DO GHOSTS EXIST? HAVE YOU MET A GHOST?

Is there any ghost in this world? Does ghost exist at all? Has anyone seen a real ghost? Anyone ever talked to a ghost? Is there a so-called Fourth Dimension? What do you think?

Since time immemorial, humans of all races and creeds have been fascinated with the notion of ghost. The Chinese have a penchant to use terms like greedy ghost, hungry ghost, sad ghost, angry ghost and lascivious ghost etc to describe a person’s characteristics.

Every year, the Chinese (not all Chinese), devote a whole month to “celebrate” hungry ghost festival. It falls in August – next month. Whenever our National Day is here, the hungry ghost festival follows suit. Tons of incense burning and celebrations all over the island just spring up.

I’ve written an article as a student on the hungry ghost festival. Click here to read the article.

The English would say, “What the devil?”, “Who’s the devil?” and also the all time favourite “Devil’s advocate!” Are you a Devil’s advocate? Read here to understand more about ghost phenomenon.

In the year 1983, when I was a young constable , I was assigned to escort dead bodies in a police hearse to the mortuary. In those days, we had to escort dead bodies to the mortuary from the scene of crime.

Sometimes, I had to carry out my duty in the wee hours of the morning. I still remember the SGH mortuary opposite the current Outram Park MRT station. I had to ensure that the dead body was placed in one of the metal box drawers in the cold storage. The particulars of the dead body with case report number written on a disc had to be tagged on the right leg near to the heel.

Sometimes, the dead body was in bad shape especially those involved in an industrial accident or suicide by jumping from high rise building. If the body was decomposed, it’s even worse. Usually I would be excused from duty for the rest of the day after escorting a badly decomposed body. The 1,000 times of fishy smell would linger on my uniform causing so much discomfort around me with the nauseating rotten stench. At times, my uniform had to be disposed off after escorting a decomposed body. As a child, I lived through those bucket collection excrement days with maggots crawling around when the night soil collector came once a week to clear. Trust me, It’s nothing when compared to a badly decomposed body.

Imagine in the wee hours of the morning, walking around he huge cold storage in extremely low temperature and tagging the dead body, I could hear my own foot steps and the beat of my heart. The echo in the dead silence of the night was eerie. Even with a drop of the pin could startle the brave hearted.

For countless times, I could sense the presence of ghosts in the desolate mortuary but never fated to meet one.

Subsequently, I was posted to “J” Division or Jurong police station as a patrol officer. It was fun and interesting there.

On night shift, together with my partner, we would drive the patrol car deep into Lim Chu Kang cemetery or even Po Yang reservoir off end of Jln Bahar area. Those days, there was not much development there esp Neo Tiew area near to Tengah airbase and Keat Hong camp near to Chao Chu Kang / Teck Whye areas.

Taking my rest deep into the cemetary at Lim Chu Kang was most serene. I prefer the Christian or Muslim cemetery where there was not much graphic images or statues. Whereas, the Chinese cemetery is full of colourful illuminous idols at the tomb stones with thick incense smell in the air. But then, we still need to patrol and check for vandals or suspicios characters inside the Chinese cemetery.

Numerous patrols in the Chinese cemetery in Lim Chu Kang during the dead silence of the night didn’t give me the honour of meeting any ghost. I would have requested for a promotion if I had met any ghost. However, I did come across many cases of ritual worship or even fortune seekers there. Sometimes, groups of bikers with young screaming girls would rampage through the cemetery disturbing the serenity. We even came across couples doing gymnastics inside their cars! How could the resident ghosts forgive them? Really langgar.

Nevertheless, I have never seen any ghost in all my life. I wish I could. But some of my colleagues did! Few of them claim that they saw a lady ghost in white in Changi depot. They swore till the end of the world that they witnessed that same lady ghost at the tracks, sidings and pantry.

The picture below is a recent ghost sighting captured by our night railway maintenance staff. It’s on the railway track near to Ulu Padang depot towards Jurong East station. This picture was posted on FB. It’s circulated amongst the SMRT staff generating much debate.

I read that some netizens also saw ghosts in trains or stations esp Novena, Marina or Bishan stations. Maybe, it’s due to the first train suicide case of a young lady at the portal of Bishan station tunnel. But most of us feel that the Marina Bay station staff toilet is spooky. No train driver dares go in there. The floor is bone dry. I’ve never come across any toilet that is in such bone dry condition. Really eerie.

Please share your ghost story here if you do come across. I would like to hear your ghostly experience.

Ghostly young couple at Bukit Timah railway track.

Ghost picture taken inside the MRT train at Marina Bay station.

Click here to read more ghosts sighted story in hotels.