Scariest Ghost Stories and Urban Legends in Hong Kong
/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
Photo: cottonbro studio
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.
photo: pixabay
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.
photo: pixabay
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
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.
