The 'spook'en word

Spinning spooky tales revolving around ghosts, vampires and monsters has been Shwetha Taneja's forte, from a very young age. She has now professionally chosen to make a career out of these ghost stories and her recent book 'The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong' is a sensational story based on horror, mystery and fantasy.

“As a child, I used to sit with my cousins and come up with spooky anecdotes and have fun. More than playing, I guess I was more interested in creativity and arts. Converting it into a profession happened by chance," says the vibrant Shewta.

A journalist by profession, writing came to her effortlessly when she moved onto creative writing five years ago. Asking about what fascinates her in horror thrillers, she says that, “It gives you a sense of self and tries to make you imagine differently, it questions your entire belief system and makes you think out of the box. Supernatural elements are, spicier than just normal human characters and that is what pushes me to investigate and create a world with them."

Asking her whether her imaginations run wild when staying homealone she quips, “After a particular chapter of spookiness and mystery, sometimes I get quite paranoid about going to bed alone and sit up imagining a lot of unnecessary stuff."

Writing and interacting with children has put her incharge of igniting their literary spark through interactive workshops which she conducts across the country.

“I love working with children and, I give wings to their imagination and sometimes get to listen to their stories as well which is even more imaginative than adults," she says. Adding to that she explains, “Children have a different and interesting perspective of things around us and that is why it gives me great joy to spend time with them."

Apart from being interested in ghosts, children and the likes of it, she also teaches yoga for the downtrodden. She adds, “I am a yoga buff and teach it to the young children from the neighbourhood."

She also reads and travels a lot, and gets inspiration from such avenues. Her next book is a graphic novel and is titled 'The Skull Rosary' which, she says is as mysterious as her older book.