Dear readers, welcome back.
The incident I’m about to share was sent to us by a man named Sajal.
He currently lives in Fatullah, Narayanganj.
But this story took place in the Joypara area of Dohar, Dhaka, sometime around 1970.
Sajal didn't experience this incident himself.
He heard it from his mother.
And the person who actually experienced it was his mother's grandfather—whom Sajal respectfully refers to as Borobaba, meaning his elder grandfather.
At that time, Borobaba lived in a rural village.
About four or five villages away, there was a weekly market that was held every Sunday.
Every Sunday, Borobaba would travel there to buy groceries and supplies for the week.
The market was quite far from his village.
A long canal connected the villages, and people commonly used that canal for transportation.
It took around two hours by boat to travel from Borobaba's village to the market.
Borobaba owned a medium-sized wooden boat, and that was how he usually traveled.
One Sunday, he took his boat and headed toward the weekly market.
Nothing unusual happened on the way there.
He reached the market safely and began doing his shopping.
But by the time he finished…
It was already evening.
Borobaba loaded his purchases onto his boat and prepared to head home.
And that's when someone approached him at the ghat.
It was the Chairman of a village located several villages away from Borobaba's home.
Borobaba knew the Chairman very well.
The Chairman knew him too.
They had a friendly relationship.
The Chairman was standing at the ghat with two other men.
But there was a problem.
There wasn't a single boat available.
The only boat there was Borobaba's.
The Chairman called out,
“Ruhul Amin! There isn't another boat here. Take me home with you and drop me off at my village.”
The Chairman had two other people with him.
Borobaba's boat was large enough for all four of them, so there was no problem.
Because they already knew each other well, Borobaba immediately agreed.
He said,
“Of course, Chairman Sahib. Get in. We'll talk along the way.”
So the four men got into the boat.
Borobaba started rowing toward the Chairman's village.
About an hour later, they reached the village.
The Chairman then said,
“Ruhul Amin, you've brought me all the way here. I can't possibly let you leave without eating at my house.”
Borobaba politely refused.
He said,
“No, Chairman Sahib. I need to get home. I've already done my shopping, and my family will be waiting.”
But the Chairman wouldn't take no for an answer.
He insisted.
Again and again.
Eventually, Borobaba couldn't refuse his hospitality.
He tied his boat to the ghat and went to the Chairman's house.
The Chairman quickly arranged food for him.
They ate and talked.
Before Borobaba realized it, nearly an hour had passed.
Then the Chairman looked outside.
It was now quite late.
He said,
“It's already night. Don't leave now. Stay here tonight and go home tomorrow morning. The canal doesn't feel safe at this hour. Even if there are no thieves or robbers, you never know what can happen at night. Stay here. I have plenty of space.”
But Borobaba refused again.
He said,
“I really can't stay. If I don't return home tonight, my mother will worry.”
The Chairman finally accepted his decision.
He said,
“All right. Then go carefully. We'll meet again, Insha'Allah.”
Before Borobaba left, the Chairman asked one of the two men who had accompanied him to escort Borobaba back to his boat.
The man did so.
Then Borobaba climbed into his boat and started his journey home.
He had already spent a long time traveling that day.
And because there had been four people in the boat earlier, rowing had been more tiring than usual.
His body was exhausted.
But what happened next was unusual.
Borobaba suddenly felt far more tired than he normally would.
It was an overwhelming exhaustion.
As he continued down the canal, he noticed a large Hijol tree standing beside the water.
He had passed that area before.
But he had never stopped there.
That night, however, he decided to rest.
He tied his boat to the Hijol tree.
Then he climbed out and lay down beneath it.
The moment he closed his eyes…
He fell asleep.
A deep, heavy sleep.
But it didn't last long.
After a short while, Borobaba suddenly woke up.
And immediately, he realized something was terribly wrong.
Something was wrapped around his body.
He couldn't see what it was.
But he could feel it.
There were sharp, thorn-like objects pressing into his skin.
And whatever had wrapped itself around him was slowly tightening.
The more it squeezed…
The deeper those sharp points pressed into his body.
Borobaba tried to move.
He tried desperately to free himself.
But he couldn't.
He was almost completely immobilized.
There had been a hurricane lantern near his head.
But at some point, the flame had gone out.
He hadn't even noticed.
Now there was almost complete darkness.
Borobaba couldn't understand what was holding him.
The strange creature had wrapped around almost his entire body.
It was almost like being covered by a giant blanket or quilt—with only the head left exposed.
Except this wasn't a blanket.
It was alive.
And it was tightening around him.
Slowly…
More and more…
Borobaba struggled.
But he couldn't break free.
And then something even stranger happened.
Back in those days, traditional boat races were still common in Bangladesh.
Large racing boats would travel through canals toward bigger rivers, where the races were held the following day.
That night, one such boat was traveling through the canal.
There were many people aboard.
They were on their way to the location of a boat race that would take place the next day.
As they passed through the area, they noticed something unusual.
A boat was tied beneath the Hijol tree.
They knew that this particular place had a reputation for strange and frightening incidents.
So seeing a boat tied there immediately made them suspicious.
They wondered,
“Why is someone stopped here at this hour?”
They turned their racing boat toward the spot.
As they got closer…
They saw something beneath the tree.
Someone—or something—appeared to be lying there.
And something was wrapped around the person's body.
At first, the men thought it might be a huge python.
But as they approached, they realized…
It wasn't a snake.
It was something else.
Something they couldn't identify.
Then they brought their boat closer.
And suddenly…
The strange creature released Borobaba.
It looked almost like a mass of black smoke or a dark cloud.
It slipped away from his body…
And disappeared into the darkness.
The moment it released him, Borobaba felt the strength return to his body.
He immediately sat up.
The men from the racing boat shouted,
“Brother! What are you doing here? Don't you know this place isn't safe?”
Borobaba looked at them.
And tears came to his eyes.
He thanked Allah for sending them at exactly the right moment.
He told them,
“By Allah's mercy, you saved my life tonight. If you hadn't come, that thing might have eaten me.”
The men then explained why they had come toward him.
They said,
“Listen. When we were passing this way, we saw someone lying beneath the tree. At first, it looked like a man sleeping there. But there was something sitting on his body that looked like a bird.”
Then they said something even stranger.
“As we watched it from a distance, it seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.”
That's when they became suspicious.
They thought the person beneath it might be in serious danger.
So they turned their boat around and came closer.
And when they saw Borobaba's boat tied beneath the tree, they knew something was wrong.
According to them, their arrival had frightened the creature away.
They told Borobaba,
“Alhamdulillah, you're alive. Allah saved you tonight.”
With their help, Borobaba eventually returned home safely.
One of the men from the racing boat even accompanied him for part of the journey to make sure he reached home safely.
But what exactly had attacked Borobaba beneath that Hijol tree?
Was it a Jinn?
A spirit?
Some kind of supernatural creature?
Or something entirely different?
No one ever found out.
According to the description, it behaved almost like a living shroud.
It wrapped itself around Borobaba's body…
Pressed sharp, thorn-like points into his flesh…
And slowly tightened its grip.
And according to Borobaba himself, if those men hadn't arrived when they did…
He might not have survived that night.
Dear listeners…
There are still countless stories from rural Bangladesh about strange creatures encountered near isolated canals, ghats, trees, graveyards, and abandoned places.
Some of these stories have been passed down through generations.
Whether they were encounters with Jinn, unknown creatures, or something else entirely…
We can only listen and wonder.
Have you ever heard a story about a creature like this?
Something that wraps itself around a person…
And slowly tries to suffocate or consume them?
If you have, you can share your experience with us.
Dear listeners…
That was today's terrifying story.
Our sincere thanks to Sajal for sharing this incredible incident with us.
Until the next story…
Stay safe.
And may Allah protect you from every seen and unseen danger.
