December 05, 2024

A Spooky Midnight Walk at Algonquin College

December 05, 2024/ Iris Tsui

The grueling semester has finally come to an end.

Geoffrey, Hazel, Olive, Sam, and Tiffany had a fun night at ByWard Market celebrating the semester's end before heading home tomorrow. It’s almost midnight. They have just returned to Algonquin College by bus and entered the campus from the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence.

“I’ve never been here this late before,” says Tiffany. “Thank God you are all here with me. This whole space feels so chilling and eerie at night.”

A photo of a bridge at Algonquin College with its light on juxtaposes another photo at the same spot with its light off. — the light of The pedestrian bridge over Woodroffe Avenue keeps going on and off at night

“Wait till you get to the bridge,” says Sam. “The light keeps turning on and off whenever it’s dark.”

When they are on the bridge, the light does keep going on and off as if someone’s playing with the switch.

“Anyone wants a campus ghost story?” asks Olive, feeling the vibe.

Tiffany frowns, but the others get electrified by the idea.

“Let me start with the ghost of Christie Mansion at the University of Toronto.” Olive has his storytelling mode on already.

“The Victorian-style mansion was built by successful businessman William Christie in 1881. His son Robert became the mansion’s owner when the father died. Rumour has it he kept his mistress in a secret room in the library, now known as Room 29, when he lived with his family in the same mansion. The lady had everything she needed in the room, so she didn’t need to come out. But soon, Robert got tired of her, and she hanged herself after losing her mind waiting day and night in the small room. People say the room will shut itself at night and lock up anyone inside.”

Lockers line up against the wall of a long deserted corridor at the college with another end of the corridor centred in the photo. — A deserted locker corridor at building c of the college

“Another testament showing humans are scarier than ghosts,” comments Sam, as they pass a deserted corridor with walls of lockers, a spot Tiffany dreads because she always feels something creepy will show up at the far end and chase her.

“Can we hurry back to our dorm, please?” she begs.

“I have a good one for you that happened at a dorm, Tiff.” Hazel grins.

“Before the dorm story, let me share a creepy tale about Siri that took place at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore,” says Geoffrey.

“In Singapore, the Hungry Ghost Festival is in the seventh month of the lunar calendar. People believe ghosts are freed from the underworld to roam the world of the living in search of food and entertainment during the festival. There’s a not-to-do list for people to avoid bad luck or naughty spirits. For example, you don’t swim or whistle.

“So, for students of the university at Hall 10, they don’t sing in groups. Because a few years ago, some students sang together during the festival. One of them felt a hand on his shoulder, but there’s nobody. They continued to sing until a student’s Siri spoke suddenly, ‘I’m here.’”

A five-storey dormitory building at the college at night. — algonquin college residence at night

They have arrived at Residence and are heading to Hazel’s room for the last story. Tiffany is reluctant to join but she doesn’t want to be left alone in the now-empty dorm either.

“So, mine is about one of the dorms at the Chinese University of Hong Kong,” says Hazel, as her friends curl up in her room.

“There was a couple living in the same dorm. The girl was on the upper level, and the boy lived right below her room. It was exam time, so the two decided not to meet each other and concentrated on studying until the exam’s over. The girl wanted to show her care for the boy even when they couldn’t see each other. So, she made oxtail soup every day and lowered a bowl out of the window to the boy.

“The boy enjoyed the wholesome soup for days. Then the exam was finally over. He couldn’t wait but ran to his girlfriend. But when he arrived at her room, he saw people moving her stuff out of the room, and she was nowhere to be found.

“Only then, her friends broke the news to him, telling him she died of a sudden illness some days ago. They kept their mouths shut because they didn’t want to distract him from the exam. The boy broke down in tears. But then he realized something weird—”

“Who’s giving him the soup after she died?” chips in Sam.

Hazel then notices something off with Tiffany.

“You okay, Tiff?” asks Hazel.

“Thank you,” replies Tiffany in another girl’s voice. “For telling my story again. But I didn’t die of illness. I killed myself because of the stressful exam.”

An orangey full moon behind the silhouette of a cat sitting on a tree branch.

Iris Tsui was born and raised in Hong Kong, an east-meets-west metropolitan rich in urban legends, haunted places, and ghost stories. She is a full-time college student, an occasional writer, and a 24/7 ghost story collector. Her favourite pastime is to have a cup of Earl Grey and listen to scary tales shared on the radio. Currently, she lives in Ottawa and is exploring the dark scary side of Canada. Don’t hesitate if you want to tell her your creepy tales. She will be more than happy to share her paranormal experiences and story collection with you in return.

November 14, 2024

Hear Beyond the Veil

November 14, 2024/ Iris Tsui

Some say ears out of the five sensory organs are the most sensitive in picking up paranormal signals. This belief may hold some truth as a poll reveals that people have more experience of hearing unexplained voices than seeing spirits. This is the case for me and my mother. We heard something unearthly on several occasions that we can never forget.

Laughter on a dim lane

A lane in shanghai at night
photo: Cody Ellingham

In my final university year, I joined an exchange programme to work as a summer intern in Shanghai.

One evening, my friend and I went to a mansion-turned-restaurant for dinner. It was a time without smartphones and Google Maps, and that was the first time we visited the restaurant, so we could only follow directional signs to get to it.

The former mansion was at the end of a dimly lit lane that was only wide enough for walking two abreast. It was a five-minute walk. As we were slowly leaving the hustle and bustle of the main street behind and expecting the building to show up at any moment, I heard a girl’s clear and light-hearted laughter. It took me by surprise because no one else could be around. The area on the left was surrounded by a chain-link fence, and a small, covered parking lot was on our right. No car was there so my view was not blocked.

I didn’t say anything on the spot because I didn’t want to spook my friend. But when we were seated in the restaurant, my friend asked if I heard something near the parking lot.

“Yes, I did.”

“A girl’s laughter, right?”

**A hoo from inside my bookcase**

I once worked as a freelance translator. My working hours were mainly at night because clients wanted their jobs done in the morning when they started the day. I worked only at home, a 300-square-foot unit with one tiny bedroom on the 22nd floor of an apartment building. In my bedroom, there was a 190 x 70 x 30 cm plywood bookcase with four doors, a pair on the upper compartment, and the other below. I lived with my mother who slept on a double bunk bed in a corner of the living room.

It was another night I worked until 3 a.m. I returned to my bedroom after a shower and opened the lower left door to get my stuff.

As soon as the door opened, I heard a male voice hoo-ing me from inside the bookcase. I was stunned and confused. I knew it was not possible, but my curiosity overcame me. So, before I could hesitate or stop myself, I had already bent over to take a better look at the inside of the bookcase. No one, no man, not even any body part was there. I then tried to make sense of the hoo. I checked around—no one was walking in the corridor outside my unit, my mother was not snoring, and, of course, no living soul was hanging outside the window in the middle of the night.

I was not too scared, but still, I left my light on for nights.

“It hurts to leave”

the last meal prepared for a dead family member
Photo: Bob Lam Chi Pok

My father died after having chemo. He didn’t have the chance to say his last words.

According to our religious belief, his soul would come home to see us for the last time before he moved on. We had to put his favourite food in the living room, so he could have a satisfying meal before his journey. But most importantly, we must put ourselves to sleep in our beds, or at least not open our eyes when he’s back.

That night, my mother and I went to bed earlier. I woke up after a sound sleep, not feeling anything unusual throughout the night. But my mother had quite a story to tell:

“I could sense it when he came back. I was wide awake but didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t dare to. I didn’t want to scare him away or get emotional if I saw how he looked now. He tucked me in gently. Then he whispered to my ears ‘It hurts to leave’ three times. It’s too vivid to be a dream.”

People can always find an explanation for eerie sounds and voices. But you can’t deny it’s creepy when you hear a voice ask, “Do you want to know what’s under your mattress?” in the dead of night.

October 15, 2024

Scariest Ghost Stories and Urban Legends in Hong Kong

October 15, 2024/ Iris Tsui

Hong Kong, my hometown, is rather (in)famous on the world map of paranormal activities as a city less than 200 years old. Though a relatively young city, it has seen many historical events, natural disasters, and man-made tragedies. A lot of lives were claimed, and a lot of them still linger there. Here are the darkest stories everyone in Hong Kong knows and tells.

The Braided Lady

Rumour has it, as early as the 1960s, a young lady was often spotted wandering along a railroad near the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She would always walk ahead of one or a group of male students who could only see her back and her long single braid. Out of curiosity, the students would try to catch up with her just to see her face. No bloody face, no eerie smile, no empty eye sockets. But another braid on the front of her head. That’s why the road is called Single Braid Road.

Here is the story behind the poor faceless lady. She was one of those who stowed away from Mainland China to Hong Kong by train. Things went terribly wrong as her long braid got stuck when she jumped off the train. So, the braid was torn off with her face, and she ended up on the track. Forever.

Missing body after a subway collision

On Sep. 23, 2024, a weird train accident happened in Japan. An operator saw a man being struck by his train. The train was damaged and stained with blood. But the victim was nowhere to be found.

This echoed the spooky subway accident that happened in Hong Kong in 1981. On a busy evening in November, a subway operator drove his train onto the platform of Yau Ma Tei Station. All of a sudden, he saw a young woman jumping down to the track from the platform. He hit the brake at once, but it was too late. Both he and the passengers felt the bump on the track, and witnesses on the platform claimed they saw a teenage girl jumping down.

Police and ambulance arrived. They searched the whole stretch of track trying to find the victim. But nothing could be found, not even a drop of blood. The victim simply vanished. Or did she ever exist at all?

A song that summons spirits

Let’s look beyond the haunted rail tracks and listen to some music.

“But I know, in the morning fog, I will be alone, you will be gone, like tonight”

This love song chanting the melancholy of leaving lovers is well-known among disc jockeys in Hong Kong for paranormal reasons. It is said whenever the song is played by DJs, albums would fall from shelves, equipment would malfunction, or things would be moved around in broadcasting rooms.

“Nights of Entanglement”, sung by singer-actress Connie Mak, is the theme song of the Cantonese horror movie The Occupant released in 1984. The movie is about a house haunted by dead singer Lisa Law (played by Mak), who tells her sad romantic story in the song. So, when the song is played, we hear Mak the singer performing a sentimental ballad, but at the same time, we hear Law the spirit whining about her misfortune.

This backstory helps explain why it is particularly creepy to hear the song in the depth of the night. But listeners are not the only ones to be spooked out. Several DJs are said to be the victims who witnessed supernatural occurrences in their studios when they played the song in their late-night shows. One of them was reported to hear a woman's voice sing along, while staff at a radio station said they saw a shadow wandering along corridors after another DJ put it on.

Barbara Tang, who was believed to be the first DJ to experience bizarre happenings playing the song, denied she was the one to start it all in an interview. But interestingly, she confirmed that many baffling things had happened in the days when she hosted an overnight show at Radio Television Hong Kong, without the haunted song playing. “The record player ran backward. The cassette player kept ejecting. The record turned on a stopped player,” Tang said. “The situation got so bad that I had to ask for a Taoist ritual (to appease the unknown powers).”

Perhaps the song is just a mood-maker in the already eerie radio stations.

Sources:

https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/train-strikes-pedestrian-victim-missing-on-japans-nagoya-railway/

https://www.sinema.sg/2020/10/15/sc-the-occupant/

https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/things-to-do/top-spooky-ghost-stories-hong-kong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agqj4DFPvkc

https://youtu.be/EL-99PP1l68?si=ClAlLolkOBDihX84

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BE%AE%E5%AD%90%E5%A7%91%E5%A8%98

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E6%B2%B9%E9%BA%BB%E5%9C%B0%E5%9C%B0%E9%90%B5%E7%AB%99%E5%B0%91%E5%A5%B3%E8%B7%B3%E8%BB%8C%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6