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Punggol Town & WaterwayHailed as the Punggol 21 vision to transform Punggol into “A Waterfront Town of the 21st Century”, the Punggol Waterway was constructed in 2009, connecting the Serangoon and Punggol rivers across the entire estate. The 4.2 km Waterway is the central feature of Punggol, flanked on both sides of the banks with modern-style housing, recreation amenities and hipster diners. Just slightly less than fifty years ago, Punggol was a rustic rural kampong area with rubber plantations and farms for poultry, pigs and vegetables. Gang rivalry between secret society members often result in deaths and unsolved murders. Bodies were dumped in the swamp area at the end of Track 13. Today, that spot is the housing estate that is bordered by Punggol Walk, Sentul Crescent, and Punggol Central. Punggol Road was considered one of Singapore’s “dirtiest” roads with many motorist and cab drivers avoiding that area at night. Punggol Road was considered one of Singapore’s “dirtiest” roads with many motorist and cab drivers avoiding that area at night. (The other three famous roads being Old Tampines Road, Mount Pleasant Road, and Lim Chu Kang Road). Perhaps one of the most popular Urban Legend circulating around were stories of cab drivers picking up lone female passenger at midnight and asked to be dropped where the old muslim cemetery was. The high number of accidents there were attributed to vengeful spirits inhibiting that area. There were a total of 26 dirt tracks in Punggol. Many of them remained rural in nature even by the late 80s. Some of these tracks were disused and became dumping grounds for spiritual practitioners to “release ghosts” or conduct occult rituals. It was a common sight to find religious paraphilias and effigies left under trees tied with a yellow cloth. There was even an Urban Legend that Track 22 was where the “Gates of Hell” was situated and young spiritual practitioners would spend a night there to test their skills against the supernatural forces. The two other locations that have similar reputation is a location in Sembawang and what used to be the forested area between Tampines and Pasir Ris.  Masjid Wak Sumang in 1985. Photo Credit: S.Sarafian At Track 26, where the Masjid Wak Sumang, a small kampong mosque was, there were rumours of Pontianak sightings in that area. In one retelling by an old malay woman who grew up in that area, she recalled that on Thursday evenings, it was common for devotees to hear scratching and crying sounds on the roof of the mosque. The question I think to myself whenever I walk along the Waterway is this: What happened to the spirits that once roamed the lands. Are they still present, hidden in plain sight? Have education and logic desensitized us to old wives tales and urban legends? There’s a story I’ve heard that would perhaps cause you to wonder as I have the next time you take an evening stroll around the neighbourhood. Water Ghosts and Reclaimed LandConfessions by Anthony, 76 year old retiree, lives in Pasir Ris but visits his son in Punggol frequently. Sometimes, he would jog across the bridge connecting Punggol to Lor Halus where he would take a shortcut home. One incident that took place in 2018 changed his life forever. “Chinese believe that ghosts are drawn to places where there are large bodies of water. You may have heard of advice from old folks to avoid swimming during the lunar 7th month - hungry ghost month - because each year there is guaranteed to be some cases of drowning. Drowning doesn't only happen during the 7th month, in fact, people who are good swimmers are known to have drowned under unnatural circumstances. That’s because Chinese believe that restless spirits reside in water and will need to claim souls in order to reincarnate. Sure, telling you young people all these stories, you will think uncle is old and senile and talking rubbish, but would you risk it? The Punggol Waterway may be man-made and cuts a scenic route through the Punggol estate, but the history of the land is mostly forgotten. These areas used to be very ulu. I believe in a bit of feng shui. Unlike before, now you have more people living here, the Yang ji (energy) is very strong. Even if the place has spirits, they are also all chased away already. Chased away where? Chased to empty and dark areas, especially along the waterfront, under the bridges, and areas where people seldom go.  Modern look at Punggol Waterway which is built upon a dark past. From my son’s place to my home is about a 45 mins brisk walk back home. Taking a bus to the interchange and changing buses along the SLE to Pasir Ris takes about the same amount of time or longer. Very leh cheh (troublesome), so what I do sometimes is just walk along the waterway, cross the bridge and cut across Lor Halus and walk along the park connector. At night it can be quite windy and peaceful. I have been doing this for a few months and got no problem but one time I think when my luck was low, something followed me back. But one time I think when my luck was low, something followed me back. That night when I got back, all of a sudden I felt very angry. I wanted to kill my wife and myself. I also don’t understand why. I went to shower and prayed before bed. That night and a few nights after I had disturbed sleep. Each night just as I’m about to fall asleep I would dream of a shadow standing in the corner of my room just staring at me. She - I can sense it’s a woman - was drenched from head to toe and she just stood there staring.
I lost my appetite and I started feeling lethargic, even getting a slight fever. At first I did not tell my family because I didn’t want to worry them but as the fever lasted for more than a week and would only come during sunset, my wife started getting worried. Fortunately my son who was a fan of Supernatural Confessions managed to get some contact for someone to come help me. When the spiritual master came, he was able to tell me what I was experiencing even before I said anything. Thankfully the problem was a small one. I had accidentally brought a spirit home with me that night and as she had nowhere to go, she just attached herself to me. The ritual was a simple one. The master instructed me to go back to the Lor Halus area to conduct a simple ritual with offerings. He said that he would help her “cross over to the other side”. I’m not sure if he meant crossing over to Punggol or go for reincarnation. That night I slept peacefully and my fever also subsided.” About 3km away from Matilda House, through a long and dark stretch of road, is a jetty that connects to the site where the Sook Ching Massacre took place on February 28, 1942. Records state that 400 victims were killed and abandoned on the shoreline of Punggol Beach but some historians believe that the unrecorded numbers could be much higher. Even as recent as 1997, people could find skeletal remains from the mass killing on the beach or in the nearby forests. The area of Punggol is one of the oldest known settlements in Singapore. It existed even before the founding of modern Singapore in 1819. That’s more than 200 years ago. Who knows what secrets are buried beneath the land especially since it’s common for people of that era to dabble in animism and shamanic practices. In the book, Malay Magic, author Walter William Skeat details the beliefs and folklore that was popular in Malay Peninsula during that time. The area of Punggol is one of the oldest known settlements in Singapore. It existed even before the founding of modern Singapore in 1819. The older generation who remembers Singapore during its kampong days still hold onto the memories and the superstitions that were passed on to them. These knowledge are not found online; and you can only listen to them through oral traditions. Sadly, many of these beliefs are slowly being forgotten, and it is easy to understand why such wisdom no longer seems relevant today when everywhere you look are high rise buildings and pristine parks. But just because our eyes cannot see what’s there doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. After all, things like Jinn and the souls of the restless dead are known to be able to anchor themselves in a place for hundreds of years. An elderly woman I spoke to who claims to be a descendant of a family line of practicing shamans recalled the story that her grandmother had told her. Near the spot where Punggol Point is today, there was a very big tree that the kampong residents believe to be the home of an ancient Jinn. Back then this place was not even called Punggol yet. It was known as Tanjong Rangon. Lightning struck the tree one night and all that was left was its stump. People from other kampongs would come to this tree to give offerings. She suggested that was how Punggol got its name. Ponggol in malay means, “a tree stump”. Raymond, 49 years old, recalls the stories that his father told him when he was a teenager. Raymond’s father used to drive the bus service 82, which was one of the only two buses plying the Punggol Jetty route. This was around the late 80s to the early 90s. It was well known amongst the drivers there that the place is unclean. In fact, the drivers pooled their money together to set up an altar near the drivers’ resting point to appease the wandering spirits so that they will not be harmed. There was a story of a new driver who did not believe in such superstitions and scoffed at Raymond’s father’s belief. He went to rest between his shift and when he woke up, he found himself in the forest and couldn’t get out. He kept walking around in circles and came back to the same red altar over and over. It was only after he lit the joss sticks and begged for forgiveness that he managed to see the rest stop.  Confession by Meng Meng, a 55 years old property agent, enjoys fishing during his free time. He recalls a fishing experience that left him spooked till today. “I remember this was the time I just finished national service. Bunch of friends and I were looking for jobs but haven’t been able to find any, so during the ba-long-long time (lull period), we would go fishing. Usually the jetty area would be quite crowded, so my buddies and I would go further down the left side to where it's more secluded. It was late in the night, we don’t really know what time it was. The seafood restaurants around the areas were closed already so I think it was probably past midnight. One of our fishing rods caught something and started tugging. The small bell made the ding-ding noise and from the pull of the rod, it seemed like we caught a big one. The more we pulled, the harder the fish fought back. Suddenly we saw something emerging from the water. It was quite dark. We had camping lanterns but it wasn’t enough to illuminate what we had caught. Also, it was quite weird, why would the fish float out of the water. This thing was black and rounded. It raised up of the water slowly. My first thought was that we got our line caught in a floating debris covered in seaweed. But from the way it floated towards us, it seems to be somewhat alive. There’s a difference when something is moving at you and just randomly floating. This thing was moving towards us. When it got closer to us, it floated even higher and this time it was above the water level. That’s when I felt something was very wrong already. I told my friend to drop the rod and run. It was quite weird, why would the fish float out of the water. This thing was black and rounded. It raised up of the water slowly. No one seems to move. Everyone was confused. And that’s when we all heard it. A ear piercing scream. We all heard it same time and we ran. That voice was human sounding but at the same time it was nothing like I have ever heard from a human throat. We just left everything behind and made a dash for the main road. I took a glance backwards and I saw - I know this is going to sound crazy but I know what I saw - I saw a floating head. Just the head. No body. Flying around our fishing spot. Screeching.
We ended up at the small bus terminal area and quickly prayed to the altar there. Our hands were shivering and the fear was very real, but at least here there were more people and we felt safer. I have had strange occurrences during my army days and other fishing sites before but so far, those were just sounds and weird feelings. This was too real. It’s one thing to not be able to see them, but the sight of a flying head is not something I can try to rationalise and lie to myself that it’s an animal. I know what I saw. I can tell the difference between a head and a bird. Because there was really no way to walk back out and our barang barang (equipment and belongings) were still there, we waited till day break before going back. We spoke to some of the regular anglers there and they told us that there’s a reason why no one goes away from the jetty even though there’s a possibility for a better catch there. Flying head sightings were common at that spot. When we eventually went back to our fishing site in the morning, we found our items ransacked and the fishes that we caught all had their heads bitten off. Punggol Point Park looks nothing like what it did before and the forested spot has been cleared out. I actually still go there to fish sometimes, mostly for old times sake. Many people don’t remember what Punggol Point was before but this memory will live with me forever.”  Confessions by Yang Guang Yang Guang was an 18 year old student from Singapore Poly when he first ventured into the Matilda House. I was in the photography club and I remember it was quite the norm back then for female models - the rocker and goth chicks type - to take photos in old buildings. Old Changi Hospital was a famous spot and the Matilda House was the other. My coursemate, Jo-An, who needed some photographs for her portfolio asked if I could help and I said okay. Jo-An and I went down after school in the late afternoon, early evening. There was still ample light coming in. While the place did look eerie, to be honest, I was more focused in looking for the best spot to take the photos before we lost the last light. When I was busy snapping away, I just got this funny sense that something is in the room with us and wasn’t happy. You know how sometimes you get to a place and it feels very uncomfortable like you just want to leave? I felt that. The feelings suddenly just came. I wasn’t thinking about anything. I suddenly got the goosebumps and a chill ran through me. It was a strange sensation but not intense enough for me to react hysterically, lah. So I shrugged it off and just continued looking through the viewfinder. I saw Jo-An kept turning and looking over her shoulders acting quite agitated and distracted. I took a few more shots until the film roll ran out then we packed up and left. It was only after we left the place that we talked about what we felt and confirmed each other’s experience. Since nothing major happened, we just brushed it aside and the conversation went back to photography. The horror only came after the photographs had been developed. Some had a tall black shadow figure standing behind Jo-An, right at the spot where she kept turning to look, The batch of film from the final roll of film came out looking very strange. Some were totally black as if a black translucent figure was standing right in front of my cam, some had a tall black shadow figure standing behind Jo-An, right at the spot where she kept turning to look, some photographs looked like it had a handprint across it - clearly visible with the shape of five fingers and a thumb. We were very spooked when we saw that. There are many things that can possibly go wrong especially with film photography but quire frankly the effects that I saw were not something that we can explain away with light seepage and faulty film.
Unfortunately, we were too scared to keep the photographs and negatives and Jo-An suggested we burned them to be safe. None of us wanted to die under mysterious circumstances from having a ghost mark us in photographs. I live in Hougang but my family and I do travel to Punggol very often, especially on weekends. Till today, everytime we pass by Punggol Walk, I will automatically turn to look at the direction of the Matilda House and think back on my past. The memories are still as clear as yesterday. I haven’t shared this story in so many years but since I know you are doing a confessional piece on Matilda House, I feel it’s time I get this off my chest. Thank you, Eugene for listening to my story.  Confessions by Ad T Hi, I've only recently started listening to your live shows on Fridays and now your previous podcasts on Spotify when I'm driving. Love your show and hosts! I think I am a little sensitive to spirits and energy. Used to see things with my mind's eye especially when I am at hotel rooms etc. For years, I suspected there was something in my house, especially my room. Also had an weird incident during a trip to Thailand which apparently involved a minor demon (or 妖 in Chinese). I would like to share a particular incident that I believe something had followed me home. It happened a couple of years ago during the 7th month. I was out with some friends till late and was on my way home from Tampines to Marine Parade. Was driving on the ECP at that long straight stretch between Tampines and Bedok. I've driven many times on this stretch before but this time, it seemed like I had been driving on it for a longer time than usual. I was feeling uneasy and was having goosebumps.  Map view of path between Tampines and Bedok towards Marine Parade
The air in the car seemed stuffy even though my aircon was on. There were no cars in front or behind me. I just focused on the road and kept driving. Finally I managed to reach the end of that stretch and just shrugged it off. Even when I got home, I still had an uneasy feeling. That night I had a very weird dream. I dreamt that I was in a bus and on the way home. When I got off the bus, I felt that someone was looking at me and looked back. Behind me, standing probably about 15m away was, you guessed it, a lady in white. She was looking down and just standing there. Feeling the creeps, I started walking back. In real life, my block is just across the road from the bus stop. But in the dream, there was a open field between the bus stop and my block. As I cut across the field, I looked back a couple of times. Each time I looked back, she was closer and closer to me. I never saw her walk, she was still standing in the same position; but every time I turned to look she got nearer and nearer. By then I was panicking already, and picked up pace. I took the lift to my house and when I was putting the key into my gate, for some reason I turned back. I live in a HDB point block, so there is no corridor and only 4 units per floor. Behind me should be my neighbour's gate, but now I saw a long corridor instead. And standing about 2m away from me, was the lady and this time, she was pointing at me. Then she said in a creepy slow manner, "I know where you live now." I lost it then. I rushed to open the gate and just shouted at anyone in the house to get pomelo leaves or holy water or whatever to cleanse myself before I go in. I woke up after that and felt like there was still something behind me in my room. I finally managed to turn around and there was a dark shadow at the corner of my room. I freaked out, turned around to face the wall and tried to ignore it. Until now, I am not sure if I encountered something on the way back, or just had a bad dream coincidentally. But I will never forget her voice when she said "I know where you live now". Sorry if this story is kinda anti-climatic and long-winded. I just wanted to share as I felt that there was something with me that night. Editor's notes: Most real supernatural experiences are "anti-climatic" because such encounters, unlike a Hollywood movie, don't have a beginning, middle, and end. Still, stories like this are extremely creepy because it could happen to anyone of us.
 Written by Eugene Tay There have been many stories surrounding the Pasir Ris Suicide Tower. Many of these Urban Legends have evolved into multiple variations since the late 80s until we can't really tell fact from fiction anymore; but such is the nature and thrill of ghost stories that keeps our imagination going. Budding investigators have attempted to gather evidence of haunting and many claimed that it is one of the easiest spots to elicit a paranormal response. Personally, I have been a witness to multiple events in this location that defies logic. I am as strong a believer as there are others who are as strong a skeptic. This experiment that we have conducted is perfect in highlighting that dichotomy. Just because someone is fortunate enough to not experience any haunting doesn't mean that the place isn't haunted. In this two-part video, we attempt to record experiences from multiple perspectives - A psychic, four commoners, and one spiritual practitioner. Without the use of fancy western-influenced gadgets, what can each of these people sense when tasked to sit alone in what is reputed to be one of Singapore's most haunted location? The results are varied and interesting. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the psychology of fear fueled by horror stories and odd sounds in the night can spur our imagination to see and feel things that may not be there.... or are they?
12:17 - 15:17 - Guru Murali Cleanse the Place
Guru Murali chanted a prayer to ease the lingering spirits towards the light. Does this mean the place is no longer haunted? Unlikely. Prayers help to bring whichever entity that is present at that time to the light but in a public area, and one that is isolated at the edge of a mangrove swamp, there will be other spirits to take its place in time to come.  Farrer Court was sold in 2007 and demolished soon after. Confession by Irma As mentioned by the previous confessor in The Red Ghost of Farrer Court, Block H was the innermost block in Farrer Court and being full of trees, that place was always shaded. Every other day coming back from school, even from a distance I would see someone in a red dress at the pillars. This can happen even in broad daylight. Many times, it would be me walking under the block and seeing some lady in red walking diagonally but when i pass the spot, there is no one on the other side of the pillar. This was a common occurrence all my life so I have learned to identity what's ghost and what's not. I know what I saw at Farrer Court is not from this world. I checked with another friend of mine, Maya, who lived in Block G, a 25 story point-block on a hill that's adjacent to ours. Her family has stayed there since like forever and when I told her that I kept seeing this woman in red lingering under my block, she said, "oh, a few years back there was a suicide at my block. A lady dressed in full red outfit had committed suicide by jumping off the balcony. The apartment belonged to her boyfriend and people suspected their relationship had gone sour and this was her way of getting back at him." [Editor's note: In Asian folklore, we believe that taking your life while dressed in red will cause your soul to return as a vengeful spirit to haunt the person who did you wrong.] Every night without fail, when everything was extremely extremely quiet, I would hear a ball bouncing at the basketball court. My room window was overlooking the tennis and basketball court and it is quite clear that there was absolutely no one there but yet u can hear the ball bouncing, just bounce bounce bounce..... I strongly believe that that place makan* people every few years. It must be the land because for some weird reason people are attracted to go there to commit suicide. The place just attracts death. [Makan* literally means "to eat" but in this context it means "to claim the lives of"] There was a murder that happened at Block F, I remember, which is a block I would have to walk under to get to my own block. A maid went berserk inside one of the units in and stabbed the employer multiple times. The employer died from the injuries and it was a bloody scene. My friend who lived in Block G was gave me live commentary as the struggle was happening because she could see everything as it was unfolding. The police eventually managed to apprehend the maid after kicking the door open, and reaching through the gates but it was all too late. The resident of the property could not be saved. There were many other murders; murders and suicides. It didn't happen all the time, of course, but it happened frequent enough for it to be peculiar, and not all of them were reported in the papers. Funnily enough, in trawling the internet for that Block F murder, I chanced upon an article which covered another recent murder that happened in the new estate that took over the land where Farrer Court used to be. So maybe that's something that Supernatural Confessions can go and investigate. Maybe there's a bloodthirsty Penuggu* on that plot of land that needs to be satiated every few years. [Penuggu* is a tutelary deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place]
Map of Farrer Court. Photos and block placement created by Dian. You can check out her Farrer Court confessions here Editor's note: Speaking of frequent suicides that led to a many raised eyebrows reminds me of the infamous Bedok Reservoir Suicide cases. 6 suicides in 3 years. Of all the places, of all the gin joints, in all the world, why are suicides drawn to very specific places? It leads one to consider the possibility that some places just might have some form of dark energy that we cannot be explained. Feng Shui perhaps? If you are looking for some answers, maybe Part 2 of the Farrer Court Saga - Farrer Court: Bad Feng Shui or Dirty Tactics might provide some answers.
Confession by Dian My story is about my old childhood estate, Farrer Court, which has since been En Bloc and sold off for a record price. I grew up there and we lived in two different apartment buildings within the estate because we moved out and then moved back to the estate (my mum loved moving house I don't know why). We were originally living in Block H for maybe about 7 years and this block was the furthest inside and it was the only standalone block in that area within the estate, super private and was super quiet. Each apartment block was a distance from each other and walking out to Empress market to do weekend marketing with my mum was quite a bitch because the area had lots of hills. There were 2 lift lobbies and ours was the furthest inside too. I always remembered the lobby area to be super dark because it was tucked behind a wall where sunlight could shine through properly and at night it was lit but not well lit. Whenever we came back home late, the lobby is pretty dim and we were always looking over our shoulders. Pretty much if someone wanted to rape or murder you at night, it would've been very convenient because next to the block were just trees and greenery . (If you want to know what my condo looked like, it's exactly like Lakeview Condo on Thomson next to Macritchie. Likely the same builders.) The view for the living room and 2 bedrooms was facing Tulip Gardens while the dining room, kitchen, common toilet and one room was facing a wide open beautiful view of the basketball and tennis court. Each floor there were only 2 units so it was either us or the neighbours and our neighbours were Taiwanese who were seldom in town so most times it was only us. So basically strangers had no business being on our floor. My sisters and I were latch key kids and my mum worked nights some days in a week. So on those days her shift would end around 11pm and there was a company van that sent her home when she worked nights. She would reach home at around midnight and us 3 latchkey kids would actually go down at midnight to fetch her because of how quiet and secluded our apartment block was. So that's the pre-scenario I've painted to you. The incident I'm about to relate happened on one of those nights that we were waiting for my mum to come home at midnight before going down to fetch her.  The Lady at the Peep Hole. Ill. by Dark Art by Syed Wilson. My sisters were studying in the room and I was just hanging around with them on the bed. One of my sisters asked me to refill her cup in the kitchen. I took her cup and went out to head to the kitchen and on the way to the kitchen, you can see the main door. As I was walking back to the room from the kitchen, I noticed that there was someone outside our house as I could see feet from where I was. I asked my sis if my mum was coming back earlier that day and she said no. And I told her that I saw feet from under the main door. She told me to go open the door, that maybe it was my mum and that maybe her van dropped her off earlier and she decided to come up on her own. She reminded me that our doorbell was not working. It was about 11+pm at that time. So I headed out to the main door and out of habit. I looked through the peephole and what I saw still makes my skin crawl I was about 9 yrs old when this incident happened but till today whenever I retell this story it makes me skin crawl. (I'm typing this at midnight right now and my hubs is working night ). There was a Chinese lady standing outside our house. And I presumed Chinese because she was wearing a red cheongsam (a traditional Chinese outfit that was popular with the ladies from the 20s to the 60s). She had medium length hair which fell just below her shoulders. Her face was turned to her right but her eyes were downcast and her hair was partially covering her face. What was fucking creepy was, she had a fucking smirk on her face and she was slowly turning her head, presumably to look at me. This was when i noticed that her skin was bluish. At that instant I knew I was not looking at something human. I knew that "she" knew I was looking at her through the peephole. I fucking ran back to the room terrified but sadly I didn't breathe a word about what I saw to my sisters, even when they asked me if it was my mum at the door. I couldn't sleep properly for many days after because the image of that lady flashed my head. I was so scared to even look at the direction of the main door whenever i walked to the kitchen at night for fear of seeing feet under the door again. It was ONLY about 10 years LATER, I related the incident to my sisters and mum and we then found out why my mum always made us wait for her downstairs whenever she worked nights. She told us that she would ALWAYS see a lady in red downstairs in between the pillars when she came home late. But she never told us why she wanted us to fetch her as she didn't want us to be scared! But she herself was terrified laaaah! Imagine making your 3 young latchkey kids wait for you bawah (below) block in a secluded apartment block! And worst still, my sisters also said that they would always catch glimpses of someone in red behind the pillars too while we waited for my mum! Found out all this only 10 years later! According to my mum , one of the estate cleaners told her that the lady used to live in the neighboring block and had jumped off from her block in red after finding out that her husband had been cheating on her! The cleaner was a middle aged Malaysian lady who had been working in our estate for quite a while Read the rest of the Farrer Court Saga - Bad Feng Shui or Dirty Tactics and A Place for Murders and Suicides
 Confessed by Velu My friend and I went for fishing at the changi costal area near Changi Village. There were some other anglers nearby a few meters away from us. Luck was on our side that night and we managed to have very good catch. Every time we cast, within few minutes we would feel the pull. The other anglers looked at us and gave us a thumbs up sign. Later in the night, a macik (an elderly malay lady) in a black tudung came up to us asking for a fish. She looked really old and terribly hunched. It struck us as strange that an old lady would come to these parts of the island this late in the night. It's a spot that's frequented by lovers and anglers, certainly not common to find old folks loitering around at this timing. Thinking to ourselves that maybe she's homeless, we didn't read too much into the incident, and gave her a couple of our catch. Part of me also remembered the things that my grandparents used to say of their experiences back in the kampong days. Do not deny anyone food when they come up to you, especially when it happens at night. My grandmother believed that spirits can come in the form of human to test us. Those who are generous will be rewarded. The selfish ones will suffer a loss. I don't know how true this folklore is lah, but since we caught all these fish for free, no harm sharing right? After she left, someone from the other group came over to tell us that it's best we left the place, immediately. But since we were really on form fishing today, we didn't really feel like leaving. Also part of us suspects that they were jealous of us. So we continued while the other group packed up and left in a hurry. This time our catch was even faster than the previous time. The same macik appeared again. So we gave her another fish and she left. That's when my friend grabbed me by the arm and pointed to the macik, "Bro! Look! Macik got no leg!" I turned to look and to my horror, I couldn't see her feet from under her. No doubt she was wearing a traditional long malay outfit that reached to her ankles, but even then usually you can at least see the feet walking but this one really can't see anything. It's like she was just gliding. We immediately packed up and ran to our lorry. We put all the barang barang (our fishing items and styrofoam boxes) in the back and got into the front. We heard and felt someone climbing up the back of the lorry. I looked through the rear view mirror but couldn't see anyone. It was just the dark empty carpark illuminated by orange street lamps. I checked the the side mirror and to my horror -swear I almost pee'd my pants- I saw that macik again. I started the engine and sped off. I didn't care at that point to double check if the macik was real or ghost. I just drove off and kept checking the rear view mirror; a part of me imagining that she will appear beside me again. Thankfully I didn't see her and after I drove off a few kilometres I began to feel somewhat calmer.
I remember, my friend and I even joked about how we thought we just saw a ghost. That's when my friend who was laughing suddenly turned serious and screamed. I turned to my right and saw that a few meters away there was a head, with no body, flying along side the lorry. I floored the accelerator out of Changi and headed towards the more modern neighbourhood where its brighter and crowded with people. That 10 minutes drive along the dark road was probably the most scared I had ever been in life. That was the closest encounter I ever had to the supernatural. I haven't fished again since then.  Confessed by S I started listening to your podcasts last week. I was introduced by my friend. I listened from the first episode. In episode #21, the podcast was about haunted hotels and you mentioned about Goodwood Park hotel. I have been there twice for birthday parties. On both occasions, it was held in a suite room that has two floors with a balcony, overlooking the swimming pool. In 2010, my friends and I attended our friend’s birthday at Goodwood Park hotel. All of us were having fun. There were booze and food. Another friend decided to join us but before that he had a bad break up with this girl so his mood totally dampened. When he arrived, he drank until he passed out on the sofa. At that moment, we decided to share ghost stories so we switched off the lights in the room and sat in a circle. Suddenly, my friend who passed out from the sofa made weird noises. He kept calling his sister's name and he made a deep growl. All of us could sense that something was not right with him. Two of the boys with us were former silat* practitioners and have experience in such a situation. My friend became aggressive and his voice changed. Four guys including the two silat boys pinned him down and recited Islamic prayers. [Silat is a collective word for a class of indigenous martial arts from the geo-cultural area of the Indonesian archipelago.] The silat boys asked the spirit who is he and where is he from? He replied he lives in this hotel for over 30 years and he will not come out from the body until we have cleared the booze which is considered “dirty” to the spirit. My friend threw up and later on, he regained a bit conscious and he mentioned he wanted to go out of the room. The silat boys can see through their 3rd eyes and they said a lot of spirits are waiting for him outside the room. They did not allow him to leave the room and we waited until dawn. My friend was back to his conscious state and Sleeping peacefully. Editor's Notes: I have spent many drunk nights at hotel parties and I can personally attest that there are ghostly hotel residents and it's not just at Goodwood Park Hotel. A similar experience happened to me at York Hotel.
 Apparition in photo is meant to fuel readers' imagination. This is not an actual ghostly footage caught on camera. Confessed by CK. This story happened when I was in Temasek Polytechnic in 2009. It was a Friday night, a few friends and I decided to have our dinner at School of Design canteen after lectures ended before proceeding to the library together to mug for our exams on the following Monday. It was around 7pm, I ordered my food and brought it over to the table and sat down, facing the garden which was known as the Triangular Garden. This garden was made up of triangular-shaped bushes/plants and formed a kind of maze structure. As I sat down on my seat, I had a quick glance at the garden. I saw two shadowy figures standing behind a bush in the middle of the garden. I didn’t pay attention to it at first and started to consume my food. As I was curious what they were doing standing in the garden at this timing, I took another look at the garden. and saw the same couple standing, facing me. One of them was a female in a red dress and another one was a male wearing something that resembles a biker’s leather jacket. This time they were behind another bush, closer to me. I quickly returned my gaze back to my food and continued to eat. At that moment, I was no longer feeling curious, but was afraid because it seemed that they were aware of me looking at them. I took another look at the garden the third time. This time the couple was standing in front of the garden, looking at me. I quickly looked away and cold sweat started to drip down from my forehead. Not even a second later, I felt a close presence of someone on the right side of me. I saw two entities beside me: one was in a red dress and another one in a leather jacket and both have no feet. I dared not to look up to see their faces. I just kept looking down at my plate. I didn’t want to scare or worry my friends, so we still proceed to the library after everyone finished eating. That couple followed me all the way to the library. As I took my textbooks to read, I saw the couple just standing behind me, the female was standing on my right and the male on my left. They did not speak or gesture to me, just standing there. I could not concentrate at all, just kept being aware of my back to see what that couple was trying to do next. Suddenly, I felt their presence nearer and saw both bending down. I can feel the female long hair coming down on my right, turning her face to face me. I was so scared that I looked down at my text book, my nose almost touching the book. One of my friends asked me what was wrong, I just answered that I was feeling sleepy and couldn’t study anymore. I told them that I wanted to go home now and proceed to leave the library with two other friends to the bus stop. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel their presence when I exited the library all the way to the bus stop. Even on the bus I didn’t see them, which made me heaved a sigh of relief. Once I got off the bus and started walking home, I saw the same ghost couple following me from behind. I ignored them completely and just trying my best to get home as soon as possible and prayed that I would be able to take the lift with someone else. Or else I would have to take the lift with the couple alone by myself. Thankfully there were others who need to use the lift as well and thankfully the ghost couple did not follow me in. I rushed home, locked the outer metal gate and go straight to the bathroom for a shower. While in the shower, I heard loud noises that came from my metal gate, like someone was shaking it violently. I quickly came out of the bathroom in my towel to check. My sister also came out from her room to look and both of us saw the metal gate shaking violently by itself. There was no wind or anything that was in contact with the gate, but the gate was shaking so hard like someone was banging on it. We went to our own rooms and closed our doors. After a while the banging stopped, and I came out and locked the inner door before going to sleep. Nothing else happened after that day but it was one of the scariest supernatural encounters for me. I think the reason for the banging of my gate was that they couldn’t get into the house because we got a Taoist “Ba-Gua” mirror on top of our door. Imagine what would have happen if we didn’t have any protective measure outside of our door that night... Editor's note: Who says ghosts only come in white gown? This ghost couple really do rock the Sid and Nancy look.
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