I am from Mangalore, a small city in the southern state of Karnataka. Most of the outskirts of the city is covered with farms and dense forests of the Western ghats.
This incident happened to my grandfather when he was in his 20's. One day after attending a religious event called as "bhoota kola" he was heading back home. Bhoota kola is an event usually happens during the evening hours and continues until late night. So by the time he left the ceremony it was 1am.
Even though many relatives asked him to stay back for the night, he decided to head home with a torch. He has to pass through a forest path to reach his home which was more of a shortcut. He took that route which was his usual route.
Halfway into the forest while walking he felt something walking behind him and heard sounds of anklets. It sounded as if someone was running very fast towards him and stopping right behind him as he felt mild breeze on his back. The thing started intensifying and my grandfather knew what it was. In Tulu culture we call it "Maasthi" basically a wandering spirit. He then immediately removed his clothes and got naked and urinated (it is believed that when you encounter a spirit you should do this particular thing as it is believed that it is an indication that we aren't scared of the spirit) then he saw a tree we call it "kaayerda Marra" (strychnos tree) which has religious significance and said to keep spirits away. He pulled a long branch and kept cursing the spirit vulgarly and swinging the branch all the way back home. After this incident he never takes that path.
Thank you I have many such stories and personal experiences. Please let me know if you want me to write those.
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