Written by Eugene Tay Peace Centre, situated in the Bugis Bras Basar district and at the arse end of Middle Road, is one of Singapore's oldest surviving mall that has not been upgraded since it was first built. The floor tiles, wooden hand rails, and faded pastel green coloured walls are all reminiscent of the 70s decor. Back in its heydays, Peace Centre was home to an eclectic mix of shops selling anything from bespoke tailored outfits to Kachang Puteh* . Over the years it housed dodgy businesses that catered for all manner of vices - sex trades, alcohol, gambling, drugs; and these are the ones that I personally know about. I'm sure there might be other more nefarious and darker deeds going about that place that are only privy to those in the industry. *Kachang Puteh literally translates to White Nuts. These are roasted nuts covered in white sugar. It was a popular snack that one would buy to eat in the cinema. Peace Centre might be the only place left in Singapore with a Kachang Puteh seller. I was a tenant of that building from 2007 to 2012, and had forged very close friendship with the neighbours. Even the lady boss who was in-charge of property management would sit with the tenants at the third floor cafe to chat during the slow weekday afternoons. Ghost stories, especially in Asia, is the one conversational topic that creates an immediate bond between the different races and cultures, and for an old building like Peace Centre, the stories were endless. Many of these tales, though as scary as they are when narrated, often times were urban legends - someone who had heard it from someone who had heard it from someone else. The 7th Floor Haunted Management Office This story is slightly more believable because it came directly from someone who worked in the management office herself. T is not known to be someone who joked a lot. Besides my mother, T is the only other person I know who can smile with a frown. I have a love hate relationship with T. She's my landlady and each month when I see her, it's usually to pay rent, but there are also times where she and I would just sit down and gossip about the events that took place next building at Peace Mansion. I remember in one conversation where I was due to renew my rental agreement and I asked for a cheaper rate, she offered her 7th floor office as an alternative. It had bigger floor space, and she was practically giving it away for free. So I asked her what's the catch. "It's haunted," she said. Just like that. No set up, no preamble. "Things can move around. Cupboards can open and close by themselves." "But you were in that office for many years, aren't you afraid?" "This place quite common. You can see spirits walking around the corridors at night. It's not harmful. They are like our tenants. We are used to them. That's why you see some offices will leave packet drinks and sweets outside their doors." "Then why move out?" "Last month the haunting in the office started getting violent. Got one new staff said he don't believe in all these nonsense. Around 5pm, before we knock off, he heard the office chair rolled around. He went to check but most of us had already left for the day and there's no one in the adjoining room. He decided to scold the spirit. He went to check but most of us had already left for the day and there's no one in the adjoining room. He decided to scold the spirit. That's when the glass partitioned shattered and a large piece of glass cut his neck. He didn't die of course but since then, many of us in the office don't feel safe anymore. The energy got a bit darker. So we moved to third floor." "Any ghost there?" "Yeah have, That one quite interesting. The room used to be rented by a church for their congregation, but then they moved out already and we used it as a store. There's a timid child spirit there, and I think over time, the place attracted other children spirits to that place. The shifu [a holistic movement practitioner] on the fourth floor said that these are aborted child spirits. They got no where to go. But the mood is a lot better than on the seventh floor. They like music. Anytime of the day, our office radio can turn on and play on its own. Sometimes they even change the channel on their own. If you walk past and you hear music, that's not for us; it's for them." Do Not Deny The Beggar This one was shared with me by the security guard who swore that he got the story from the father of the kachang puteh seller. This urban legend started in the 80s when Singapore still had beggars that sleep at street corners. As the story goes, there's a old indian man that would only appear during dusk to ask for food and money. There was one young man who would often take pity on this beggar and bought him food and offered him money. Though this young man wasn't wealthy himself, he had a kind and generous heart. One evening, when the young man had delivered food to the old beggar, the beggar reached out for his hand and asked him to stay. The young man did. "Young man," the old beggar said. "You have a kind heart. It is my turn to return you a gift." "It's okay, uncle, you don't have to give me anything," said the young man. The old beggar just chuckled and palmed a dirty old coin in the young man's hand. "Keep this in your pocket at all times, you will never be lack of money," the old beggar said. In that instant, the young man saw a shift in the old beggar's face, for a split second, but in that time the young man thought he saw the form of Bhikshatana. Bhikshatana is an aspect of the goddess Shiva in Hindu mythology. In that instant, the young man saw a shift in the old beggar's face, for a split second, but in that time the young man thought he saw the form of Bhikshatana. That was the last time that the young man saw the old beggar but he did remember to keep the coin in his pocket at all times. In fact, the young man prospered during the decade and owned a few business that operated out of Peace Centre. The rumour about his unnatural success was cemented when his businesses outlived his competitors. In the later part of 2000s, most of his businesses folded and he moved out of the building. No one has heard of him since. This led many of the neighbours to believe that he must have lost his magic coin. To this day, the older tenants would advice their staff who are working late to never deny the beggar asking for food if they met one at Peace Centre. Now the next bit might be entirely a coincidence but I cannot help but think back on this urban legend and wondering many times later in my life if I had indeed came face to face with the aspect of Shiva. I knocked off around 10.00pm one night and I was taking the side stairs down towards middle road, The only light illuminating this stairwell was the light from the street lamp nearby. As I walked down towards the second floor landing, I met an old Indian man making his way up. At this time of the night, there is no reason for anyone to be going into the building, and for us tenants, we pretty much knew most people by face. This man however, was unkempt, clearly hadn't showered in a while, and I think he might have been drinking. He curled his fingers and brought it to his mouth in an action that most people would interpret as "eat". He rubbed his stomach with the other hand and repeated his actions. I fished out for my wallet and as luck would have it, for him, I only have a ten dollar bill in my wallet and no smaller change. Remembering the urban legend shared by the security guard, I did not hesitate to part with my money even though that would mean I would have to skip dinner. The man took my money and happily made his way upwards. I walked away feeling conflicted. Half of me feeling stupid, and the other half consoling myself that I've done a good deed. Later that night, I found a folded fifty dollar bill in bus number 65. How would you explain that? The Girls of Peace Mansion Come evening time, that place is a sight to behold. Many fine ladies in the tightest and tiniest of dresses, tottering around on the highest of heels would make their way down to have their meals before starting work at their respective nightclubs and karaoke bars in the vicinity. Danny and Anthony were two well known characters who would hang out everyday at the foodcourt area of Peace Mansion. They consider themselves entrepreneurs who truly understands what customers want, namely vices. The drinking and smoking tables at the food court are limited so we always end up sharing tables. As regulars, it is inevitable that bonds are forged and especially over common interest like booze and girls. That was how I got invitation into house parties and saw the human side of Peace Mansion. It is easy to look at these working girls, pimps, and colourful characters and pass our high society judgment upon them, but when you had the opportunity to speak with them as a person as I have, I found that they are no different from my conversations with investment bankers, the traders, and the get-rich-quick "coaches". They all just want to make as much money as they can. Greed is the name of the game; It is a cut throat industry and respect is measured in dollar bills. And with greed, especially in Asia, spirituality comes into play. I have heard stories of magic needles/beads that were surgically inserted under the skin in necks, cheeks, foreheads, and genitals, all in the name of business improvement. The ticket out for some of these girls were to snare a rich man who would keep them as a mistress. When that failed, magic is also used to take down a rival; and this was what, in my opinion, led to Peace Mansion having the haunted reputation it did. Initially the bulk of the working girls were from China, but Thais, Vietnamese and even Mongolian girls started flooding the scene. Each bringing with them their own spiritual beliefs. Some of these fights can lead to bitter ends and if these tales were to be believed, magic was responsible for some of the suicides and sudden death cases. While the law could not catch them, it is said that blood debt requires blood sacrifices. These girls would use the lives of their unborn fetus as payment. Any place with a high concentration of negative energy will attract spirits and entities from around the place, and over time, I was told, portals will form. For those dabbling in vices, they welcome such portals in their place of operation. "The more spirits, the better. Then we can bind them to our will and ask them for favours," said Danny. "The more spirits, the better. Then we can bind them to our will and ask them for favours," said Danny. "But don't get us wrong. We don't use these spirits to do bad things. We also dedicate merits back to them. So everyone wins," Anthony added. "You think these KTV places all don't play with such things? I tell you this entire block has more ghosts than humans ah." "So it's haunted?" I asked. "Everywhere also got ghost lah," Danny replied. "You don't disturb them, they don't disturb you. But if you need help you can ask, but then you need to give them something too." "Like that, isn't it easy to get rich? Just ask ghosts for help can already," I asked. "It's that easy. The more greedy you are, the more you ask, the more you have to pay back. For me, I just ask for small blessings. Make me better looking so people will like my face and want to do business. Anthony here always asking for bigger cock. That one need miracle. Ghost also cannot help." The table erupted with raucous laughter and exchange of generous expletives. Danny continued: "But seriously, making money is not hard - if you dabble in the spirit world - it's keeping your money and knowing how to keep your promises that's." This is a featured story based on my interaction with some interesting characters in Peace Centre. Personally, the scariest thing about Peace Centre is the toilets. The area around Peace Centre also have pretty interesting stories - Mount Sophia, Park Lane and the Old Cathay Cinema. Perhaps you might have some confessions of your own to share. We would love to hear from you.
Confession by Cara Wong So this incident took place at Aloha Loyang chalet several years ago, before they converted it to the current Civil Service club that it is today. Have you been to Aloha Loyang? It looks like a vacation home and If you've seen it, you can absolutely understand the appeal of holding celebrations or if you needed a quick relaxing weekend getaway. My family and I were invited to join a birthday celebration. The invite came from our child's pre-school teacher who had since left the school, but was extremely fond of our daughter and invited our family to join her in celebrating her 21st. On that Saturday, we arrived just after 530pm. W were instructed to park our car at the back of the house, before walking through a stone-lined corridor that would take us to the main living area. I remember arriving and thinking wow, what a scenic-looking bungalow and how spacious. Most of the chalets I had ever been to had been fairly small and unimpressive. When we arrived, the festivities were already in progression. People were mingling, helping themselves to the buffet, chit chatting and having a good ole time. In the corner, I could even see some of her friends and relatives playing mahjong. Clearly, everyone was in great spirits. My then-2 year old daughter was the youngest of the guests but being very much a social person, she started walking around the bungalow exploring and got super excited when she saw a pool out back. It was a communal pool, shared with several bungalows. I could see people milling around but the pool itself was empty. My daughter wanted to play in it but I mentioned that we didn't bring any swimming gear. Despite the rowdiness of the party and the general energy going on, I could not shake the feeling that something felt off about the place. I mentioned it briefly to my husband and specifically told him to keep a lookout for our daughter and not to let her out of sight. At about 630pm,we decide to have our dinner. We had to take turns as the bungalow was super packed by this time and barely had any seats. My husband ate first whilst I fed my daughter and when they were both done, my husband offered to take my daughter for a walk so I could eat peacefully. After I'd finished, I went about looking for the 2 of them and seeing no sign of the 2 of them within the house itself, I went out the terrace doors that led to the pool. I glanced over and immediately felt alarmed when I saw my daughter sitting at the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in the dark water and my husband sitting cross legged next to her watching her. It was about 730pm by this time and the feeling of unease just kept growing within me even though I really couldn't explain why. I quickly ran over and grabbed my kid and said we should probably head in seeing that the cake cutting was about to start but truthfully, at this point I was just about ready to leave. We left the chalet just after 8pm and during the ride home, I felt inexplicably tired. My daughter too, was unusually silent but I figured she was just tired out from all the excitement from the party. When we got home, I remember feeling like I was close to passing out. Worried that I was about to come down with the flu or something, I told my husband that I was just going to take a quick nap with our little girl. As I slept, I dreamt that we were back at the chalet and this time, on the 2nd floor. Curiously enough, it was almost like I was a 3rd person, looking at the 3 of us crouched over one of the 2 beds in the room, and attempting to change my daughter's diapers. I could remember every minute detail of the room even though during our visit there, we never once went upstairs at all. I remember feeling like we weren't alone in the room and as I glanced up at the ceiling, I noticed in horror that a long haired woman was hanging off the corner and staring down at the 3 of us. I remember jolting awake in shock and my daughter who was sleeping in her bed beside me abruptly woke up. She then started screaming and crying and pointing towards our ceiling in the EXACT spot that I had seen the woman in my dream. She then started screaming and crying and pointing towards our ceiling in the EXACT spot that I had seen the woman in my dream. I had this feeling that it was almost like she had SEEN what I had dreamt about, or I had dreamt about what she had seen.
Glancing at my phone, I realized it had only been about 15 mins since we fell asleep - certainly not long enough to have a dream that detailed. Upon hearing the commotion, my husband ran into the room to check on the 2 of us. He realized that our daughter was burning up and quickly gave her a bath and some milk to calm her down. Thankfully she fell asleep again but worried about my daughter and unsettled by my dream, I could not sleep. I was too much in shock to re-account my dream to my husband and he merely thought that we had a nightmare. The next morning, I related my dream to my husband and my mother in law. My mother in law said that we should probably see a priest to ensure nothing untoward happened to us since it was strange that both of us seemed to be upset about something at the same time. As my daughter was still having a fever, my husband and mother in law left for the temple while I stayed behind to look after my child. Several hours later when returned, my mother in law passed me a talisman and specifically instructed me to to put it under my daughter's pillow. She also had a couple stalks of pomelo leaves which she proceeded to wet and then sprinkle over my sleeping child all the while murmuring something and finally, passed me a little amulet and said that the priest instructed us to make sure my child wears it if she absolutely had to leave the house at night. The priest told my mother in law that we likely came across something which was residing in that chalet and that it was not uncommon for spirits to attach itself to young and innocent children, and that it could have picked my daughter when she was sitting and playing near the pool. Thankfully, my daughter's fever broke the next day and she was back to her smiley happy self again. When I asked if she had a nightmare the night before, she looked at me and just kept quiet. As an absolute kicker to end this story, whilst scrolling through Facebook pictures of the party that the host uploaded the next day, one of the pictures was of the bedroom that I dreamt of - right down to the very last detail. I casually asked my husband if he had managed to check out the 2nd level of the bungalow whilst we were there and he went "No la, this girl (my daughter) was just happily running outside the entire time and wanted to sit at the pool." If you need more proof about how "unclean" Aloha Loyang is, just do a quick search on this page and several other incidents would probably pop up. There are also some trip advisor reviews and personal accounts on Google about people who have stayed overnight and experienced similar disturbances. Confessions by Tan Ei Leen "This story references Karak Highway in Malaysia. It's important to note that Karak Highway has an international reputation for being one of the most haunted locations in Malaysia. The urban legend talks about a yellow Volkswagen Beatle that would keep appearing despite drivers passing by it. There were also many tragic accidents that took place on this highway." - Eugene Tay Now I have calmed down to write my encounter last night. As you all know, Selangor MCO started today (6th May 2021) and Raya is coming, my clients has assigned me to send Raya hampers this week. Supposed those hampers is divided to 3 days delivery but as we are also uncertain as to travel restrictions, we decided to clear everything yesterday. We informed the recipients and they agreed to receive at night as well. All was good until approximately 9.55pm. I was at the MRR2. My GPS showed that the recipient house is 3km away and 6 mins to reach. So I followed the GPS and suddenly it rerouted saying that I overshot. Well, sometimes we do take wrong turn so I was like... ok. Follow the rerouted route to a U-turn. So the nearest U-turn was the Genting highland old road. The dark kampung road next to the Karak highway. I used to U-turn tat road in daylight. When entering that road will reach a traffic light. At traffic light turn right and will have a junction and we will reach the main road. Last night at the traffic light, I turned right but can't see the junction. I can only follow the road. I didnt suspect anything and followed the road as per GPS. I remembered that time the road show 6km to reach destination. After about 2km I guess, suddenly the GPS showed 8km. I felt weird. Then I look at surrounding. Both left and right are trees. Front and back no cars. I was all alone. There were no street lights. Then I look at surrounding. Both left and right are trees. Front and back no cars. I was all alone. There were no street lights. Then i saw an abandon factory a few metres ahead with an abandon crane. No choice i turn there so i can make a U-turn. GPS still gave me weird directions but my guts tell me not to follow and to take the road back the same way I came in.
I tried so hard to chant "na mo ah mi tho for" but I was panicking and the words seem hard to come out. So I switched to call for Guan Yin Pu Sha. I couldn't chant the words properly. As the 黑白无常* (underworld gods) is my 乾爷 (patron), I just kept calling out 乾爷,救命 ("godfather, please help"). Soon after, I saw the main road junction and quickly exited the junction. Once I exited the junction, one yellow mini cooper (I think) dashed out of nowhere and I jammed on my breaks real hard and thankfully avoided an accident. That car was speeding and almost collided into me. If I had delayed for even one second, I would have been dead. *黑白无常 also known as dua di ah pek and underworld deities who help the living. Devotees often call them terms of respect such as 'godfather' or 'boss' Confessions by Raysan Ace I heard slow tapping on the lower aluminium part of my bedroom window from outside. I expected someone to be knocking on my door next but it was dead silent. I looked at the time and it was 3:10am. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep and just few minutes later I heard sounds coming from my gate and living room front door. It was like shaking the handle of the gates and thumping the door. I got up instantly and just stood in my bedroom. I wanted to switch on the light but I didn't. I wanted to ask 'Who is it?' but I couldn't. The tapping continued at my bedroom window making my heart beat fast. I've sealed my bedroom window with cardboard because lights from the corridor were too bright for me to sleep. I tried to see any movement from the little bit of light coming thru the top edge of my bedroom window but there was nothing. I opened my bedroom door slowly and softly as I could, went to my chair and sat quietly. I strained my ears to pick up any sound but it was quiet except for my bedroom fan. I lit up a cigarette, sitting in darkness thinking if someone was playing a fool on me? I didn't feel any presence in the house but had this irritation of heavy burden on my chest. It was very disturbing. Finished smoking, got up and was about to enter my bedroom when I saw it! In fact, within matter of seconds from getting up I already knew something was going to appear and the sight of it nearly killed me! within matter of seconds from getting up I already knew something was going to appear and the sight of it nearly killed me! My whole body jolted from inside as I stood outside the bedroom. I then reached out to switch on the light with my right hand. The sight of it was very frightening! I knew from looking at it's height that it was no foul play and having familiarity with the supernatural, the same dire feeling held me again! The phone was in my left hand, I quickly took a picture and somehow I can feel that the thing knew what I was doing. I dropped my phone after taking a shot without flash. I picked it up quickly and with my hands trembling, set the camera to flash and took another shot. The thing grew as it moved and immediately shrank . I didn't dare open the door to check and just stood by my bedroom. I felt angry and afraid at the same time. Drank some water, sat down again and said some prayers. I switched on my kitchen and living room lights as I went back to sleep. I was tossing and turning in bed and couldn't sleep till 7am. (I'm sharing this so that if anything happens to me, people might know the cause. I really value those who prayed and gave me moral support but I also have to confide that I came across some who had an adverse motive for my wellbeing. They are the ones alleging that I'm not helping myself, that I can leave this house tomorrow and change things around miraculously.) Part 1 of the Spooner Road Saga and confession with Raysan Ace can be found here on our YouTube channel. Confession by Kim I am born and raised a Catholic and this religion ran deep in the family, even my ancestors all the way from China! After few decades, majority of our family members are still Catholic and one of my uncle even end up serving the church as a priest. Point of saying this is, the teaching and beliefs of this particular religion is fairly strong in the family. So this a story, about what happen, 18 years ago, a night before my grandma passed away. She had suffered diabetes more than 10 years before her passing, on top of the diabetes, she also suffered from terrible leg ulceration, to be honest, I do not know whether that is even the exact term for it, but her legs are pretty much, swelling, with wounds here and there and blackish in color for as long as I could remember. Due to diabetes, all these wounds would not heal and doctor said no choice but to amputate. The night before the surgery, my uncle and my cousin were keeping her company in the hospital. It has passed visiting hours, so hospital is fairly quiet except for the noise of cars passing by on the street outside. My cousin and uncle were having conversation but through whispers since both of them are not sleepy and they have to be awake anyway, in case of anything. I could not remember the exact time, when I think according to my uncle, it was rather late, or nearly midnight, when the both of them, saw and heard, the ward door swayed and remained open, as if there were someone that came through the door and stood there. But…there was no one there. What’s weirder is, the ward door, is an automated door. Both of them stopped talking and just stare at the door, they were thinking, could be doctors or nurses that is coming through and they open the door somehow. But the door remained open, with no one passing through, for 5 minutes or so, and it closed back by itself, like how it used to be. Right at the moment when the door was closed, my grandma opened her eyes, with the widest smile, she called my uncle and said, “you know who came to visit me just now?” Right at the moment when the door was closed, my grandma opened her eyes, with the widest smile, she called my uncle and said, “you know who came to visit me just now?” My uncle then asked who. “It’s Jesus and Mother Mary…” said my grandmother. Obviously, my uncle and cousin looked at each other puzzled and thought, she’s just dreaming. Grandma then continued saying, “They said, my legs are healed and I may come home” and obviously she’s very happy to hear that. No one in the world, no matter how bad is your condition, wanted any parts of your body gone. Uncle then told her, “good lah like that, then tomorrow we can check out and go home! But now, you have to sleep, cause now is still nighttime.” She went back to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up around 5 in the morning, feeling all happy after what she experiences the night before and told the story all over again to my uncle and cousin that is still there. She drank some water and then went to back to sleep, feeling all joyous. She never woke up. She passed away that morning, just a few hours before doctors could cut off both of her legs. It’s a sad news for our big family, her 13 children and over 30 grandchildren were all notified and asked to return home immediately. Dad, uncles and aunts went to the hospital to bring her body back for funeral. And this is the last part of the thing that we could not explain, when she is home, her children put on her favorite cheongsam as her last attire before she was placed in the casket. As they were dressing her, they found… no more swells, no more wounds on her legs and the color? It looks as white and as soft as a baby’s skin. This is when my uncle told the story of the night before. Maybe the higher power did visit her. Maybe her leg was really healed. Maybe she is really coming home. Just that, it was not our home, it was her forever home. Confessions by Daniel B. Edited by Eugene Tay I work as a night shift security officer in a building that's situated in the commercial district. I am one of the only two personnel working the graveyard shift. Work starts at 8.00pm and one of us have to be stationed at the security counter while the other makes his rounds to patrol the building. One Friday night while I was on duty and taking my turn to patrol while my colleague took his break, I experienced my very first haunting. It was 11.00pm; I started my patrol from the 39th floor and made my way down. Each floor had two staircases so I will walk down from one stairwell, cut cross the entire stretch of floor to the other stairwell, and continue making my way down in this zig-zag pattern. On the 16th floor, when I was passing by the middle lift lobby, I saw an open pink umbrella with a kids ball outside an empty unit. In fact, the entire floor is vacant, it's quite strange to find these items here; and besides my partner would have mentioned seeing them when he went on his patrol. I was honestly freaked out at this time. The hair at the back of my neck stood up. Convincing myself that my colleague probably was lazy and skipped some levels, I tried to calm my nerves and completed my round. When I reached the ground floor, I still couldn't shake off the weird sensation I felt on level 16. Something about it just did not feel right. I decided that since my colleague did not mention anything before, perhaps this was a small matter and not worth talking about. There's still the entire night to work and we had to do some more patrols before knocking off, let's not scare either of us unnecessarily. I sat at the security counter playing games on my mobile phone. My colleague was inside the mail room taking a nap. Nothing happened until about 1.00 am, then I heard a lady's laughter going, "heheheh". Nothing happened until about 1.00 am, then I heard a lady's laughter going, "heheheh". It was loud enough to echo through the empty foyer. I paused my game and looked around. I was sure I heard a laughter. The sound of laughter is very distinct. It's not a bird or a sound that came from outside. This laughter came from inside the building.
I waited for a while expecting to hear any follow up sounds but there were none. I shrugged off that experience and went back to my game, and that's when I heard the laughter again. This time I chose to ignore it and continued to play my game, but I must tell you, inside I was freaking out. About 5 mins later, the laughter echoed again. This time I got pissed. You can say that way I handle fear is to replace it with temper. I jumped over the counter, not even bothering to walk around it, and ran towards the direction of the sound. I stood there in the dim light and shouted into the dark corridor all the vulgarities that came to mind. After that I did not go back to the counter. I went out of the building to smoke the adrenaline away. For the rest of the night, I stayed at the counter. Later on I found out that the building had a lot of weird incidents and according to the guards who had been there longer than me, the experience I encountered was not uncommon. There was another incident where a sleeping security guard woke up to find three ghostly apparitions in soldier's uniform scolding him in Japanese. So far the hauntings had not been malicious. With regards to my experience, I felt that the ghosts were more playful and just trying to get my attention. For most of us who had an experience in that building, it's usually just through sounds and feelings only. There were rumours that this building was built on old cemetery grounds and that the spirits are anchored to this place. Most places in Singapore, to be honest, have their own stories and hauntings lah so it's no point shifting job to another place either. Who knows what I will experience there. Maybe I may not be so lucky. Like they say, better a hantu you know than a hantu you don't. Confession by Cara Wong Cover Photo Credit: Nikko Pascua "If I had to describe Tanglin Halt or "chup lao" as it was more commonly known, I would say it was basically the cusp of all the paranormal shit that happened to me and I wouldn't move there even if someone paid me a million dollars. Will probably split this story into 2 or 3 parts cause the number of encounters there were ridiculous." - Cara Wong So as a bit of a backstory, my dad was a regular in the "house flipping" scene. It basically meant buying properties at good prices, getting it done up and then reselling it at good profits. It also meant we never stayed in one place for very long. If memory serves, Tanglin Halt was either our 3rd or 4th home.
I will refrain from revealing the block number but it was close to the church and the old railway track. We first moved into a higher floor of that block and lived there for a couple of months before the real estate agent told us that a floor below us in the same block was selling for cheap - plus it was a corner unit. Naturally my dad's interest was piqued and within months we had yet moved to another home. On hindsight, no free meal in the world and cheap houses usually come at a nasty cost. In the beginning, everything started off small. Incidents that weren't so big that you could brush it off as your imagination or a coincidence.
Confession by Cara Wong Cover Photo Credit: Nikko Pascua This was shared with me by a friend who lived in Tanglin Halt, Blk 31. (Very bold to tell you guys the block this time because the incident didn't happen in his house). My friend worked in the same fast food joint as me but typically preferred to work the closing shift, which meant he would get home sometime around 2 or 3am. He recalled on that fateful night, there was no change in his routine as he got off the cab. He remembered it being a super hot night and that he couldn't wait to get home to shower. So in order for him to get to his block, he had to walk this long winding pavement that basically connected all the blocks and ended at the then-existing, Tanglin Primary Sch. (I drew a yellow crisscross line on the map so you can visualize the path he had to take to get home). He recalled brisk walking to his flat but just furtherup the path he could see what looked like 2 people and they were heading his way fast. At first he brushed it off as 2 other late commuters like himself but quickly got alarmed when they were half a block away and in the dim streetlights, he could make out that not only was one of them inhumanely tall, 1 was completely decked out in a black outfit and the other next to him was quite the opposite - wearing a total white outfit. He recalled the one in white also had a very tall stiff looking white hat which made him look even taller than he already was, and that the hat had some red characters on it. He also held something upright in his hand. What truly shocked him though, was when he realized the one in white also had its tongue lolling out of the mouth and was so long that it was halfway down its body. The one in white also had its tongue lolling out of the mouth and was so long that it was halfway down its body. Needless to say, my friend freaked out and realizing that there was no way he could get to his block without passing the 2 of them, he quickly headed to his left and ran to the void deck of Blk 29 - barely seconds as the 2 of them passed him by, He said they looked like they were in a hurry and didn't even stop to look at him and when he turned around to look at them, they had disappeared. The next morning, he described his experience to his mother and the 2 spirits he had bumped into. His mother suggested they quickly visit a temple and speak to a priest just in case he had offended the spirits by crossing their paths and staring at them. At the temple, the priest mentioned that what my friend came across weren't spirits but hell deities, also known as Hei Bai Wu Chang (黑白无常) and they were probably on their way to escort a dying person to the Underworld. He also mentioned that the white one was extremely temperamental, and if you caught him on a good day, you would be blessed with fortune and good luck but if it was a bad day, he was just as likely to curse you with misfortune. On an ending note, my friend has since converted to Taoism and interestingly enough has the 2 deities tattooed on his back because the priest told him it is not often that Hei Bai Wu Chang (黑白无常) appears to the human eye, so they must have revealed themselves to him for some reason. "In Tanglin Halt you can find home temples dedicated to varies deities both in heaven and in hell, their imposing effigies line red alters blacked with soot. This harks back from the kampong days where residents ran places of worship within their residence. This practice was carried over to housing flats when the villagers came over. Home temples are meant to be temporary and is not meant for public worship, however that last bit is a grey area and hard to enforce. The sight of the ominous red glow and scent of incense creeping out of someone’s home is a declining trend." - Eugene Tay
Confession by V.O. This incident happened not too long ago in April 2019, when my hubby and I booked a hotel staycation around Orchard area. Since it was an award winning hotel, we paid a bit of a premium as we wanted to give ourselves a treat from a tiring week of endless work. I remembered when we first drove into the hotel basement carpark, it was dimly lit and a little rundown. The paint on the walls were peeling and there were some boxes of junk in the surrounding area. “Is this the correct hotel?” I asked my hubby as I turned the car into a parking lot next to the lift lobby. We paid a bit of a premium for the room and we were having an expectation vs reality moment. The hotel building exterior looks modern but perhaps, they did not refurbish the basement carpark I guess? I thought to myself. After I alighted from the car, something in me didn’t feel quite right but I brushed it off quickly as I thought it could be just my imagination. We entered the hotel lobby and were greeted by the hotel staff who handed us some welcome juice and biscuits. The hospitality of the hotel staff made me feel so much at ease that I quickly forgot about the gut feeling I had at the basement carpark. Minutes later, our room keys were handed to us and we took the elevator up to our room. We did what every Asian parent teach their kids to do, which was to knock on the door before entering the hotel room. Upon entering, my hubby slotted in the room card and I excitedly went in to take a photo of the bedroom (refer to photo below) before checking out the rest of the room. The room looks relatively new and clean with a day bed bedside the large glass window. We hung around in the room for a bit and left shortly after to explore the rest of the hotel surroundings. We didn’t return to the room until much later, after dinner at around 10pm. As usual, my hubby slotted in the room card to activate the room lights but it didn’t work. We tried a few times and even tried another card, but it just didn’t work. A few moments later, the lights finally came on. We left the card in the slot and shrug it off thinking it could be an electrical fault without giving much thoughts about it. Funnily, this didn’t trigger any form of uneasiness like what I experienced in the carpark earlier in the day. I guess I was too absorbed by other matters occupying my mind. Hence, I didn’t think much about it. It was just a normal night, I wasn’t on medication or had any alcohol. Hubby and I were spending some quality time chatting about random things till quite late and we went to bed at around 3am. As my hubby can be quite a heavy sleeper, he was already fast asleep within a couple of minutes. I too, can be a heavy sleeper but for some reason, I felt really drowsy but couldn’t fall sleep that night. I kept having constant chills running down the back of my spine. At that point in time, the thoughts of encountering something supernatural didn’t hit me yet as I tend to rationalise my thoughts a lot before passing it off as anything supernatural. The hotel bed must be really good at absorbing body heat, I thought to myself and I turned to sleep on my side as I snuggled a little further under the sheets to keep myself warm. Now, the chills were getting more and more intense as I tossed around to lie back flat onto the bed. Suddenly, my body froze and I couldn’t move! Not only I couldn’t move, I started feeling a grip tightening around my neck and then, I couldn’t breathe! Everything happened so quickly that this time round, I was fully aware and convinced that other than my hubby and I, there is/ are something supernatural in this room. I started feeling a grip tightening around my neck and then, I couldn’t breathe! My first survivor instinct was to struggle and tried moving my body but it was as if a strong force was pressing me down really hard on the bed. The grip around my neck was getting tighter and tighter that I thought I was going to die.
I called out to God in my head and the grip loosened a little. I was able to open my eyes even though I couldn’t move. I tried locating my snoring hubby beside me but instead, I saw a “green thing” in the room. It was a pale green silhouette but I couldn’t make out what it was. Struggling to gasp for air, praying and trying my best to move to wake my snoring hubby, I then heard a voice speaking in my head. The voice was a little muffled and sort of unclear, but I could make out the language it was speaking. That “thing” was speaking in Malay. Then, the green silhouette shifted and now I saw a Malay family, one woman and three children who were all girls, standing at the corner of the room near the day bed at the glass window. That few minutes felt like the longest time ever! I felt that my energy and life was sapping away. When will my hubby wake up? Dude was still snoring away! I struggled to give him a kick but I was still very much paralysed on the bed. Prayers after prayers in my head while watching that “family” standing at the corner seems like forever. Then, I felt something move on the bed beside me. My snoring hubby finally woke up and gave my shoulder a few shakes! I got out of that trance and immediately cough, gasping for air while trying to regain my composure. As I didn’t want to affect my hubby, I briefly told him about my sleep paralysis but didn’t exactly recounted to him what I saw earlier. We did a short prayer and went back to bed. By the way, it was already 4am at this point of time and I was feeling really exhausted. Hubby went back to snoring while I was trying to get to sleep. What happened next just annoyed the hell out of me. “Knock knock knock”. I heard “someone/ something” knocking on our main door. “Can’t you just press the freaking doorbell why must you knock?” I thought to myself feeling extremely annoyed. I don’t know what gave me all the patience from the earlier episode but I guess, I’m just a really patient person in nature, hahahaha. The knocking continued. How can my hubby continue sleeping without feeling unaffected? Then, I heard footsteps outside my room. The footsteps sounded like heavy boots. Firstly, who would be walking back and forth so slowly and secondly, who walks around the corridor at 4am in the morning? I hope it was just my imagination or someone coming back from a party but couldn’t locate his/her room at that hour. Then, my bed started shaking, I sat up and witnessed the sight of the bed moving. I looked over at my hubby and was feeling amused that he could still sleep so soundly. I lie back down onto the bed, closed my eyes and prayed for daybreak. Just another hour and it is going to be morning soon! I consoled myself. This wasn’t my first time experiencing such things but it was really one of the most intense night I ever had. Finally, I managed to catch 3 hours of sleep before going down for breakfast at around 9am. Yup, I had really bad dark circles that day and no amount of concealer can conceal my panda eyes. With 2 hours left before our checkout time, hubby and I went back up to the room. I got my hubby to keep watch of me while I took a power nap. The TV was on with soft volume and I thought perhaps now I’m safe to fall asleep. I have my hubby to keep watch of me too. As I was about to doze off to sleep, I couldn’t move again. Another sleep paralysis, ahh this was getting so annoying!! Though I couldn’t move, I could see my hubby just right beside me on the bed using his phone. This time round, I heard a snarl in my right ear. I thought it was the TV, but I could still see what’s on the screen in front of me. Nope, it was Channel News Asia. Why would CNA have snarling noises? Lol! Body couldn’t move but eyes still can move, so I looked over at my hubby and tried giving him a telepathy moment. Hello dude can you just stop looking at your phone?? Your wife is again getting spiritual attacks! For some reason, he seemed to be able to tell that something was not right with me again and he shook me out of my state. Thank God! I couldn’t take this torment any longer and we both packed our bags hurriedly, eager to leave this room. Don’t ask me why I didn’t thought of changing rooms from the very beginning when I started encountering all these things. It just didn’t cross my mind with so many things going on at that time . Who would want to leave the room with that intense knocking on our front door and heavy sounding boots prancing outside our door? As we were doing our final round of checks before leaving the room, I saw it. The scratches on the room wallpaper. My hubby and I couldn’t believe what we saw, we swear we didn’t see this when we first checked into the room! Plus if the scratches were already there in the first place, we couldn’t have missed out seeing this as it was near the glass window beside the TV! I snapped a photo of it and we immediately check out of the room without bothering to shut the room door. The scratches on the wallpaper resembled sharp nails/ claws. What do you guys think? These were the actual photos taken and I have not done any alteration/ edits of any sort to the photos. The first photo was taken when hubby and I first checked in the room and the 2nd photo with scratches on the wallpaper was taken when I was about to check out of the hotel room.it. Confession by I.A. This confession took place in 2014 at Sentosa's halloween horror event titled Spooktacular. It was also the last time that they organised this event. Many people are not aware that there are prayers and blessing rituals conducted prior to running such an event, however there are no guarantees that the haunting won't take place. I was assigned as a scare actor in one of the haunted trails that was situated up a hill. People had to climb up a steep incline to enter the main trail. There were some actors stationed along the way but they weren't as intense as the ones on the main trail. I was in an area that wasn't that dark but it was still really spooky in the dim light. There was a door for us to exit to the back if we needed to leave the trail. This is the kind of door that can only be opened from the inside. From where I was standing, waiting for the guests to come, I saw the door opening and closing by itself. I thought to myself: Our area is enclosed and there was only a ventilation fan which is far from the door. It won't be possible that a draft of air caused the heavy door to open and shut by itself. This definitely looks like someone is actually pushing against it. In my heart, I knew this must be something supernatural at work. I said out loud, "I'm here to work, please don't disturb me, can?" The door closed and did not open again. In another incident, I overheard a guest talking about how the three scare actors really spooked her out but the thing was that in my station, there were only two scare actors. Where did the third one come from?! I decided to keep this from my partner as I'm not sure she would be strong enough to handle this news. I decided to keep this from my partner as I'm not sure she would be strong enough to handle this news. If you had attended Spooktacular, you might recall that for one of the horror trail attraction, there's a lift at the main entrance where its filled with fake cockroaches and a scare actor, but instead of a lift door they used a curtain to cover the entrance. If you had wondered why they did that, here's the story: The door would keep breaking down only at night for no reason. The maintenance crew would come in to check but cannot find anything wrong. In the day, the door would be working fine. In the end, they just decided to go with curtains instead. There's also another incident where I saw an "actor" walked past me and heading in the wrong direction. So I called out to her and asked if she was going to the rest area for a break but the person just kept knocking her head and walking. I turned to my partner to check with her but she said she didn't see anyone. When I turned back, the "actor" was gone. What was weird was that we were not supposed to go by main entrance as the break room is actually at the back. So who was that person I saw? Then one night the whole area blacked out and we were told to use torches to continue the scare while they fixed the circuits. When I did a headcount for our station, I counted four people when it was supposed to be only three - two actors and one guide crew. When I did a headcount for our station, I counted four people when it was supposed to be only three. I counted a few times but still got four. I decided to ignore it and continue with the show. After the lights came on, I did a headcount again and this time we got the correct number.
With all the complaints of sightings from the crew and some of the guests, management decided to re-bless the whole trail again and this time, crew members with no religious protection of their own were given something to prevent any more bad vibes. Despite all the supernatural experiences, I enjoy playing the role of scare actor very much. I saw guests actually pee'd their clothes. There's also a macho looking guy who ran off and left his girlfriend on her own. It was always the most fun to see how those talk big, act macho guys, actually are the first to get scared. Anyway I will share again my USS experience soon. By the way my partner was a disbeliever before but this experience has made her a believer. |
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