Lalbagh Fort: The cursed and haunted fort of the Mughal era

The Lalbagh Fort, located near Dhaka, Bangladesh, is of special interest to people visiting the area for all the myths, mystery and legends that seem to embrace this historic structure from the Mughal era. Commissioned by Muhammad Azam, son of the then Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and being built under the supervision of Shaista Khan, the construction of the fort was abruptly called off in 1684 by Shaista. The decision was prompted by the sudden death of the latter's beloved daughter Pari Bibi, incidentally also the fiancée to Azam, who was at the time of her death living at the fort. This led Shaista to believe that the fort was cursed and to date, the structure remains incomplete.

Today, you can visit the three completed sections of the fort– the Quilla Mosque, the Hall of Audience or the Diwan-i-Aam and the Mausoleum of Pari Bibi. There is also an intricate network of underground tunnels beneath the fort premises. And the story goes that during Sepoy Revolution of 1957, soldiers from both the warring sides made their way inside these tunnels and never came out again. And this has led to the rumor that the palace is 'haunted'.