This is the tale of a Pir in Karachi whose tomb, under a pipal tree, was lit by a small oil lamp. A naked care taking fakir sat there for fifty years. A rich Parsi Seth Sohrabji Rustomji Potwallah decided to erect his bungalow over the site. The fakir pleaded to the wealthy seth not to disturb Pir’s resting place and cried. However, the seth was determined to raze the tomb, evict the fakir and build his mansion there. The fakir cursed him, saying the building will never serve the purpose and fell dead.

The construction work commenced, during which three builders met unexplained mysterious deaths and so did the chowkidar.

As the bungalow was done, the family moved in. The very day, his nephew accidentally fell off the stair case and died. Few days later, it was his son who fell off the bulstrades, ruptured spleen and died. The third person in the family, his grandson, caught his wrist on a nail. It got infected and he died of sepsis. The merchant, himself, met a fatal accident.

The house was sold to Reilds. Following which their manager died suddenly of cholera. Within a few weeks in a bizarre event Mr Reild slit the throat of his wife in that house before killing himself there.

The mansion became known as ‘Sudden Death Lodge’.

Consequently the building was razed in 1925.

It remained a junkheap until the site was chosen for the new US Embassy. Construction began in Sept. 1957. When it was being built similar and unexplained events occured. An electrician died at work under unexplained circumstance. It probably would be the first time in the history of state dept to succumb to the threat and alter architectural design sparing the exact site.

The curse of the Fakir is also found in Ripley’s believe it or not.