The Haunting Mystery of Putul Bari: Kolkata’s Abandoned Doll House

The Haunting Mystery of Putul Bari: Kolkata’s Abandoned Doll House

Nestled on 22 Hara Chandra Mullick Lane, near the Shobhabazar jetty and beside the Circular Railway in North Kolkata, stands Putul Bari—literally the “House of Dolls.” Its classical façade, once a regal blend of Victorian and Gothic design, still looms with faded elegance, adorned with sculpted figures that earned it the nickname, even in its earliest days as a godown for imported silk, spices, and jute.

Over time, tales darker than dust settled into its decaying halls. Stories whisper that powerful Bengali “babus” used the house to prey on young women—some legends speak of sexual violence, followed by murders concealed within Putul Bari’s very walls, leaving anguished souls trapped in its corridors.

Another tale traces the mansion’s chilling charm to the owner's daughter, who loved dolls so intensely that the house was filled with them—stacked on floors, perched on ledges, crowding stairwells. When she died suddenly, whispers say her spirit, along with her dolls, refused to rest.

Despite attempts to dismiss these rumours—tenants have even put up signs insisting the place isn't haunted—accounts persist of strange voices, unexplained cold spots, and dolls that seem to move or whisper in the dark. Some visitors claim they've glimpsed ghostly figures dancing on the terrace, or felt unseen hands brush past them.

Still occupied by tenants, Putul Bari remains a fragile relic—its plaster peeling, balconies sagging, and dolls scattered in dusty disarray. For many, it’s a tragic beauty steeped in bathed-in-darkness legends, combining architectural grandeur with stories that unsettle the soul—and may just linger in your imagination long after the daylight fades.