In 21st century India, annual ghost fair in Bihar's Shahabad attracts hundreds

Scores of people gathered at at Shahabad in Rohtas district of Bihar to attend the 'Ghinhu Brahm mela', the annual week-long 'ghost fair' in a bid to rid themselves of 'evil spirits'.

People from across the country come to this fair to get rid of 'evil spirits' that they claim to be possessed by.

Organised for the past 30 years, the fair is attended by hundreds who believe their bodies are possessed by ghosts and that exorcism is the only cure for them.

During the fair, the devotees, presumably possessed, dance in a state of trance.

"When we are at home, the blankets and bedsheets start moving in their own accord. We have come here to get rid of such paranormal activities," said a woman Anju.

Devout visitors believe that besides obviation from evil spirits, offering prayers at the sacred wall of the holy place will fulfill all their wishes.

"This is superstition," said another villager, Arun Kumar.

"50 percent of people come here and many are possessed. I have been coming here since 1980. People get absolutely rid of such things. We come here to offer prayers to the deities. We will worship, stay here for the night and then leave for home," added Kumar.

As urban India hurtles headlong towards a 21st century way of life, practices such as these continue to be commonplace in scores of Indian villages, where literacy levels are low and lives are governed by superstition.