Afghan people are scared of Taliban militants, they also fear ghosts and other things paranormal. Superstitious as they can be, Afghan people avoid areas they believe to be haunted, and who can blame them? This place is awash in deadly memories. In a way, the ghost part is not surprising at all.

Khayr Kot Castle

In the cold mountains of Afghanistan's Paktika province, east of Ghazni, is the old British castle called "Khayr Kot". It was built in the 1800's when British forces fought a series of wars in Afghanistan known as the Anglo-Afghan Wars. The first ended in 1842 with a British loss of 16,000.

But the ghosts of Khayr Kot are said to be tied to a more recent time. Khayr Kot fell into ruins after the British wars. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. They restored the castle for military purposes and used it for dubious purposes.

Dark Past

An army colonel who was at Khayr Kot when I visited the place in 2006, took interest in the history of Khayr Kot. He learned that it was used by the Russians to torture, rape and murder people from the local area. People outside of the castle walls said they could hear their loved ones screaming in the night.

Then Taliban took control of the castle when they ruled over Afghanistan, inflicting acts of horror on the population. Locals say more spirits accumulated during this period of distorted religious madness.

When I saw Khayr Kot, a Navy Chief Petty Officer named Lucas Hooper, talked about the reported ghosts and confirmed that it is certainly what people believe. Soldiers say apparitions are not uncommon, the place has a creepy feeling that is undeniable. Those most convinced are the people living outside the walls of Khayr Kot, who say the ghosts are not only real, but the tortured spirits of people who once lived here.