink thrice.

Genres: Fiction

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2025

About the author

Rakesh Khanna grew up in Berkeley, California, of mixed Punjabi and Anglo-American heritage. He co-founded Blaft Publications in Chennai with his wife, Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, in 2008. The company publishes translations of bestselling Indian-language pulp fiction, folklore, and graphic novels.

Reviews

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection delivers on its promise! These seven stories offer a varied dreamscape that is dark and twisty, with glimmers of light always shining through. The stories were inventive, while some leaning toward contemporary folk horror and others playing in a fevered dreamscape that discards naturalism for an emotional realism. There are five short stories and two novelettes in this collection, and they each have a distinct feel and add a different flavor to the anthology. I think both of the novelettes were a little longer than they needed to be, but the writing was captivating enough to keep me invested. One of the stories felt like it had much more interesting ideas than what ended up on the page, but the rest felt tight and focused. I loved the sense of place across the collection; each storyteller did a wonderful job at making the world and location feel both specific and universal. These are stories and worlds that could only be built by Indian authors, but they offer drama and experience that transcends place.

This is a fun, quick collection. The stories tackle ideas of self-worth, family, responsibility, loss, love, and more, with the messages always riding underneath the story, never dominating it. I am definitely glad I had the chance to check it out.

(Rounded from 3.5)

[Lake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthologies are always a mixed bag. ML Krishnan was a stand out, and Srividya Tadepalli and Rashmi Ruth Devadasan were my other favourites.

[Sreyanth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a fan of the horror genre for a while now, and stumbled upon this book through pure chance.

I love the creature on the cover and the promise of indian horror tales.
For the most part, the book delivers a lovely mix of strange and macabre stories with some pacing issues.

We have a great opening with 'Funeral for a Demon'. A powerful short story of protective "demons" by Sridivya Tadepalli.

The second entry is slightly longer and stranger.
The Lucy Temerlin Institute for Broken Shapeshifters(Kuzhali Manickavel) offers a bizarre story that is interesting to read, but left just as mysteriously as it came.

The Mirror of the Mung(Lungmying Lepcha) felt like a classic cautionary tale told around campfires and is the most traditional 'Ghost Story' in this collection. Creepy atmosphere and fantastic creature feature.

Salt Slough by M.L. Krishnan chooses to deliver an interesting story through notes. The text reads like a SitRep while the context in the notes elevates the experience tenfold. A creepiness lurking beneath the surface is delivered with expert skill.

Miriam Kumaradoss-Hohauser's 'Cur' is a twisted bodyhorror. It is longer than the previous entries and also adopts a darker tone. This one could have used a TW for abuse, and I'm not entirely sure if that section of the story contributes much to the overall plot other than being unsettling.
Overall, I feel like it has all the hallmarks of a good bodyhorror: A sense of inescapability, suffocation and pure disgust.

Ice Cream Boy by Jugal Mody is by far the longest entry, and I unfortunately found it exceedingly boring. It was strange, yes, but somehow not interesting.
It starts with a jarring accident and suddenly shifts in tone with an Ice Cream boy that comes to life.
This entire story could be a clumsy metaphor for grief that many may find intriguing, but unfortunately, I am not among them.

The final entry is 'The Legend of Rani Grace' by Rashmi Ruth—a strong conclusion to this collection.
I enjoyed the setting in which this story takes place. We follow the life of a grave digger and a challenge with the boogeyman(Boochadi). I especially loved the portrayal of the boochadi as an average-looking man wearing bata shoes, speaking like a typical hauty uncle.

I am so gladto have read this book, and would LOVE to hear more voices featured in another.

[Chhavi]

I wish Jugal were here to ask about Ice Cream Boy...