The recent article on a black and white house on Mount Pleasant, reputedly haunted by a pontianak ghost – a blood-drinking female spirit that lives in a tree and whose coming is preceded by the smell of frangipanis – triggered a flurry of comments from users discussing Singapore’s most haunted sites.
Yahoo user Naren7777 reminisced about growing up on Mount Pleasant in the 60s, where a “guttural shrill (could be heard) like clockwork every morning” and how “our dog would never leave the house after dark.”
Another user, Kidd, talked about the bloodstained history of the MICA building. “My grandpa used to worked in the old Hill Street Police Station before the occupation. He said there was a flight of stairs in the basement that led to a large storeroom. When the Japanese took over, they converted it into a torture chamber. My grandpa still remembers the day his friend was accused of being a British spy by the kempeitai (the Japanese secret police) and was hauled to their HQ, from where he never came out alive.” Yahoo user, Ong, agreed that the now-colourful building has a sinister reputation, saying “I got the creeps when I worked overnight in MICA building… (it) is indeed haunted.”
(The many victims who died at what was then the headquarters of the Kempeitai have given the MICA Building a sinister history. Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
Over at Singapore Paranormal Investigators, the talk is of the Old Ford Motor Factory in Bukit Timah. The site of the Allied surrender to the Japanese, there are a number of urban legends about it. An interviewee on www.spi.com.sg, Ms. Yvonne, recounts “I like jogging at night, especially with my earphone on. One night, when I was jogging past the Ford Factory, my preset channel suddenly switched to some sort of Japanese folksongs, sung by amateurs. The sound was very spooky; you know the kind of sound quality with fizzy background noise – like playing an 60’s old record on a gramophone. I was damn scared that I threw away my radio and I swore that I would never jog near there again.”
(The scene of the British surrender to the Japanese, there are a number of ghostly stories around the Old Ford Factory.)
Singapore has no shortage of places that are surrounded by ghost stories, but we have picked out two of the most infamous.
(The ghosts are hungry, but where do they eat? Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
Spooky Subway
Elsewhere in Singapore, rumours persist about Bishan MRT station. Built on the former Chinese cemerey of Bi Shan Teng, the station is purported to be haunted and there are unsubstantiated stories of headless figures, footsteps heard on the roof of the train or along the corridors, and passengers that cast no reflection or shadow. The sinister reputation was enhanced by at least two deaths on the tracks approaching the station.
Haunted Hospital
A place with an equally sinister reputation is the Old Changi Hospital. This deserted concrete structure was allegedly the scene of a massacre of wounded British soldiers by Japanese troops, and stories persist of the ghosts of crippled soldiers eternally dragging themselves along empty corridors… . For those who wish to experience the hospital virtually, go here.
Singapore is rich with stories of ghosts and spirits, and there are countless more houses, homes and buildings known for their eerie presence and unexplained happenings, which place do you think qualifies as ‘Singapore’s Most Haunted’?
