There is a ghost in your mirror. Here's why I say so

Did you know? The mirror next to your bed may be a doorway for spirits. A gateway through which they can come and go.

Often, your own reflection in the mirror may show another figure behind. Mists and silhouettes, which are invisible to the naked eye, may give a momentary glimpse in the mirror. After all, they have always been called a window into another world. A spirit world.

There are many superstitions which we have grown up with. For example, there is a belief that at night, you should sleep with the mirror in your bedroom covered. Otherwise, spirits may enter through it. Then, if there was a mirror in the room of a recently deceased person, it should be covered up or turned to the wall. Or else, the newly released spirit may be “captured” by dark forces looking in through the mirror.

Often, movie sets that use old mirrors run into “problems”.  Interestingly, old sites which are reputedly haunted often find a window for the spirit world to look through via mirrors.

The Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad stands on an old plot, going back to the time of the Nizams. It is a vast space, with makeshift sets displayed here and there. Film crews are often seen on location, and it is a busy hub. Reports have often spoken of how actresses have suddenly apparently seen apparitions in their dressing room mirrors, and even heard high-pitched voices — seemingly coming from a long way off — emanating from the same mirrors. Mirrors in empty dressing rooms have apparently suddenly been discovered with strange marks scratched on them.

In Jaipur, I had a strange experience a few winters ago while staying at a well-known hotel.  I was up very early, and in front of the huge mirror in the room, getting ready to leave for the airport. In early morning light, the ramparts of Nahargarh loomed not too far away. It was then that I saw it for myself — how dark mists seemed to seep in from the edges of that very ordinary and modern mirror, as if creating a black portal. It looked like the mouth of a cave. And from that darkness, a figure appeared, just for a moment. A veiled woman, glittering in green and gold.

Local legend still whispers of a woman, a court favourite, who had fallen from favour and been imprisoned in the Nahargarh Fort. She was apparently eventually thrown to the tigers in Nahari Ka Naaka, a watering hole in the adjoining forests, and her remains taken to the prince as proof of her death.

The film Talaash, with Aamir Khan playing a dour policeman, touched on spirits in mirrors, showing glimpses of the spirit in the car’s rear-view mirror. The Hollywood film Oculus showed an antique mirror that induced hallucinations and led to death and destruction.

Oftentimes, psychics and mediums light a candle before a mirror in a darkened room, as if summoning those who walk on the other side. The candle is the beacon, a guide to the way and the voice of the psychic.

In the US, Dr Raymond Moody is best known for his work with mirrors, to help many communicate with their departed loved ones.

But perhaps, you need not go that far.

If the bond is strong, and the will too, perhaps, as you touch the mirror with your fingertips, something will reach out from beyond.

Also read: How to tell you're in a haunted house