It began at a dinner party in Hyderabad. By the end of the evening, attended by people from around the world, Tarun Sridharan, who was at the party, says. “We started telling ghost stories, personal ones,”
Tarun, an Indian-American litigator and marketing professional, is also the creator of Odd Compass, an animated YouTube channel focusing heavily on South and Southeast Asian history. “We had such a great time. It almost felt like telling tales around a campfire.”
It got him thinking about the absence of storytelling events. “Earlier, you would go down to your local tavern, where a storyteller would hold you captive with his tales. And maybe some other people would join in to start telling their stories, and that would be the entertainment for the evening,” says the Bengaluru-based Tarun.
This was the genesis of the Ghost Story Collective, a community-driven storytelling organisation focused on raw, unscripted paranormal phenomena. “I thought it would be great to invite people to either be listeners or to tell a ghost story,” he says. In his view, it would also be a great way to foster bonding, because once you put yourself out there, “it is natural to be able to talk with other people, and maybe make new friends.”
Tarun Sridharan
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Special Arrangement
Restricting the stories to paranormal tales offers an anchor of sorts, believes Tarun. “Ghost stories describe the diversity of the human experience so deeply,” he says, adding that the participants draw on many cultural and historical elements. Additionally, “We all like to sit around and tell ghost stories. It is just a lot of fun.”
Since July this year, the collective has had around 10 events across three cities, Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad, says Tarun, describing the format of these events: “When you sign up, you can buy a ticket (priced at ₹ 299) either as a storyteller or a listener: they cost the same, but it lets us know what you are planning.” Depending on the show’s length, there can be a maximum of eight tickets for storytellers, but there are also a few wild card slots. “If you are inspired by the stories there, you can raise your hand, and, depending on time, we will allow you to speak.”
Participants register as either storytellers or listeners
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Special Arrangement
The sessions begin with a quick introduction, “where we just talk about what we think about ghost stories: the historical, cultural and psychosocial aspects of them,” says Tarun. Then they invite people to start telling their stories, interspersing the storytelling sessions with discussions about the paranormal.
For example, vampires are often associated with Western mythology, but in Indian ghost mythology, too, many creatures are blood-sucking or flesh-eating, he points out. “The mythos is so steeped in blood being a source of power and life, almost exactly the same as the Eastern European myths. Vampiric mythology is so popular worldwide, but Indian vampiric myths aren’t given the same attention.”
At a recent event in Hyderabad
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Special Arrangement
The storytelling and discussions are followed by a short socialising session, says Tarun, whose larger goal is to build a community and meet more people through this initiative. “I feel like Bengaluru is a bit more introverted, as a city, and that is why events like this here do so well,” he says.
Many people attending these events are migrants and transplants who often struggle with social isolation. “It provides space for them to meet new people. Storytelling, in my view, is a source of human connection,” says Tarun, recalling how people often spent time outside the venue, hanging out. . “So many people seemed to be making new friends; I was shocked by how effective it was.”
He now hopes to take this format to other cities, “especially Calcutta, because I feel that everyone from there seems to be into ghost stories. A friend of mine is willing to host in a cafe there, so that is already underway,” says Tarun, who feels that the key to expanding it is to find a few hosts in other cities, too, to do this on a semi-regular basis. “The idea is maybe two events per month to start with.”
Vampires are often associated with Western mythology, but in Indian ghost mythology, too, many creatures are blood-sucking or flesh-eating, says Tarun
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
He also, at some point, wants to do events that bring together history and heritage, the focus of Odd Compass, and ghost stories. “People have this sense that a ghost story is a fun thing that someone tells, and it can be that, but I also want them to experience how culturally significant these things can be, in some way. I’d love to be able to do more heritage-based events associated with them,” says Tarun.
To know more about the Ghost Story Collective, check out their Instagram page
Published – October 01, 2026 06:47 am IST
