Ghost Festival Rituals

Ghost Festival Rituals

Two real life encounters with ghostly beings during Ghost Festivals.

The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese or Taoist festival celebrated on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month. The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is called is known as “Ghost Month.” Many people believe that during that month the sector are Heaven, Hell and the Earth and restless ghosts will freely roam the earth.

Ghost Festival rituals of joss sticks, incense, paper money, prepared food, wine and tea are offered to these temporary ‘guests’. One of the main highlights of the festival is the Chinese operas, usually held on temporary bamboo stages, to appease the wandering spirits from the otherworld.

Laden with Offerings for Hungry Ghost Festival

Here are two truly terrifying stories about peoples’ actual experience during the dark month.

Ghostly Passenger at Labis-Segamat Trunk Road

Ghostly Passenger at Labis-Segamat Trunk Road

A brother and his sister were driving at Labis-Segamat trunk road where they encountered an unexpected and unwelcomed ghostly passenger.

Iskandar and Noor had droved their mother to a nearby town of Labis for a few days. Their mother and the rest of the aunties (mak ciks) were going to prepare a fabulous dinner (“makan beradab”) for her nephew’s wedding. 

When they arrived they were asked the usual questions by the aunties like, “why you so thin?” or “when are you getting married?” Finally excusing themselves from the aunties, they hurried away saying that it is almost night time and they have to drive home to their house in Johor Baru.

On the way back, the trunk road was cold and completely dark as they were on the Labis-Segamat road when they saw from the beam of light from their car they saw something flashing in front of their car. It flashed like a blinding bluish light and it moved with incredible speed (whossh!) and it disappeared in the darkness. Noor asked whether Iskandar whether he saw the ball of light but he saw with a split second he merely said that it was nothing, so as not to frighten his sister over a silly imagination.

At the same time they smell a strong fragrance in Iskandar’s car, a sweet and almost delicate feminine aroma around the car. A car with the beam light was coming in the opposite direction and the lights flooded into their car. Noor tried to avoid the glare as she turned away she look at the rear mirror....there was a figure sitting at the bonnet of Iskandar’s car. Shock and stunned Noor was going to mentioned to her brother but a second car came from the opposing direction with the beam of light flooded the interior of their car.