Image: US Army/Commons
Disembodied voices are heard. A putrid stench of rotting corpses comes and goes with the wind. Radio communications often go silent. Mysterious lights and figures appear and disappear in the night, beckoning and arousing feelings of inexplicable dread. And sudden changes in ambient temperature would send cold shivers down the spine of those unlucky enough to be posted there. Observation Post Rock, a former military outpost located in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is the living(?) embodiment of what high strangeness is made of.
Historically speaking, the 30-foot-high mound overlooking the fertile land of the Garmsir district has been a not-so-silent witness to the passage of time. From Alexander the Great to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and subsequent occupation of British and American forces, this pile of nondescript hardened rocks have served many conquerors - and in many occasions the vanquished - in their quest to gain a tactical advantage over their enemies.
It is perhaps its prime location that has made Observation Rock a cursed place. Over several centuries, the region has seen its share of war and human atrocity. Locals consider it both a holy and haunted place due to the amount of bloodshed that has occurred in the area. From mass executions to casualties of war interred in the region, Observation Rock is filled with the bones of those who once treaded on it.
