Curse of Patratu Valley: Whispers of the Wendigo

The Curse of Patratu Valley: Whispers of the Wendigo
Book I of Jharkhand - The Cursed Cartography
By Shadab Alam Khanson

Discover the haunting heart of India.
Hidden within the plateau of eastern India, Jharkhand is a land of stark contrasts-where roaring steel plants and deep coal seams give way to mist-draped forests, serpent roads, and sacred, forgotten waterfalls. But beneath this raw beauty lies something older. Something wounded. Something hungry.

In Whispers of the Wendigo, the first book of Jharkhand - The Cursed Cartography, Shadab Alam Khanson tells a chilling tale where loneliness, greed, and broken rituals awaken a spirit the land once tried to bury.

The Disappearance
Wildlife photographer Aanya Verma ventures alone into Patratu Valley to capture the perfect sunset over Chandra Waterfall. She ignores the local warnings: "The valley eats the lonely." By morning, she's gone. Her cracked camera is the only clue-alongside a trail of strange, antler-shaped footprints.

As more vanish-a biker filming the serpent roads, stargazers during a new-moon night, and lovers near a cursed cliff-whispers begin to rise of a spirit long feared. The Wendigo, a famine-born predator that feeds on despair, walks the land once more.

The Valley That Watches
Set against the eerie landscape of Patratu Lake, crumbling colonial watchtowers, submerged chapels, and the ruins beneath the old dam, the novel explores:

• Mysterious ripples in still water

• Footsteps that echo with no source

• A scream that ends a live social media stream

• Ancient tribal glyphs that match no known language

• And the terrifying realization that some maps are meant to stay lost

The Hunters
Forest ranger Priya Rao and reluctant cartographer Dev Sharma must uncover the truth behind the vanishing. Armed with:

• Mirror shards that reflect more than they should

• Secret paths that no GPS dares to trace

• And stories the locals are too afraid to share

They descend into the heart of the cursed valley-before it claims them too.

A Cartography of Fear
This is more than a horror story. Whispers of the Wendigo is:

• A folk-horror thriller grounded in Jharkhand's real terrain

• A psychological exploration of grief, guilt, and survival

• A mystery steeped in tribal lore, ancient ruins, and buried pacts

• A standalone novel that sets the foundation for a larger mythology across the series

Perfect for readers of The Ritual, The Fisherman, Annihilation, and those who love Indian folklore-infused horror where the land itself becomes a living, breathing threat.

Praise for Whispers of the Wendigo:

"Spine-chilling, poetic, and deeply rooted in place. This is Jharkhand like you've never seen-or feared-it before."
- Midnight Review India

"The landscape breathes. The curse grows. Khanson's Wendigo will haunt your dreams and your GPS."
- Folklore Today

Begin the curse. Trace the map. The valley is waiting.
Jharkhand: The Cursed Cartography is a new horror series where every story marks a real place-and every place is marked by something dark.