Hungry Ghost Festival - The "DO NOTs": What To Avoid

As stated in my previous blog, today (3rd September 2009) marks the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar 7th month and it is also known as ”The Hungry Ghost Day”. On this day, the three realms of Heaven, Hell and the realm of the living are open and all the spiritual beings will be let lose and free to walk in our world today. Therefore, the percentage of bumping into them is going to be higher. Heck! One maybe standing behind you while you are reading this blog! Or even behind me while I am happily posting away!

In this post I am going to share with you some of the “DO NOTs” during this month and especially today! For those that don’t believe in ghost or spirits, please note that precaution is better than cure. You don’t want to mess with them alright.

DO NOT Step On Or Kick Praying Items And Temporary Altars By The Roadside.
During the Chinese lunar 7th month, you will see lots of people praying and offering food and burning materials beside the road. These things are meant to appease for the dead. Be very careful of what you are stepping on and it is best to go around a spot where there are offerings rather then walk through it. How will you feel if someone steps or kicks your food while you are eating or step on his clothes or even money? You would want to beat the S*it out of that guy, right? Same goes for the spirits, they are once human too. If you happen to accidentally stepped on them, apologise right away! If you get them angry, I am not sure what they can do.

DO NOT Stand Under Trees Or Under The Bus Stop During Night Time.
Normally, it is dark and cold under the tree shade and bus stop. Those ‘things’ love these kind of conditions and would normally rest and under this kind of conditions. If you have low spiritual energy on that day, it will follow you back home.

Especially For Ladies: DO NOT Use And Avoid Dark or Black Color Manicure
Ladies, if you love painting your nails, please choose light colour coat for your nails during this period. This is because dead people normally have dark-coloured nails and if you happen to bump into one of them, they might think you are one of them and you are a pretty chic, it may follow you back home.

DO NOT Place Your Baby Or Kid On The Altar/Offering Table When Visiting Or Praying To The Hungry Ghosts.
There was a case where a mother took her baby to a hungry ghost offering event, the mother suddenly dropped something while she was carrying her baby and place the baby temporarily on the offering altar while she picked up her stuff. After she got up, the baby had died and turned black. It was said that the King of Ghost thought that it was an offering for him and “ate” the baby.

DO NOT Sit On the Front Row of Any Open Chinese Operas Or Karaokes
During this month long festival, you will see that there would be lots of open Chinese opera shows and karaoke singing on makeshift stages. These shows are mainly entertainment for the stray ghosts and lost souls, and normally the front few rows of seats are reserved for the VIPs (spirits). Do not sit at any front row and it is better to stand and watch rather than seated. You will definitely feel annoyed when someone comes to ask your seat number when you are watching a movie in a cinema, right? Moreover, sit on you!

DO NOT Speed And Be Extra Careful On The Road While Driving
There is always a high rate of road accident fatalities during the first day of the Chinese 7th lunar month in Kuala Lumpur. You may argue that it is due to the recklessness of the drivers, but why does the 1st day of the 7th month always have more accidents? Why not the day before or week before? There would normally be more overcast weather and frequent rain showers during this month.

DO NOT Hang Your Laundry Outside After Sunset
It is know that the spirits will wear your clothes so when you bring it in, you will be sharing your clothes with them.

DO NOT Go Swimming Or Hang Out Late At Night
The water spirits had been released and they will roam in any places with water in it. Hence, it is wise not to go swimming during this 7th month. In addition to this, it is advisable not to roam the streets or go out partying till the wee hours of the morning, ghosts are especially more active during the night and you will definitely not want to bump into any of them, or step on their offerings when you are half drunk...

Well, here is my list of what to be careful of and what “DO NOT” to beware of during the hungry ghost month! I would definitely be staying at home for the whole of the 7th month which will last until the 18th September 2009.

Hungry Ghost Festival - Ghost In The Kitchen

This was told to me by my uncle, Rex, during his younger days in the village back in Penang. Uncle Rex stayed in a big wooden village house with 3 other families living in the same house.

During one year on a day in the Hungry Ghost Month (7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar), uncle Rex experienced something that he will not forget for the rest of his life.

It was a hot and humid night and after helping out with some food offerings for the hungry ghosts outside the house, all the family members went to bed. On that night, uncle Rex could not fall asleep. As he was rolling around on his bed, he suddenly heard some weird noises coming out from the kitchen. Uncle Rex’s room was located such that it was next to the kitchen and the room was shared together with his siblings.

The noises from the kitchen sounds like someone was scavenging or looking for something. Out of curiosity, uncle Rex thought it was one of the family members trying to satisfy his/her hunger and he cheekily thought that since he could not sleep, he might as well play some pranks on whoever it was and scare the living daylights out of that person.

Trying not to wake his siblings up, Uncle Rex quietly opened his bedroom door and peered into the kitchen. On the far end of the kitchen, he saw a dark figure fumbling on some food and eating something. Carefully, uncle Rex got down on the floor and crawled commando-style towards the person, chuckling to himself that this is definitely going to be an unforgettable and amusing moment.

As he got closer to the dining table, where he was planning to hide under before his "attack", uncle Rex smelled a foul stench; it was something like rotting flesh. Thinking it was some leftover food from the nearby dustbin; he did not take heed and continue his commando crawl beneath the dining table.

Then, as uncle Rex was about to jump out to scare the hell out of whomever it was, his blood froze. From under the dining table, uncle Rex was able to see the feet of this 'person'. His, or IT'S feet, does not resembles that of a human’s and it looks something like horse hooves.

Uncle Rex was so terrified with what he saw and while panicking, he banged his head hardly on the bottom of the dining table and quickly darted out from beneath the dining table. He glanced towards the figure and saw that the creature had long hair but no face! He screamed in horror and the being suddenly disappeared.

All the family members woke up to the commotion caused by uncle Rex. They scolded him for trying to wake up the whole neighbourhood and for causing a mess in the kitchen. Poor uncle Rex tried to explain what he saw but was scolded even more for creating nonsensical stories to frighten others.

However, one unexplainable rationale was there was a plate of raw chicken meat placed on the kitchen counter that had been prepared to be cooked tomorrow to be offered to the hungry ghosts. Half of the prepared raw meat had been missing and some portion of the meat is strewn on the floor.

Was the figure that uncle Rex saw a hungry ghost looking for food? Perhaps it couldn’t wait for the food to be cooked and served...

Hungry Ghost Festival - The Origins

The 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar is here! For those who are superstitious it will mean no going out at night, no swimming during this particular month period, and also no disrespect for the dead! Throughout this month, I will share encounters related to me by friends, relatives and even experiences from my own self on strange encounters with the other world during the 7th month. On today’s issue, I will blog about the origins of the Hungry Ghosts Festival.

In Chinese tradition, this month marks an important month as it the month of the Hungry Ghosts Festival; also known as Zhong Yuan Jie or simply Gwei Jie. The Chinese believes that during the whole of the 7th month, all spirits are free to roam the earth and visit their living relatives or to seek revenge on those who had done harm to them for the whole month. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called the Ghost Day. On this day, the three realms of Heaven, Hell and the realm of the living are open and the Chinese would perform rituals to change and forgive the sufferings of the deceased. This year’s 15th day of the 7th month falls on the 3rd September 2009.

How did the Hungry Ghost Festival come about? The Chinese legend has it that a long time ago, there lived a young man, Mu Lian and his widowed mother. His mother was a wicked woman. She often turned away beggars who came to her door asking for food. She liked to jeer at poverty stricken and under privileged people. In reality, the only person she cared about was herself.

Mu Lian, on the other hand, was a kind soul. He was a gentle person and always willing to help anybody who was in need. One day he decided to become a monk and this angered his mother. She scolded at him for being such a useless son; she wanted him to go out and work to earn more money for her as wealth and materialistic things meant more to her than anything else.

She could not dissuade her son and Mu Lian went on to carry out his spiritual training. When Mu Lian was away, his wicked mother decided to play a trick on the monks just to get back at them for taking away her son. As it is a custom to offer only vegetarian food to the monks, Mu Lian’s mother thought that it was nonsensical that these monks did not eat meat, so one day she offered some food to some monks and slipped in some non-vegetarian items.

The wicked woman was punished immediately and was sent to the depths of hell. Mu Lian came back from his spiritual training and noted that his mother had passed on. He meditated and saw that his mother was suffering in pain and hunger in the deepest part of hell. Mu Lian set out and ventured deep into the bowels of hell and soon he came upon his mother and he saw that she was sitting on a bed of very sharp pointy stakes and was holding on to a basin of blood.

Mu Lian tried feeding her some food but the food would either turn into fire or blood. It was hopeless: he couldn’t do anything for her so he left. He returned home and started to pray for forgiveness and performing spiritual cleaning at temples and holy places. After years of performing this spiritual training, Mu Lian was able to rescue his mum from the deepest hell. On the Chinese lunar 15th day, 7th month marked the day he was able to save his mother from hell. His mother was no longer a hungry ghost.

Buddha heard about Mu Lian’s prayers and was touched by his compassion. Thus Buddha decreed that once a year, the gates of hell will be opened so that the lost souls will be able to roam the earth and be fed. This is why every year on the 15th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar; the Chinese celebrates the festival of the hungry ghost.

Food and drinks will be offered at night outside the gates of houses. This is so that the ghosts do not enter their houses and cause trouble. Lanterns are lit to help guide the ghosts to the feasts set out for them. Special paper money is also burned as offerings to these ghosts so that they can take it back to hell and spend it there. To ensure that these souls stay out of trouble; entertainment are set up including Chinese operas performing on outdoor stages and other activities.

However, be forewarned that there are also revengeful spirits that are back on earth to seek revenge on those who had caused their death...

Haunted Hotel Room

This just happened last week to my colleague while we were in Johor Bahru (South of Malaysia). This was related to me by one of my colleague, KP.

Our job scope normally requires us to travel to Johor Bahru (JB) on a monthly basis to carry out audits. We would normally put up in a particular 4-star hotel close to the city for 2 nights to carry out our job. For the past 1 year of travelling together, nothing particularly strange or eerie happened while we stayed there and this comfortable hotel was NOT known to be haunted as well. However, it was not meant to be for my colleague that ill-fated night.

Normally, there are 4 of us travelling to JB each month, but coincidentally one of my colleagues could not make it for this trip due to personal matters, so that left the 3 of us travelling to JB. We checked in the hotel on the 1st day around 6pm after a tiring day’s work and I shared a room with my regular colleague while KP stayed alone in the adjoining hotel room. Both our hotel rooms were located next to each other and can be accessed through a door in the middle. I still remember the room number clearly: KP was staying alone in 607 and we were in 609.

After the 2nd day’s work and a yummy dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest and watch TV. Soon everyone was tired and decided to call it a day. KP, staying in the other room, closed the connecting door to our room and switched off his room’s lights to sleep. Halfway through his sleep, in a state of semi-consciousness, KP felt a cool wind blowing across his face, he did not move and after a few minutes it happened again. KP describe the wind as something similar to the air breeze felt when a passing car cruise pass you while you are waiting to cross the road.

KP at once knew that something is not right as he had shut the air condition down to ‘Low’ and all the windows in the hotel rooms are shut tight. There is no way a chilly wind can enter the room from outside. Wide awake by now, KP suddenly heard the sound of something flapping and once again the cool wind was felt right across his face. The flapping sound stopped somewhere near the coffee table close to the window and ended with a sudden ‘Thump!’. That was enough to scare the wits out of KP, he turn on the lights immediately and glance towards the coffee table, but there is nothing on the floor and no sign of anything that had fallen.

KP knocked on the adjoining door to our room immediately, I was still awake at that time and he requested to sleep in our room for the night. I can sense in his pale and shocked face that something was not right and we joined both the beds to make it a queen size bed so that KP can sleep. Nothing happened after that in our room for the rest of the night.

The next morning when KP awoke and went back to his room, he was shocked to see the bed sheet and blanket of the bed next to his (which was left vacant since he was occupying only one bed) was being pulled down and messed up as if someone had been sleeping on it the whole night. My roommate and I also saw the condition of the bed and without saying a word; we packed up immediately and left the room..... Was there an existing tenant already staying in the room? Did the hotel gave us a haunted room? I shiver when I think about the incident now...

Haunted EBay Painting

I just came across this interesting yet eerie and scary article regarding a haunted painting being sold on eBay.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED DISTURBING REACTIONS UPON VIEWING THESE PHOTOS SO BE FOREWARNED.

‘The Hands Resist Him’, also known as the Haunted eBay Painting, is a painting created by Californian artist Bill Stoneham in 1972.

It depicts a young boy and female doll standing in front of a glass paneled door against which many hands are pressed. According to the artist, the boy is based on a photograph of himself aged 5, the doorway is a representation of the dividing line between the waking world and the world of dreams and possibilities, and the doll is a guide who will escort the boy through it. The hands themselves represent alternate lives or possibilities.

The painting was first displayed in a Los Angeles gallery during the early 1970s. It was then purchased by actor John Marley (The Godfather). At some point in time after Marley's death, the painting was said to have come into the possession of a Californian couple, after being found on the site of an old brewery.

It became the subject of an urban legend in February 2000, when it was posted for sale on eBay along with an elaborate back-story implying that it was haunted. This was the original eBay ad posted by the seller:
_________________________________________________________

HAUNTED PAINTING ----- WARNING AND DISCLAIMER

DESCRIPTION:

WHEN WE RECEIVED THIS PAINTING, WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY GOOD ART. A “PICKER” HAD FOUND IT ABANDONNED BEHIND AN OLD BREWERY. AT THE TIME WE WONDERED A LITLLE WHY A SEEMINGLY PERFECTLY FINE PAINTING WOULD BE DISCARDED LIKE THAT. (TODAY WE DON'T!!!). ONE MORNING OUR 4 AND 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER CLAIMED, THAT THE CHILDREN IN THE PICTURE WERE FIGHTING, AND COMING INTO THE ROOM DURING THE NIGHT. NOW, I DON'T BELIEVE IN UFOs OR ELVIS BEING ALIVE, BUT MY HUSBAND WAS ALARMED. TO MY AMUSEMENT HE SET UP A MOTION TRIGGERED CAMERA FOR THE NIGHTS. AFTER THREE NIGHTS THERE WERE PICTURES.THE LAST TWO PICTURES SHOWN ARE FROM THAT 'STAKEOUT'. AFTER SEEING THE BOY SEEMINGLY EXITING THE PAINTING UNDER THREAT, WE DECIDED, THE PAINTING HAS TO GO.PLEASE JUDGE FOR YOURSELF.

--- BEFORE YOU DO, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWIND WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. ----WARNING: DO NOT BID ON THIS PAINTING IF YOU ARE SUCCEPTIBLE TO STRESS RELATED DISEASE, FAINT OF HEART OR ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH SUPERNATURAL EVENTS. BY BIDDING ON THIS PAINTING, YOU AGREE TO RELEASE THE OWNERS OF ALL LIABILITY IN RELATION TO THE SALE OR ANY EVENTS HAPPENING AFTER THE SALE THAT MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PAINTING. THIS PAINTING MAY OR MAY NOT POSSESS SUPERNATURAL POWERS, THAT COULD IMPACT OR CHANGE YOUR LIFE. HOWEVER, BY BIDDING YOU AGREE TO EXCLUSIVELY BID ON THE VALUE OF THE ARTWORK, WITH DISREGARD TO THE LAST TWO PHOTOS FEATURED IN THIS AUCTION, AND HOLD THE OWNERS HARMLESS IN REGARD TO THEM AND THEIR IMPACT, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. ------------ NOW THAT WE GOT THIS OUT OF THE WAY, ONE QUESTION TO YOU EBAYERS. WE WANT OUR HOUSE TO BE BLESSED AFTER THE PAINTING IS GONE, DOES ANYBODY KNOW, WHO IS QUALIFIED TO DO THAT?


(Right picture: Boy seemingly trying to exit the painting)



THE SIZE OF THE PAINTING IS 24 BY 36 INCHES, SO IT IS RATHER LARGE. AS I HAVE HAD SEVERAL QUESTIONS, HERE THE FOLLOWING ANSWERS. THERE WAS NO ODOR LEFT BEHIND IN THE ROOM. THERE WERE NO VOICES, OR THE SMELL OF GUNPOWDER, NO FOODPRINTS OR STRANGE FLUIDS ON THE WALL. TO DETER QUESTIONS IN THIS DIRECTION, THERE ARE NO GHOSTS IN THIS WORLD, NO SUPERNATURAL POWERS, THIS IS JUST A PAINTING, AND MOST THESE THINGS HAVE AN EXPLANATION, IN THIS CASE PROBABLY A FLUKE LIGHT EFFECT. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BID ON THE ARTWORK, AND CONSIDER THE LAST TWO PHOTOGRAPHS AS PURE ENTERTAINMENT, AND PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THEM INTO CONSIDERATION, WHEN BIDDING. AS WE THINK IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO BLESS ANY HOUSE, WE STILL WELCOME INPUT INTO THAT PROCEDURE.

This auction is nearing the end. I want to thank the more than 13,000 people that took the time to look at this image on ebay. I appreciate the more than 30 suggestions that I received regarding blessing the house, exorcising and cleansing. 7 emails reported strange or irregular events taking place, when viewing this image. And I will relay two suggestions made by the senders. First not to use this image as the background on the screen, and second not to display this image around juveniles or children. Last not least, thanks for appreciating the art as well.
_________________________________________________________

News of the listing was quickly spread by internet users. Some people claimed that simply viewing the photos of the painting made them feel ill or have unpleasant experiences. Eventually, the auction page was viewed over 30,000 times.

After an initial bid of $199, the painting eventually received 30 bids and sold for $1,025.00. The buyer, Perception Gallery in Michigan eventually contacted Bill Stoneham and related the unusual story of its auction on eBay and their acquisition of it. He reported being quite surprised by all the stories and strange interpretations of the images in the painting. According to the artist, the object presumed by the eBay sellers to be a gun is actually nothing more than a dry cell battery and a tangle of wires.

Stoneham recalls that both the owner of the gallery in which the painting was first displayed and the art critic who reviewed it, died within one year of coming into contact with the painting.