Ghostly Festival

Ghostly Festival

This incident happened to a friend about 10 years ago. She was unmarried then and she was living at her mother’s place in a terrace house. The back of the terrace houses are separated by a very narrow lane. That night she was at the back of the house at the kitchen cleaning and drying the dishes. The back door of the kitchen leading to the back of the house was left open but the latch to the garden was closed. The alley way between the houses was very dark as it is badly lit and it was a moonless night.

It was also the Hungry Ghost month in August where believers offer food, drinks and paper money for lost souls and the departed during the whole month. Some people believe that those have died are allowed to come back from hell for one month to eat and drink.

As it was a very hot night, she decided to walk from the kitchen to the latch (only about 1.5m) away. There was a Buddhist or Taoist small praying shrine in between the alley way and there was a loud munching sound like someone is eating near the shrine. She could barely make out through the darkness but it looks as if some was crouching beside the shrine.

Her mother was wondering why her daughter was taking such a long time and switch on the back light on. With the back light on the alley way it was partly lighted up.

In the meantime, she was beside the latch looking down, when the back light was turned on, and could see a person squatting beside the small shrine. Suddenly the other person who was busy eating furiously turned and faced the lights …..it was her neighbor who passed away a few weeks ago!

She fainted and was out with a high fever for almost a week.