In celebration of the Hungry Ghost Festival, we give you the lowdown on all things scary in Singapore. By Zaki Jufri and Ramesh William.
Halloween, if you really think about it, is absolutely lame. Candy, pumpkins, silly costumes and pubs doling out gimmicky offers simply can't hold a candle to the month-long fury of our very own Hungry Ghost Festival. If you think trick-or-treating kids are a pain in the neck, then just you wait for the wandering souls combing the earth in search of food and vengeance. And so, in the "spirit" of these famished beings, we show you that Singapore is not just a place for new malls and new eateries, there are also plenty of stories, places, beliefs and superstitions that'll scare the living daylights out of you right here in this modern metropolis. Read on. If you dare...
The Hungry Ghost Festival
Occurring on the seventh month of the Lunar calendar from August 19 till September 18, the Hungry Ghost Festival is an important event in the lives of many Singaporean Chinese. "It's just the Chinese ghosts that'll come out, as it is a Chinese cultural belief," says Raymond Goh of Asian Paranormal Investigators. "The reason why the Chinese celebrate this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck." Not to mention the fact that it keeps their lives from turning into a bad Japanese horror film.
In Singapore, it is a common sight to see entertaining wayang shows and concerts performed on outdoor stages in some neighborhoods. These events are always held at night, with the front row seats left empty, solely reserved for the dead. Apparently ghosts like to boogie as much as the rest of us.