Hold That Breath-Abhirup Dhar

Book: Hold That Breath

Author: Abhirup Dhar

Publisher: Redgrab Books

Is horror a genre that has been ignored for a long time, or maybe we haven’t figured out how spooky is spooky enough?

Hold That Breath by Abhirup Dhar is a collection of 6 stories that will chill the reader to the bone. Ominous is a tale which narrates what happens when a school reunion turns awry and realize that the urban legend of a headless boy in Kurseong might just be true. The Elevator Game narrates the story of Saachi who finds out what happens when you are too curious to reach the other world. The Stairway to Hell takes us through the experience that Barry Bandeira has when he puts up at a fort hotel one night and unearths a secret. Seeing Ghosts is the story of Abhay Kumar and his tryst with the supernatural. She is written from the POV of Jeevika who tells the tale of a true ghost story that haunts the Delhi-Jaipur Highway while enroute with her boyfriend, Ojas. The Final Act takes us all the way to Mumbai where Abhay, a struggling scriptwriter meets Raman Chhabra, a film producer in a dilapidated cinema hall and we realize that maybe the ghosts of the past may not always go away. The catch, one of these stories, connects all the others.

Hold That Breath by Abhirup Dhar is a spooky rollercoaster that takes the reader on a journey of fear, thrill and intrigue throughout the book. Each of the stories stand out on their own and yet when the connect comes up in the climax, it is something that brings out the master that Abhirup is. I loved each of the stories individually and choosing one that stood out for me is difficult, but Ominous takes the game away with the layers of storytelling. Seeing Ghosts didn’t work out for me much, but when the curtain drops, the story makes sense.

Being a horror story with interlinked short stories, more than characters, the settings and the buildup of the story comes to the fore and Abhirup has managed to create an excellent setting for each of the stories. I specially loved the way that the moonless night was a feature that I found cropping up every now and then. The book is well researched, and he has used some of the real rumors and integrated them in the story. Saying anything more will spoil the suspense of the book.

If you like getting spooked, go for the book.

The book successfully scares me out of my wits and walks away with 4.25 spooky points.