Spooks

10 Best Places to Catch Ghosts in S’pore, Because #4444 (choy!)

2017-01-25 , 7:05 pm

1. Old Changi Hospital

Arguably the most well-known haunted location in Singapore, the Old Changi Hospital was built in 1935 as a British military hospital. It was then occupied by the Japanese during WWII and was used for prisoners of war. Rumours also tell of torture chambers within, and people unfortunate enough to be around at night, or thrill-seekers who are around on purpose could hear screams and wailing.

In other words, perfect for the ghost hunter in you!

2. Tanglin Hill Brunei Hostel

There is an abandoned hostel at the end of Tanglin Hill. It had been left untouched and dilapidated after 25 years of disuse. This location is perfect for amateur paranormal investigators, as reported paranormal occurrences are relatively benign. In fact, the Singapore Paranormal Investigators even arrange tours to this location!

3. Bedok

Just… the whole of Bedok, man. Scores of horror stories originated in Bedok, with way too many murders and suicides happening in the area. Bedok Reservoir itself had multiple drownings in the past few years. This is as haunted as it gets. There’s a haunted HDB flat, rumours of the reservoir itself calling for joggers, and many other stories. Remind me never to move there.

4. Haw Par Villa

A literal representation of Hell disguised designed as a theme park in Singapore. This place is reasonably well known, and nowadays you can take the circle line to get there, yet no one really goes there. I guess demons and torture do not correspond to most people’s idea of a fun time. A place like this is bound to attract stories, and true enough, rumours tell of an actual gate of Hell within the park. Screams could be heard, and security guards speak of exhibits coming alive at night. Spooky!

5. Nee Soon Rubber Estate

This old rubber plantation is situated in Sembawang, and most of it has already been cleared to make way for infrastructure development. The problem is that rubber trees are like HDB flats for pontianaks (basically female vampires that eviscerate you), and now that there are actual HDB flats around, guess where the pontianaks go now.

I wish I hadn’t heard of this story, now that I live in Sembawang. On the bright side, if I ever wish to see something, I can just look out the windows!

6. Lim Chu Kang

This is another example of an entire haunted estate. Although, to be fair Lim Chu Kang is more of a large area filled with cemeteries and army camps than an actual estate. Actually, there’s also an abandoned HDB estate deep within, in Neo Tiew. Huh. The combination of basically all the large cemeteries in Singapore, in addition to the ghost magnets that are the old army camps and the abandoned HDB flats, makes the entire place super haunted. Great for adventures!

7. View Road Lodge

This one is especially creepy. It’s not just an abandoned hospital, it’s an abandoned mental hospital. Double the spooks! This ‘lodge’ was originally constructed to ease overcrowding at the old Woodbridge Hospital. Stories of suicides and sightings of spirits are common, and it is even said the watchman of the abandoned site isn’t real!

Excellent location to explore once you’re tired of old Changi Hospital.

8. Amber Beacon Tower

This is an old observation tower situated in East Coast Park and has an infamous story attached to it. It is said that a brutal gang rape and murder happened here, with the boyfriend of the victim being knocked unconscious as the tragedy happened. Sightings of a female spirit hanging around are quite common, which makes this a hotspot for paranormal experiences.

9. Bukit Brown Cemetery

This is arguably the most famous cemetery we have. In recent years, a portion of the cemetery had been exhumed for constructing a highway, putting the cultural icon in the spotlights. There are sightings of more pontianaks, and spirits of the dead here, as well as reports of laughter, heard at night. It’s a creepy old cemetery, standard fare for ghosts.

10. John’s Island

St. John’s Island is situated south-east of Sentosa and was always known as a place of relaxation. Don’t tell the holiday goers about the gruesome history of the place, though. The island was used as a burial ground and quarantine station once, and also housed a prison. This is already starting to sound like a horror movie, and we’re not even at the best part yet. In the heart of the island lies a giant chessboard, and it is said the Japanese during WWII played chess with live POWs, beheading ‘captured pieces’.