One day, a fisherman, around 60 years old, narrated a frightening story to Subba Gowda, a widow, about the old ruins and the banyan tree hidden behind a nearby hill. It is said that many years ago, an unknown tantric lived in the area and helped people solve their problems through worship and mantras.
Locals believed that he performed unusual rituals without charging money and would ask people to bring soil from their homes wrapped in red cloth.
However, within a few days, incidents of fights, illnesses, animal deaths and other misfortunes began to increase in the village. When the villagers grew suspicious and confronted the tantric, it is said that they discovered he had trapped evil spirits using soil taken from their homes.