Local Ghost Stories

Mount Ophir.I heard the first story from my English teacher in Secondary two. According to her, a group of 10 Singaporeans (all guys) went on an expedition to Mount Ophir as part of some formal training. (That trip took place in the early 80's, so it was a really long time back) While they were up there, they decided to take a shot of themselves together so the 10 guys arranged themselves into three neat rows to pose in front of the camera.

When the picture was developed, they realised that there were actually 11 people in the picture! The extra person turned out to be a very, very beautiful and sexy looking woman and she was standing directly behind one of the guys with her hands leaning on his shoulders. None of the team members could recall having seen this woman around at all. The guy whom the lady was leaning on, said he didn't even feel that there was anyone behind him at all!

Lots of people believed that this lady is a pontianak and that these beautiful women/spirits are interested in the souls of vulnerable guys. Although this hair raising affair did stir up some excitement and commotion amoung his friends, the mystery of this beautiful woman never came to light. People even started teasing this guy about being chased by a 'pretty young thing' whom he can't even see.

One year later, this guy decided to go to Nepal for a trekking adventure. This time he went alone. As he was on an economical budget, he decided to take the long way by boarding an inter-connecting flight from another part of Asia. (can't remember where) He boarded some Airbus (not sure if it is Air India or Scandinavian Air) but the trip was never sucessful. The plane didn't make it and crashed into the mountains. He was the only Singaporean on board. His friends believe that it must be this pontianak who claimed his soul but nothing can be proven at all. Details of this story cannot be confirmed because I heard this story so long ago...

The first time I heard this tale was way back in the early 80's. That was when I was in primary one. It was rumoured that a Malay woman from across the causeway was so obsessed about becoming beautiful that she went to see the bomoh for advice. (Well blame it on the media, our society, culture and men for promoting these stupid ideas) The bomoh told her that, to become beautiful she had to drink the blood of 100 young virgins and that was how she started her blood sucking spree. What I can't figure out was why did she come all the way to Singapore and how did she develop her fangs! (hahahah)

This lady was said to be wearing only white and she would only come out after dark. The rumour really scared all of us out of our skins at that time because we kids used to believe anything. The worst part was, my then classmate's friend's, friend's mother's friend's daughter, (don't give me that look) was victimised and had to be hospitalised for a serious blood transfusion. I heard she nearly died. The press later issued a warning statement that this was a hoax and that anyone found guilty of spreading such a story could be charged. And you know what? The rumour immediately died down and when I asked that classmate about the pontianak, she casually told me that the 100 virgin quota had probably been met up so she probably went back to her home town just in time to avoid getting caught. Hmm...

A few years ago in 1996(thereabouts), another spate of this rumour started. Similar story (from J.B and all) but this time it was another woman who only wanted young Malay virgin's blood. I heard this from my ex-colleague who told me that her friend's friend's cousin was victimised. According to her, this girl was alone at home when the pontianak came. She was hypnotised against her will and so she could not fight back.

Hours later, her mother found her pale body lying on the floor with two distinctive marks on her neck. She was hospitalised and kept in a secluded part of a ward to prevent the public from getting alarmed but the story got out anyway. The press issued another warning to squash the rumour which immediately died out again. When I asked my friend, she told me that her friend could not be contacted.

There are still no clues as to whether vampires really exist or not but if you're reading this in the dead of the night and can't sleep already, here are some tips on how to live a vampire free life.

(1)Wear a string of garlic around your neck because pontianaks can't stand the stench.

(2)The only way to kill it is to drive a stake through its heart so always carry a sharp object like a pencil with you.

(3)Wear plastic pincers on your nose as pontianaks are known to have bad breath.

(4)Lastly, if any of these don't work, don't blame me, blame hollywood. HAHAHAHAHA!

Well, this friend of mine who doesn't want to be named said his elder brother's friend used to be stationed at Pulau Tekong. One night, while he was on guard duty, he saw a very young, sexy, georgous, ooh-la-la woman crying pitifully under a tree. (He didn't mention if the tree grew bananas) He went over to comfort her because he was lonely and homesick. (That's what my friend said...)She sobbed and sobbed and buried her face in his chest refusing to let go.

Suddenly, she just grabbed his neck and he started struggling to break free. He was so scared that he almost wet his pants. Just then, his commander in charge discovered that this guy was not at his post and went to look for him. She let go of this guy in time for him to turn around and face his commander. The guy tried to explain what happened but the commander didn't believe him at all. The girl also disappeared without a trace but he found a flower under the tree. I think it was either a Jasmin flower or frangipani flower. Pontianaks like to hide in those.

Did he really see a pontianak or could it be a case of raging hormonal problem? Do NS guys hallucinate about beautiful women when they are homesick? (twilight zone tune) The truth is still out there so don't forget to tune in to another exciting episode of local ghost stories... (eerie music starts)

Somebody's friend's friend claimed that while spending the night there, she thought she heard the terrifying cries of spirits in the wind and the sounds of guns being fired. The place was eerie and quiet and she thought she saw a shadow dart pass her with a whiff of cold wind.You know, somebody should call Sightings and get that psychic guy to come here and "feel" that place. There was another story about Sentosa but I need to get more details.

To be continued...