THE BABY IN RED.

THE BABY IN RED


This is said to be a true story. It happened in the late 50s.

Long ago in a poor province in china, lived a farmer and his wife. They wanted very much to have a child; the wife went to the temple every day to pray for a child.

In her mid forties, she did have a son; they were so happy and loved him very much. The neighbours were happy for them too. One day when the baby was 4 months old, the neighbours suggested to baby sit and give the couple a break.

So the couple went to the city for shopping and have some free time together. When they got back and asked for the baby, no one knew where he was.

Each one saying they thought some one had him but not sure who, after all, this was only a small village and they were sure to find the baby.
By night fall, no baby was found. The distraught couple could not eat or sleep, the wife crying and wailing the whole night.

The next day, a report was made to the local police, but for 3 days there was no news, the whole neighbour hood was very up set over the incident.

On the 4th night the wife had a dream, in the dream, her son told her to go to a certain railway station at a certain time to look for him. He told his mother he was covered with a red blanket with a gold dragon sewn on it.

Upon waking she told her husband about the dream, her husband said, ‘our son is only 4 months old, how can he speak’. But to please her, they went to the railway station with some friends.

At that certain time, with the help of his friends, they did find a couple with a baby wrapped in a red blanket with a gold dragon sewn on it.
Screaming and crying, demanding to have her baby back, the police were alerted and all were taken to the police station. There, each was questioned by the police.

The police asked the farmer and his wife, ‘how do you know this is your baby? She replied, ‘my son has a mole behind his left ear and 2 moles on the sole of his right foot.’

When the blanket was opened, every one knew the baby was dead, he was very pale and had blood on his stomach. After close examination by a doctor, it was indeed their baby .

It was said that the couple stole the baby, killed him and stuffed his body with drugs to smuggle out of the country.
What the couple could not understand was how this farmer knew where and when to find his son.

After the farmer and his wife buried their son, she had another dream, her son told her, ‘our life together was sweet and short, but it was not meant to be, I came to you because I didn’t want to be a drifting ghost. I wanted to be remembered and loved’.

So as years went by, it was said that those who were barren and wanted children, they went to his grave to pray and the following the year they did have a child.

Although the farmer and his wife never had any more children, they were always glad when they hear that others do have children.
Ends.
The Chinese always believed that when you die, you must have a resting place, and you must have your whole body to be reincarnated, or you’ll be a hungry drifting ghost.
Copyright©by MayFam2005.

THE FILIAL SON

AUGUST, THE MONTH OF THE HUNGRY GHOST.
August, in the Chinese Luna calendar, it is the seventh month. This is the month when the gates of Hell are opened for the hungry ghosts.

These ghosts are the ones who died tragically or not remembered by loved ones. They roam the earth for 30 days, some say they look for victims to replace them, some say they are back for vengeances , some say they are back to teach their love ones to atone for their bad ways.

My grand aunt who was born in China and later went to Hong Kong then Malaysia to live used to tell us many many ghost stories. Some really frighten us so much that we had to sleep with the lights on.

Some we wonder till today if they were real happenings! Read on and judge for yourselves.
My grand aunt was said to be born with ‘yum yong eyes’ eyes that can see ‘the other side’ the ghosts!

During this month, just as the sun is setting she said she can see on the streets in china town strange sights. Many times she saw children, old and young ghosts walking around the food stalls. Some were even licking the sausages and wax ducks hanging in the shops.

Some were sitting on empty chairs and licking half eaten food left by people. Some were moaning and groaning walking along dark long walls or under long bridges.

Her advice during this month is long and many.
Don’t go out late at night, be back before midnight.
Don’t leave chairs empty, this will only invite unwanted guests, put something on them before you go to bed.

When you walk, try not to walk too close to walls, or dark corners, ‘they’ like to gather there.
If you hear your name being called, never answer if you don’t see any one. The ghosts are out looking for victims.

With all her many rules, it was wiser to stay indoors for 30 days!
This is one of her true stories. She said this really happened to her dear friend.

THE FILIAL SON.

The filial son lived with his mother in a village in China. When he got married, his mother, his wife moved to an apartment in HongKong. Everything in the apartment was small, the bedrooms, lounge, the bathroom, and the kitchen.

When they had dinner, the wife would tell her mother in law to eat in the kitchen by herself, because she said she was messy and slow.
She soon became a sad and lonely woman, and she died of loneliness. The filial son had a son too.

When his son was 5 years old, a week before August, he heard weeping in the kitchen at night. Going in to investigate, he couldn’t find any thing or anyone. This went on for 3 nights and he told his wife about it.

The next night he had a dream, in the dream, his mother came to him weeping, ‘you were filial before you married, but you disown me when you married, you made me sit alone to eat in the kitchen, down here, I’m mocked and laughed at. I cannot carry up my head, I’m ashamed’ the weeping went on till he woke up in a sweat.

The next night, during dinner, he took his food and set another place for his mother and ate in the kitchen. His son seeing this asked him why, he replied, ‘I was wrong to treat my mother badly while she was alive, now I want to correct the wrong I’ve done her. I’ll eat in the kitchen with her for this month.’

His son said, ‘father, I’ll join you too, I’ll eat with my grandmother, come mother, you come too’. His wife joined them, because she knew it was also her fault.

So the happy family ate in the kitchen for a month with the set place for his mother.
On the last day of the month, his mother in a dream told him, ‘you are a filial son and you have a filial son, I am at peace now and wish you all the peace and happiness you deserve’.

Copyright©byMayFam2005.

Pontianak the Female Ghost

In ' cherita hutus' ghost stories, the Pontianak is the most feared. In Kampongs, it is said that the Pontianak is a female ghost. A woman who dies during child birth and not given a ritual burial will turn into a Pontianak in 7 days. She will roam the dark nights looking for young men out late having a good time. She is said to be a very beautiful woman with long black hair. Before she is seen, there is that high pitch blood chilling laugh.

There are stories of men keeping this ghost. This is done by putting a nail in her skull before the 7 days when she turns into a Pontianak.

With the nail in her head, she will remain a beautiful woman, once the nail is removed, she turns into this terrifying blood sucking ghost.

THE SATAY MAN AND THE PONTIANAK.

Halim, is a satay man living in a Malaysian Kampong, he makes a living selling satays at night. Every evening he has to walk through a rubber estate to reach a row of shops to sell his satays.

One evening with lightning, thunder and rain he made his way out to the estate. Half way through in the fading light he saw a lady in white under a rubber tree. Getting closer, he saw she had blood on her clothes and was shivering in the cold.

Being kind hearted, he asked her, what was bothering her but she didn’t say anything but just cried. Halim took her home to his house and took care of her for months. He named her Saloma.
He noticed that she was always singing lullabies and combing her long hair. She never went out of the house during the day. She only went out after twilight.

Halim soon fell in love with her and married her. Saloma had a daughter and they were a happy family. One night rumors went around that the kampong had a Pontianak. [a female ghost]

People soon stayed indoors and business was bad for Halim. He noticed that on moonless nights he would hear that high pitch laugh of the crows but people said that was the laugh of the Pontianak.

One night a group of villagers came to Halim’s house and demanded to take Saloma away, shouting that she was the Pontianak.

Halim, frighten of what they would do to his family closed the door and windows. From the crowd, shouts were telling him to find out if she was one. They shouted, ‘ search her hair, see if she has a nail on top of her scalp, pull it out and she’ll turn into a Pontianak’.

Halim was so terrified; he was shaking and could not do anything. His 5 years old daughter said, ‘ I comb her hair every night, I’ll search her hair’.

Before Halim could say anything, his daughter pulled out a nail and Saloma flew out the window with the blood chilling laugh.

Copyright (c) 2005 May Fam

The Trishaw Man Who Didn't Believe

Most of the people who believe in ghosts are the ones who have gone through the experience.
In south east Asia, abnormal things do happen in the seventh month of the Chinese luna calendar.

This is also called 'The month of the Hungry Ghosts'. The month when the 'gates of hell' are opened to let out the hungry ghosts. Ghosts who have no offerings from love ones, ghosts who died a tragic death, ghosts who can't find peace because of 'unsolved problems in their previous life' and many more.

During this month, if you walk along the streets of china town, you would notice all the offerings left on the roadside for the 'hungry ghosts'.

Grandmothers would warn family members not to venture out late at night. Do what ever you have to do during the day and stay in at night, for fear you may bump into 'unwanted presences that follow you home'.

Stories told by my grandmother, aunties and friends are scary and frightening.
Some stories even leave you never wishing to be alone in the dark again.

Keep posted, more stories to come.

Copyright © 2005 May Fam


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THE TRISHAW MAN WHO DIDN’T BELIEVE

Copyright © 2005 MayFam

In the 1940s, the mode of transport was by trishaw or rickshaw, the trishaw moves faster because it’s got 3 wheels and the driver rides it like a bicycle. It’s got cushion seat for 2 adults and it’s got a bell and head lights for night transport.

In small kampongs and small towns, ghost stories are many and scary, some are from true experience. Usually the trishaw man stops work after 10pm because kampong people seldom go out late at night.

Ah Wang, being a hard working man, didn’t believe in such stories and would often work till quite late. Trying to make more money for his family.

One night, in the month of August [the Chinese believe this is the month when Hell is open to let out the hungry ghosts, ghosts who don’t have anyone to send them offerings. Ghosts on the loose for a month looking for offerings. During this month, a lot of families would leave offerings by the road for these hungry ghosts.]


That night, Ah Wang was disappointed by a lack of business. The whole night was wet, windy and raining. He thought, ‘who wants to go out on a night like this?’
As he turned a corner he saw a lady in a cheong sum with an umbrella. She waved to him, as he got near, he saw that she was a lady with class; her shoes, clothes and hair style were all perfect.
As she got in his trishaw, she gave him a piece of paper with an address and he peddled his way there. When they got there, she alighted and handed him a thick bundle of notes. He was very happy, seeing a big wad of money.

He hurried home to tell his wife, telling himself this last trip would make up for a few days of work. When he got in his house, his wife said, ‘you are late, its pass 12 midnight’. He replied, ‘not to worry, I made enough, to take a few days, off’.

As he took the wad of notes out of his pocket, he and his wife were so shocked by what they saw; he quickly threw the notes out the door. It was not money, but ‘hell money’ for ghosts and the dead.

Not being able to sleep the whole night, he got early the next morning, taking the address from his pocket he went to look for the house. What he found was not a house but a cemetery with a tomb stone number.

Ends.

The Tired Trishaw Man

The Trishaws in Vietnam.


THE TIRED TRISHAW MAN

Copyright © 2005 May Fam

Unsuspecting things always happen on a wet, windy raining night or a dark moonless night. The people who often experience these happenings are taxi drivers, bus drivers, and trishaw drivers, people who work late or travel late on roads.

This is a story about a trishaw man going home late at night. Some say this is a true story. Because of the rain and wind this man was trying to get home as quick as possible. So he chose a back lane which he normally won’t go. As he peddled his trishaw through , he felt a cold wind and he felt a weight on his passenger seat. Looking down he saw it was empty, but with his peddling he knew it was not empty. Not wanting to dwell on this, he continued on.

At the end of the lane he saw a man with a stall; he was frying noodles by the road side. Feeling hungry and wanting something hot to take home, he stopped and ordered a packet of fried noodles.

Taking the noodles he hurried home as fast as his legs could peddle. Arriving home he opened the packet of noodles and got the shock of his life. Instead of noodles, it was a heap of wriggling earth worms.

Then he knew his invisible passenger was not of this world.
Ends.