Everybody loves ghost stories, especially when they’re familiar with the places where they allegedly happened.
While Peninsular Malaysia is host to infamous haunted sites like Highland Towers, Karak Highway and Villa Nabila, we have our own share of spooky tales here in the Land of the Hornbills.
Here are some Sarawakian ghost stories that you’ve probably never heard of:
1. A store in Miri where shoes fly
If you are working as a retailer at one of the shopping malls in Miri, you might have heard this story.
It seemed like any other day for the staff of a shoe store as they were opening up shop, until they saw that shoes were scattered all over the place as if they had been thrown about.
The owner understandably turned to the CCTV recording to check what had happened, and to everybody’s surprise, they didn’t find the culprit, instead they saw the shoes fly off the rack all by themselves.
However, the existence and legitimacy of the CCTV recording is continuously the subject of debate in online forums.
2. A haunted hotel in Bintulu
Google-search ‘haunted hotel in Bintulu’ and you’ll find two accounts of the same haunting… which goes to show what happens when you put bloggers in a ghostly situation.
Their experiences have the perfect ingredients for a ghost story – unexplained banging on the window, sobbing sounds, being assigned a haunted room and to show it wasn’t all a dream – scratch marks on their backs.
One of the bloggers also happens to be a comic blogger.
Check out their stories here and here.
3.The tale of Janet and Satok Bridge
This is one of Sarawakian ghost stories perhaps only known among Kuchingites.
The story goes that in the 1960s while Satok bridge was still in its early stages of construction, women were going missing.
According to some myths, human sacrifices – specifically, their heads – are needed to reinforce the pillars of a bridge, and like most human sacrifices around the world, the demand is for young virgins.
Janet, believed to be a young Chinese nurse, fit the bill and when her headless body was found in a culvert, people believed that she had become one of those sacrifices.
Her parents buried her in a red dress and red shoes so that she could return as a spirit and exact her vengeance upon her killers. Just like Megan Fox’s character in Jennifer’s Body (2009), Janet is said to be roaming around Kuching in a red dress, hitching rides from unsuspecting motorcyclists or taking ferry rides across the Sarawak river.
4. The now-demolished wooden house in Krokop
There’s no bloodshed in this story, only an account of people sleeping at an empty haunted house in Krokop on a dare. The next morning they found themselves – and their belongings – outside the house. So were they sleepwalking or were they moved outside by unseen forces?
Other accounts say that the windows of this house have never been left half-opened or half-closed, but that they’ve only ever been wide open or tightly closed.
The house has since been demolished, leaving this a mystery for the ages.
5. A haunted beach resort in Santubong
If you are Sarawakian, or have been here long enough, you’ll know that there are various accounts of haunted resorts in Santubong.
According to one account, you might be able to see a shadowy figure outside your window even though you are on the 12th floor. This story, however, does raise a few questions as most of the resorts in Santubong are four-storeys high at most.
Additionally, one story goes that you might be able to see a mythical creature scaring the wits out of you from on top of a coconut tree.
Do you have any Sarawakian ghost stories to share? Tell us your stories in the comment box.
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