Qabarstan by Nazia Shazia

About this novel

Qabristan by Nazia Shazia is a chilling Urdu horror novel about a family that moves in right next to an old graveyard. Soon terrifying things start happening at night, and the family begins to wonder what they have woken.

Maria and her family moved into the house just a few days ago. Her father was transferred from Karachi to Hyderabad, so the whole family had to shift. The writer tells us this happened around 1958, when the area was still not very populated. Next to their new home, after a small gap, lies a graveyard, and on the other side there is still an empty plot. Maria’s family includes her parents, one brother, a sister-in-law and their two children, and Maria chooses the room upstairs for herself.

A week after moving in, Maria finishes her work, goes to her room and opens the window for some fresh air. To her shock, she sees her entire family standing in the graveyard, which is clearly visible from her window. What are they all doing there at this time of night? She runs downstairs, only to find everyone sitting in their own rooms as if nothing happened. No one in her house prays namaz, the writer notes. Maria wonders if it is just her imagination, but for the last four or five days she has noticed that everyone’s behaviour has changed. Even her sister-in-law talks to her as if they barely know each other.

Then the story goes back a week. Maria’s mother lies down to rest after her housework while her husband is not at home. Suddenly she feels someone standing near her bed. When she opens her eyes, the room is empty, but in the mirror she sees a terrifying woman with white eyes and a scratched face, with a dagger stuck in her body. What follows is truly frightening, and Nazia Shazia keeps the fear coming from the very first chapter.

A note for readers: this novel contains strong horror and some graphic scenes.

کچھ جگہیں خاموش ضرور ہوتی ہیں، مگر کبھی خالی نہیں ہوتیں۔

Read more horror by Nazia Shazia: Haibatnaak Ghar and Agli Bari Tumhari Hai, see all Nazia Shazia novels, or browse more horror Urdu novels.