Agli Bari Tumhari Hai By Nazia Shazia

About this novelette

Agli Baari Tumhari Hai (Urdu: اگلی باری تمہاری ہے) by Nazia Shazia is a short Urdu horror story set in a small Mughal-era town around 1632. In the town of Zavia, an unseen terror claims one household after another every night, and the title warns that you are next.

The writer begins by setting the scene: this is a very old story, from roughly 1632, during the Mughal Sultanate. Something happened in the town of Zavia that sent fear through every home. By sunset everyone locked themselves inside, and before anything was understood, three houses had already been destroyed. Each night, every family wondered whether it would be their turn. No one in Zavia slept at night any more; it had become the custom to stay awake, because people believed the attacks came in the night. Staying awake didn’t help, but the fear was so great that no one could leave the town either – one family who tried was found dead on the spot, so people stayed, locked behind their doors.

In Salma’s house, her son Ali is frightened and asks whether their turn will come tonight. His mother scolds him for talking like that. Ali explains what he heard: the night before, terrible screams came from Afzal’s house, and blood seemed to splash against the walls; in the morning, when people went inside, they found something horrifying. Salma, terrified, tells her son never to step outside and prays that Allah save them from this torment, while Ali’s sisters Aisha and Rabia listen in fear.

مغلیہ دور کا ایک قصبہ، رات کی چیخیں، اور ہر گھر کا خوف — اگلی باری کس کی؟

In Laiba’s house, she sits on the prayer mat praying for her husband Aamir and herself. They live alone; Aamir’s mother passed away a month ago, and they’ve been married five years. Then, from the house opposite, horrifying screams begin. Aamir rushes to bolt the door as Laiba clings to him, terrified. The screams last until about five in the morning, and by then another house has gone silent. When Aamir and the neighbours open the door at dawn, the scene inside is so shocking that the men can only recite prayers in fear.

Nazia Shazia writes classic Urdu horror with a historical setting and growing dread. Readers should note that the story contains frightening, gory scenes, though the opening focuses on fear rather than detail.

You can read Agli Baari Tumhari Hai online here or download the complete PDF for free. More by Nazia Shazia: Haibatnaak Ghar and Qabristan, or see all Nazia Shazia novels and more horror stories.