In celebration of the Hungry Ghost Festival, we give you the lowdown on all things scary in Singapore. By Zaki Jufri and Ramesh William.  Illustrations by Tetuko Hanggoro.

Halloween, if you really think about it, is absolutely lame. Candy, pumpkins, silly costumes and pubs doling out gimmicky offers simply can’t hold a candle to the month-long fury of our very own Hungry Ghost Festival. If you think trick-or-treating kids are a pain in the neck, then just you wait for the wandering souls combing the earth in search of food and vengeance. And so, in the “spirit” of these famished beings, we show you that Singapore is not just a place for new malls and new eateries, there are also plenty of stories, places, beliefs and superstitions that’ll scare the living daylights out of you right here in this modern metropolis. Read on. If you dare...

The Hungry Ghost Festival
Occurring on the seventh month of the Lunar calendar from August 19 till September 18, the Hungry Ghost Festival is an important event in the lives of many Singaporean Chinese. “It’s just the Chinese ghosts that’ll come out, as it is a Chinese cultural belief,” says Raymond Goh of Asian Paranormal Investigators. “The reason why the Chinese celebrate this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck.” Not to mention the fact that it keeps their lives from turning into a bad Japanese horror film. 
  In Singapore, it is a common sight to see entertaining wayang shows and concerts performed on outdoor stages in some neighborhoods. These events are always held at night, with the front row seats left empty, solely reserved for the dead. Apparently ghosts like to boogie as much as the rest of us.
 
Do’s & Dont’s during the Hungry Ghost Festival
Charles and Raymond Goh of the Asia Paranormal Investigators dispense some advice on what to do—or not—during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
•    Do not go near any bodies of water during this period. Water ghosts or shui gui, ghosts of people who died by drowning, are believed to haunt them.
•    Don’t stay out too late at night, and avoid cemeteries, dark places and alleys (just like mom always said).
•    Don’t commit bad or evil deeds, or swear, as the ghosts may take revenge.
    They can see everything you do. Everything.
•    Be respectful of the offerings around you, by not stepping on the incense.
•    Most importantly, it is advised that you go home early on the last day of the Hungry Ghost Festival, as some ghosts may not want to return to hell and will look for substitute bodies to replace their tormented souls in hell, so they can reincarnate. We say anything that gets us out of the office early is worth believing in.

Singapore’s Spookiest Spots
Devil’s Bend
Located on Old Upper Thomson Road, this was the site for some exciting car races in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but this treacherous stretch of road has also claimed the lives of many drivers who failed to navigate the turn. Nearby residents of this area have reported seeing strange lights hovering around that spot.

Old Changi Hospital
This former military hospital near Changi Village is where Japanese forces tortured prisoners of war. Brave visitors here (like us) have reported seeing ghostly apparitions near windows and sometimes roaming the premises. Bring a friend (or two) and your best ghost-busting kit if you dare to visit this spooky place.

Fort Canning Hill
There’s a reason why this was once called Forbidden Hill: people believe that the spirits of this island’s native dead kings roam the lawns of Fort Canning. The area where outdoor concerts are now held was once a cemetery—Nine Inch Nails versus Six Foot Under … now there’s a thought. You can see some of the tombstones on the walls surrounding the area. There’s also a nearby kramat (mausoleum) thought to belong to the former 14th century king of Temasek, Sultan Iskandar Shah. 

St Patrick’s School
Built in 1933, this famous Katong landmark was used as a Japanese military hospital during the Second World War. For many years, students have spoken of sightings, encounters and even possessions during holiday camps and ECA retreats.

Go on a ghost hunting expedition
Where the supernatural is concerned, safety in numbers is the best bet. Why not let the experts lead you on the way to discover more about the afterlife and mysteries of Singapore? And since it’s the Hungry Ghost Festival, close encounters of the supernatural kind are generally more common. Asia Paranormal Investigators (www.api.sg) and Singapore Paranormal Investigators (www.spi.com.sg) are just the people you need to give you a good scare.

Screamin’ Demons!
Although it is believed only the Chinese ghosts have their month-long holiday from hell during the Hungry Ghost Festival, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t school yourself on other local spirits that go bump in the night as well.

Pontianak
As the saying goes, “the female of the species is more deadly than the male.”… and this also rings true with the undead in the form of the Pontianak. This bloodthirsty She-demon usually takes the form of a beautiful woman before transforming Jekyll-and-Hyde style and pouncing on men who should know better than to chat up ladies around trees and graveyards at night. Related to the Chinese ba jiao gui (or female ghost).

Diao Si Gui
These are spirits of people who committed suicide or who were executed by hanging. They are characterized by long protruding tongues.

Er Gui
Usually the soul of a greedy individual, these hideous spirits roam the streets and kitchens of the living like scavengers. They’re one big, bad-ass reason why food offerings are made during the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Hantu Penanggal
No other local spirit is as freaky as the Hantu Penanggal, loosely translated as the ‘Detachable Ghost’. This flying creature only has a head attached to its entrails (which give it powers of flight). The being is also a blood-sucking, flesh-eating creature, so if you happen to hear a banshee-like shriek coming from above at night … run.

Pocong
Pocongs are relatively harmless beings (they can’t really do anything but hop around) but they can give you a good scare. Pocongs are believed to be souls that are trapped in their death shrouds. For those of you who happen to encounter one at night, before you run, give it a kick and let the thing topple on it side. And then run.

Ri Ben Gui Bing
These are Japanese soldiers who were killed during WWII. They often appear in platoon marching in military uniform or re-enacting battle scenes. Salute them. And then … OK, you get the idea.

Toyol
If ever your wallet goes missing or something important gets lost, it could be the work of a Toyol. Usually invoked from a dead human foetus by a Malay bomoh (shaman), these little imps are typically employed by those with evil intentions. Some ways to ward them off are to place your valuables on your vanity or dresser (preferably a mirrored one because they have an inferiority complex), or leave toys around. They are just babies after all.

Pelesit
Take our word for it, Baygon won’t work against ghostly bugs like the Pelesit. Either pray hard or (you guessed it) run, as a bite from these demonic locusts (commonly summoned by a bomoh for monetary gain—much like a supernatural scam) could lead to a bad case of possession.

Yuan Gui
These are ghosts of people who died a wrongful death and their restless souls roam the land of the living seeking redress. These ghosts by and large appear before a compassionate individual (provided he doesn’t freak out) who must help the spirit fulfill their final wishes before it can return to the other side of the Gates of Hell.—Various Sources

Go Away Ghouls

If you’re the type who gets spooked by just the squeak of a door, then you’d better follow these tips to make sure that someone … or something … is not going to follow you home—or worse!

Before going to bed, arrange your shoes so that they’re pointing in opposite directions—a way of balancing the Yin-Yang force.

If you’re in a room alone, don’t leave the other bed empty. Put a piece of luggage or something (or someone you may have picked up from a bar) on the bed before going to sleep.

If you know you’re in the presence of a spirit, the easiest way to get rid of it is to speak out loud your wish that it go away. Now, if only that worked with nagging relatives…

Toss, rice, sand, salt or other grainy things in front of the entrance to your home. It’s believed that ghosts who try to come in will get distracted and will stop to count them.

Put a mirror on the wall facing the door. When ghosts try to enter, they will see themselves and go away…unless they’re vampires.

Anoint doorways and windows in your home with holy water.

When in doubt, pray.—Sirinuch Borsub

Tales from the Army by Ramesh William
Tekong Nightmares
Without question the spookiest episode of my life occurred when I was an army recruit on Pulau Tekong in 1995. Now, going into the army, we all knew that Tekong was haunted as hell. Once on Singapore’s very own Alcatraz, our instructors gave us the “hey Tekong is not clean, so keep a low profile” speech on our first night in the army, dispensing a few precautions along the way (no pork in the bunk, was one; no going around boasting “I don’t believe in all this ghost shit” was another). A few weeks in, as I lay in sleeping on my bed (in the infamous kampong-style bunks of Camp 1), I heard my fellow platoon mate crying, “No, no, no,” softly. “Bad dream,” I thought and went back to sleep. The next morning, I found him shivering in a cold sweat—his blanket pulled right up to his neck. “Hey, you okay man?” I asked. He shook his head, before saying, “Last night…last night.” I immediately knew what he was referring to, and duly alerted our sergeants and officers. And when he gathered his composure he recounted a horrific tale. At some point during the night, he woke up, not with a start but quite gently, and found a white-robed lady staring at him from outside the window, which was next to his bed. She called out his name; “Come, come,” she beckoned. And that’s when he went, “No, no, no.” She disappeared soon after. But a little while later, my friend found his bed heavy, as though someone else was sleeping with him. He then felt someone’s hair brushing against his thigh—such long black hair, he thought as he lay frozen with fright. Yes, the lady in white had joined him in bed. How he survived the night, God only knows. The next day, he was whisked away for counseling and our instructors placed a beret, which recruits don’t get, in the bunk. The beret bears the crest of the Singapore Armed Forces and is blessed by all the main religions in Singapore. And we never had any unsavory episodes after that.