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Haunted Places in Malaysia

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Borneo. It's known for its beaches, rainforests and mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultural influences. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is home to colonial buildings. Despite the overall beauty of Malaysia, certain places are haunted by spirits or the unknown. A place where ghosts are reported is described as haunted, and often seen as being inhabited by spirits of deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices for example funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals rather than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life. The overwhelming consensus of mainstream science is that ghosts do not exist. Their existence is impossible to falsify, and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience, a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.

History
Evidence of modern human habitation in Malaysia dates back 40,000 years. Traders and settlers from India and China arrived as early as the first century AD, establishing trading ports and coastal towns in the second and third centuries. Their presence resulted in strong Indian and Chinese influences on the local cultures, and the people of the Malay Peninsula adopted the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Sanskrit inscriptions appear as early as the fourth or fifth century. In the Second World War, the Japanese Army invaded and occupied Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore for over three years. During a series of ethnic killings known as the ‘Sook Ching’ (translating to ‘purge through cleansing’), the Japanese forces occupying Singapore and Malaya killed many thousands of innocent victims. Primarily they targeted ethnic Chinese populations, the perceived enemies of Japanese rule. Between February and July 1942, as many as 70,000 victims fell to the Sook Ching (although Japanese historians offer a more conservative figure of 5,000). There were also massacres committed against prisoners of war. In January that same year, Japanese forces in the southern Johor state captured an estimated 150 retreating Allied soldiers. In an event that would become known as the Parit Sulong Massacre, the Japanese beat, burned and drove trucks over their tied-up victims.

Lore and Ghost Beliefs
Supernatural activity is said to be mainly associated with violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide—sometimes in the recent or ancient past. But not all hauntings are at a place of a violent death, or even on violent grounds. Many cultures and religions believe the essence of a being, such as the 'soul', continues to exist. Some religious views argue that the 'spirits' of those who have died have not 'passed over' and are trapped inside the property where their memories and energy are strong. In folklore, a haunt also known as an apparition, ghost, phantom, poltergeist, shade, specter or spectre, spirit, spook, and wraith is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. Descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance.

Cultural beliefs
Traditional ghost beliefs are rooted in prehistoric animist beliefs. However, if the area has long had extensive contact with other cultures, and these have affected the form of some of the legends. Trade links with southern India and China were established several centuries BCE, in a large part shaping the local culture and folklore. The Indian faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism were particularly influential in Southeast Asia. Islam was also introduced from India, and had become the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. The Muslim beliefs overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences, rather than eradicating them altogether. One example is the festival of Mandi Safar, originally a Tamil Hindu practice where people bathe in the sea or river and perform ceremonies that purify and protect against sickness and misfortune, and which also serves to introduce marriageable young people. After the introduction of Islam it was given new meaning as a festival to celebrate the recovery of Mohammed from an illness. The ritual has long been banned in Malaysia on the grounds that it contravenes the teaching of Islam, but continues to be practiced in Malaysia and Indonesia

Malay Beliefs
According to traditional Malay lore, the human soul is about the size of a thumb and appears as a miniature form of the body in which it resides. Able to fly and quickly from one location to another, the soul is often compared to and addressed as if it were a bird. It temporarily leaves the person's body during sleep, trance and sickness, before departing permanently at death. When the soul leaves the body it assumes the form of a sort of homunculus and in this form can feed on the souls of others. At death, the soul usually passes into another person, animal or plant. The spirit or ghost, usually called the Anitu or Hantu, continues to linger and may be harmful to its survivors. An old Malay belief is that a person's ghost haunts their grave for seven days before departing. Ghosts may also return and take possession of a living person, causing madness or illness. Ghosts are generally believed to be active only at night time, especially during a full moon. One way to evade such a ghost is for all the victims to formally change their name, so that when the ghost returns it will not recognise them. Another is to tempt the ghost with a meal. When the ghost turns into an animal such as a chicken so that it can eat, it may be killed and destroyed. Ghosts traditionally were blamed for some illnesses. To cure them, the shaman (dukun or bomoh) in a village would burn incense, recite incantations, and in some cases sacrifice an animal and wash its blood into a river to appease the ghost.

Islamic Beliefs
Ghosts are not mentioned in the Qur'an. The Qu'ran does, however, discuss spirits known as jinn. The fishing village of Al Jazirah Al Hamra in United Arab Emirates is said to be haunted by multiple jinn.

Jinn

( الجن‎‎, al-jinn), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, the more broad meaning of demons, are supernatural creatures in early Arabian mythology and later Islamic mythology and theology. An individual member of the jinn is known as jinni, djinni, or genie (الجني, al-jinnī). They are mentioned frequently in the Quran (the 72nd sura is titled Sūrat al-Jinn) and other Islamic texts. The Quran says that the jinn were created from "mārijin min nar", a smokeless fire or a mixture of fire; scholars explained, this is the part of the flame, which mixed with the blakeness of fire. They are not purely spiritual and also physical in nature, being able to interact in a tactile manner with people and objects and likewise be acted upon. The jinn, humans, and angels make up the three known sapient creations of God. Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans. The shaytan jinn are akin to demons in Christian tradition, including different types of evil invisible creatures, who are classified into the following three groups:

1. Satans (Iblis and his descendants)

2. unbelievers among the ordinary jinn

3. pagan deities (such as the deity Pazuzu)

Buddhism Beliefs
There are a number of planes of existence into which a person can be reborn, one of which is the realm of hungry ghosts. In Chinese culture, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Double Ninth Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, during Ghost Festival, the deceased are believed to visit the living.

On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is veneration of the dead, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a paper form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include, buying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.

Ghost Festival

Concert-like performances are a prominent feature of the Ghost Festival in Singapore and Malaysia. Those live concerts are popularly known as Getai 'Koh-tai' by Hokkien-speaking people. They are performed by groups of singers, dancers and entertainers on a temporary stage that is set up within a residential district. The festival is funded by the residents of each individual district. During one of these 'Getai', it is known to be bad luck to sit on the front row of red seats, as they are there only for the Ghosts themselves. If anyone were to sit on them, they would become sick.

Christian Beliefs
Some Christian denominations consider ghosts as beings who while tied to earth, no longer live on the material plane, while others teach that ghosts are beings who linger in an interim state before continuing their journey to heaven. On occasion, God would allow the souls in this state to return to earth to warn the living of the need for repentance. Jews and Christians are taught that it is sinful to attempt to conjure or control spirits in accordance with Deuteronomy.

Some ghosts are actually said to be demons in disguise, who the Church teaches, in accordance with I Timothy, that they "come to deceive people and draw them away from God and into bondage." As a result, attempts to contact the dead may lead to unwanted contact with a demon or an unclean spirit, as was said to occur in the case of Robbie Mannheim, a fourteen-year-old Maryland youth. The Seventh-Day Adventist view is that a "soul" is not equivalent to "spirit" or "ghost", and that save for the Holy Spirit, all spirits or ghosts are demons in disguise. There are only two components to a "soul", neither of which survives death—with each returning to its respective source.

Places of Popular Ghost Sightings
Bukit Tunku, KL – abandoned mansion, according to story a lady hung herself from the corner of the building, humming can be heard by some in the mansion, place roamed by pontianaks, taxi drivers refuse to pick up children and women from this area at night

Pulau Jerejak, Penang– It was formerly an asylum for the Straits Settlements in 1868, a Quarantine Station for most Chinese immigrants in 1875 and a prison in 1969, stories came from the prison which was surrounded by shark infested water so prisoners who attempted to escape would die from their attacks. The island was abandoned for a few years where spirits were said to lingered

10, Jalan Turi, Taman Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

On 23 April 1992 before midnight, Mrs Suneeta Talwar returned home from a night out with her husband and some friends. When she returned home, she was attacked by her relief guard as her regular guard was on leave on that night. He had hit her on her forehead and when she fled, he had thrown a rock at her and caused her some minor injuries. She then sought refuge at her neighbors house. Later that night, 25 year old Ariffin led police to the gruesome murders where they discovered 3 bodies belonging to American citizens, Arjun Talwar 7, his brother Kabir Talwar 11 and their Indian maid Natalia Fernandes 45. Corporal Majid Jaafar 38 from Pantai Police Station informed that the bodies were piled on top of each other at the bottom of the 15 feet septic tank behind their home. Mr. Rakesh later returned and went away in a taxi with some luggage. He left to Europe on business. Ariffin was sentenced to death by the High Court on 28 March 1994. His execution was carried out on 27 December 2002 at Kajang Prison. The kids' school books and toys could still be found there until recently, when the house was demolished.

New York Hotel, Johor Bahru - Allegedly a girl killed herself in one of the rooms on the 13th floor, it is said along the corridor of the 13th floor, you’ll see a room which is sealed with no door knobs to enter that particular room. Guests has complaint that the lift would suddenly stop on the exact floor where the girl committed suicide.

Karak Highway - There are many accidents involving at night. Malaysia’s worst highway disaster also happened at this highway, 17 people were killed when a passenger bus collided with a series of vehicles – a tanker lorry, FRU riot police cars and a further 10 cars. This incident was known as the 1990 Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway Crash. a list of common ghosts that linger around the highway and they are believed to be the proprietor of many accidents: Many of these include yellow Volkswagen, Schoolboy, Pontianak and a mother with her son. The Karak is a highway that was built in the 1970s that connects Kuala Lumpur to Karak, which is approximately 60km away. It is known to be notoriously haunted as many paranormal incidents took place there since the beginning of its commissioning until today. It is not only the fatal accidents that happened on the highway that makes it supposedly haunted, but many drivers spotted ‘supernatural things’ lurking on the highway as well. Sightings of yellow driverless Volkswagens have been rife over the years. According to witness accounts, the cars would suddenly appear out of nowhere in the middle of the highway, usually in front of the drivers; if the drivers were to overtake, they would see that the car has no driver and the car would suddenly appear in the forefront. Ghost that eat people The story that indicated the existence of these ghosts begins when a family driving on the Karak was stranded on the highway due to the car breaking down. They initially waited for help, hoping that other drivers on the road will help them, but to no avail, as there were no other vehicles present on the road at that time. The husband decided to seek help and told his wife to stay in the car with their newborn baby and lock the doors; moreover, not to unlock the doors no matter what, albeit it is the husband himself. However, not long after the husband left, the wife heard a thumping noise coming from the roof of the car, she huddled her baby in fear but didn’t dare unlock the door. After a while, the thumping suddenly stopped with the arrival of the police. The woman was escorted to the police car and was told not to look back; however curiosity certainly did kill the cat in this case, for the woman, still pondering over the fate of her husband, looked back. She went insane after seeing her husband’s body had been torn to bits. Police officers claimed that they saw some ape-like creatures perching on the roof of a car whilst seemingly feasting on something from a distance, but as they came closer to investigate, the creatures fled and left the woman’s husband’s half-eaten and severely battered carcass behind.

Mona Fandey’s house, Raub, Pahang - Mona Fandey, a bomoh who allegedly used black arts to help politicians gain power, She was convicted and hanged for killing Batu Talam assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris in a black magic ceremony gone wrong in 1993, Mazlan’s body was found decapitated and hacked into 18 parts in a hole near Mona’s uncompleted house in Raub, Pahang. Lately, stories of Mona haunting the Raub lock-up, where she was initially held after her arrest, have been circulating online. Witnesses claimed they heard crying, felt someone breathing down their neck and as if they were being watched.

Mimaland, Gombak - a water theme park opened way back in 1975, in Gombak, Selangor, accident in the 1990s left a Singaporean visitor dead, and a later series of unfortunate events for example a landslide left no choice but the closure of the amusement park. the place is a magnet for amateur ghost hunters wanting to seek out some paranormal activity at a haunted abandoned amusement park.