Matilda House in Punggol, rumoured to be Haunted.

Matilda House is one of the oldest houses in Singapore located at Punggol Walk in Punggol. It was built in 1902 by the late Mr Howard Cashin’s father Alexander Cashin, and named after his paternal grandmother -  Josephine Matilda Cashin. His grandfather, Joseph Cashin arrived in Singapore in the 1840’s and made his fortune investing in legal opium farms and later in real estate. Cashin Street, next to Bras Basah Complex, was named after him.

The Matilda House was a single-storey, tropical-colonial style, sea-front bungalow with four bedrooms, servant-quarters, a horse-stable and a tennis court. A large garden surrounded the home where the Cashins grew various kinds of fruit trees.

The Singapore government acquired the land that the Matilda House was on for redevelopment in 1985 and the estate was left abandoned and unoccupied ever since until a residential condominium, A Treasure Trove, was built on the exact grounds in 2015. The façade and interior of the Matilda House were restored and converted into the condominium’s clubhouse.

Mr. Howard Cashin who had the chance to see his old home in October of 2002, said he was quite shocked and confessed to being “a little shaken” to see his childhood home at the state it was in.

The state that Mr. Cashin was referring to is one that many locals who grew up in the 80s and 90s are familiar with.

Due to decades of disuse, The Matilda House looked like a dilapidated haunted house right out of a horror movie which inspired rumours of haunting to spread amongst the local community. 

Due to decades of disuse, The Matilda House looked like a dilapidated haunted house right out of a horror movie which inspired rumours of haunting to spread amongst the local community. 
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It was known by a few names such as Ghost House, Istana Menanti (The Waiting Palace), but most notable, it is referred to as The White House and is one of the three infamous coloured haunted houses in Singapore’s paranormal folklore. The other two are the Red House and the Blue House, in Pasir Ris and Hill View respectively.

One of the popular urban legends is that the place had a very powerful spirit that prevented the place from being torn down. During the redevelopment phase, the land around the area was cleared but the ruins of the Matilda House clearly stood out against a backdrop of brown desolate land.

Matilda House in 2006, with Soo Teck LRT station in the background, standing alone and untouched. PHOTO: Wikipedia

Some of the rumours abound was that there were evil spirits in the house and would kill anyone who entered and disturbed the sanctity of the place. Some even claimed that the place was protected by an ancestral spirit, and likely to be that of its namesake. 

Naturally it became a haunt for many thrill seekers, budding paranormal investigators and avid photographers. Harrowing ghostly encounters from the White House spread like wildfire with many different variations, each even more dramatic than its predecessors. Matilda House soon developed a reputation as one of the most iconic haunted places in the annals of Singapore’s Paranormal Folklore.

According to A Treasure Trove developer, Sim Lian Group, the only reason that they kept the Matilda House as it is was because of the sale agreement that the building must be conserved. It has nothing to do with the rumours, they claimed.

A Treasure Trove resident Mr. Saradetch, who was born with the ability to sense spirits, claims that the clubhouse is indeed still haunted and it’s one of the reasons why the lights are never off.

However prayers have been done during the development phase and spiritual masters have been brought in to ‘negotiate’ with the entities.

However prayers have been done during the development phase and spiritual masters have been brought in to ‘negotiate’ with the entities. Certain promises had to be made to appease the spirits. This No-Haunting Pact will stand for as long as this promise is maintained.
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Which is fact, and which is fiction? 

Is the URA’s Conservation story just a convenient cover-up? I guess some secrets will remain a mystery and become fuel for the imaginative mind.
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There are however some confessions provided to us, first hand, from people who had once dared ventured into the Matilda House and lived to tell the tale.

Read the Matilda House Confession - Apparitions Caught on Photos

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