Telugu Horror Stories (also known as Lighted Tales) is a personal blog of original Telugu horror fiction. Every story published here is written for one purpose — to keep the storytelling tradition of Telangana alive in a way that feels current to a 2026 reader, while staying rooted in the places, festivals, and folklore that shaped us.
About the author
I am Sai Kiran Pandrala. I grew up in Karimnagar and now live in Hyderabad, where I work as a software engineer by day and write horror fiction by night. This blog began in 2016 with a small post called Shavam tho Prayanam — three short installments that received 29 reader comments, most of them asking for a continuation. Ten years later, this site is that continuation.
You can also find my other writing project at Vikram Bethala Kathalu — a modern retelling of the classic Vikram-Bethal stories framed in 2026 Hyderabad dilemmas. Audio narrations of selected stories are uploaded to my YouTube channel Lighted Tales.
What you will find here
The catalog is organised into five themed categories, with stories rolling out on a paced weekly schedule across 2026 and into 2027:
- Vūri Bhūthakathalu — Village Horror. Smashanam (cremation ground) hauntings, water spirits in wells and ponds, ancestral haveli stories, village festivals and Jatara horror.
- City Bhayam — Urban Horror. Hyderabad apartments (Gachibowli, Madhapur, Jubilee Hills), IT offices and night-shift stories, PG and hostel horror, and Old City lanes around Charminar, Falaknuma, and Golconda.
- Prayānam Kathalu — Journey Horror. Bus journeys (including the multi-part Aakari Bus arc), train stories, Ola/Uber/Rapido nightmares, and highway/bike/walking-alone routes.
- Charitra Deyyaalu — Historical Hauntings. Warangal and Kakatiya dynasty sites, Golconda and Qutb Shahi tombs, Nizam-era palaces, ancient temples (Ramappa, Yadagirigutta, Basara, Kaleshwaram), and historic forts.
- Technology Horror. WhatsApp, ride-share apps, social media, and smart devices — modern fears for a Gen-Z and Millennial audience.
What makes Lighted Tales different
Every story is original. No copy-paste retellings of folk Telugu horror. Where I reference real folklore (Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara, the 1948 Police Action, Kakatiya history, the 1991 Bhadrakali floods), I treat the source as cultural backdrop — never as content to reproduce verbatim.
Every story is grounded in real Telangana places. MGBS at midnight. NH-163 between Karimnagar and Hyderabad. Manair Dam at 11 PM. Kondagattu's hillside. These are places I have actually been to. The supernatural in each story is invented; the geography is real and verifiable.
Every story dramatises one of seven Sanskrit principles — satyam (truth), ahimsa (non-harm), kshama (forgiveness), arjavam (straightforwardness), daya (compassion), saucham (purity), karma (consequence). The principle is shown through plot, never named in the story. The reader feels the moral; the text never preaches.
Every modern character, apartment complex, company, and phone number is fictional. Real places are setting; real people, businesses, and institutions are not depicted. Any resemblance to real persons or businesses is coincidental.
Reading order
You can read the stories in any order — most are standalone. For first-time readers, my recommended starting points are:
- The newest post on the homepage — easiest entry point.
- Shavam tho Prayanam — the original 2016 series that started this blog. Still on the site under that label.
- The Aakari Bus 5-part arc (when published) — the journey-horror flagship.
If you prefer audio, subscribe to the Lighted Tales YouTube channel for narrated versions of selected stories.
A note on language
Most stories on this site are written in Romanized Telugu (Tenglish) — Telugu written in Roman script with English code-switching, the way most Telugu and Telangana speakers actually text and chat in 2026. The dialect is Telangana — velthunna, chesthunna, unnanu, aipoindhi, kadha — not literary Coastal Andhra register. A few legacy stories are in pure Telugu script.
This is a deliberate choice. The Tenglish register makes the stories accessible to readers who can speak and understand Telugu but cannot read the script — particularly younger urban readers and the diaspora.
Comments and feedback
Comments are open on every story. I read them. Counter-stories, corrections about a place or historical reference, and conversations about the philosophical principle behind each story are all welcome. Spam, abuse, and personal attacks will be moderated.
For longer correspondence, collaboration proposals, or licensing inquiries, please write to [YOUR_BRAND_EMAIL] or use the Contact Us page.
A small disclaimer
These are works of fiction. The smashanam in your village, the haveli your grandparents owned, the Apple Watch you wear right now — none of them are haunted in the way these stories suggest. If you experience something that feels supernatural, sleep on it, talk to someone you trust, and consult a doctor or a thoughtful elder before drawing conclusions.
The Sanskrit principles dramatised here are real philosophical traditions. The horror is invented to make those principles memorable, not to make a religious or spiritual claim.
Satyam brūyāt priyam brūyāt — speak truth kindly.
— Sai Kiran Pandrala
Karimnagar-born, Hyderabad-based
Software engineer · Telugu horror writer
Lighted Tales · 2026
Connect: YouTube · Vikram Bethala Kathalu · [YOUR_BRAND_EMAIL]