Childhood Stories

Childhood Stories Part I

                          Ever since I was young, I have heard this story everywhere in Sikkim. If I go ask a random person about “Lam Lyame Bhoot”, it is guaranteed that they will have something to say about it. Lam Lyame Bhoot is a local folk story about a woman who is a ghost and eats babies or young kids. Probably this was a story to scare the younger kids to prevent them from outside in the night. There have been different versions of this story but every one of these stories has one thing in common. The lady ghost has HUGE boobs or multiple boobs.

                        When I was young I stayed with my grand aunt, Anyo Tutu, in Mangan (my childhood village). I used to be a very naughty and a hyper girl. So, to keep me home at night my aunt told me ghost stories all the time. There were many of them, but what scared me the most was the story of Lam Lyame Bhoot. The way Anyo Tutu described about this ghost was very vivid. I can still remember her describing this scary woman in the small room where we used to eat dinner. The dim light especially made the look on her face scary and also made the atmosphere creepier. So, right after we ate dinner she started the story.

                        If I were to go outside in the night, a women wearing white dress would appear in front of me. She would have long black hair draping over her face and shoulder and when I was close enough, she would turn her face towards me very slowly and stare at me. Even now, I find these kinds of stories very scary but after this point, it seems more like a joke to me than anything. So, here is how it goes.  The woman turns and is supposed to stare at me and then slowly turn her body towards me. Best part about this is that the ghost has huge boobs and it is all over her body! Can you believe it, the ghost has boobs all over her body and this was supposed to be a local scary story, talk about being deprived of boobs. Well anyways, now this boob lady is supposed to start chasing me and the only way to escape her is by running up hill. The reason, simple, because she has such huge boobies, it would be impossible for her to carry all that weight. So, because she cannot hold her boobs weight while going up hill, it made sense for the runners to run up hill. But if I were to run down hill, then I would have been captured and eaten alive. The reason, simple, while running down hill, she would through her saggy boobs back and gain momentum and speed and catch up in no time. Basically if you ever encountered the Lam Lyame Bhoot, you are supposed to run up hill and not down hill.

                        I wanted to share this story with everyone because the joy I get from remembering this story is just pure joy. It just brings back such good memories, and the story is funny. Childhood stories really make a difference because once it hits you; you will never be able to forget it and also it brings a sense of unity in the community you are in. So, I hope in the future, you tell your kids traditional folk stories too.

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