News

The Haunted Traveler: Haunted Hong Kong

Published

7 years ago

May 1, 2017

Everyone loves to travel. We love to experience new places, new cultures and beautiful buildings. But there is another side of travel that some people, me included, appreciate. Out of the norm, out of the box and out of this world; I’m talking about being a haunted traveler. And today we’re taking a look at haunted Hong Kong.

A haunted traveler is someone who visits certain cities strictly for the paranormal places that exist there. It’s like visiting New Jersey for the Jersey Devil. Every month I will bring you a new city and the haunts and cryptids that live there.

This month and for the first city in our travels, we’re delving deep into haunted Hong Kong. I was lucky enough to sit down with some life-long Hong Kong natives to go over the scariest places on the island and the experiences people have there.

Tat Tak School, Yuen Long

(Image credit: thehauntedblog.com)

Widely considered one of the most haunted places in Hong Kong, this abandoned school is located right next to a cemetery. Although it hasn’t been in use for decades, those that travel near the school still have encounters. The most commonly seen is the “Red Lady,” a woman who hung herself in the girls’ bathroom while wearing all red.

Chinese superstition states that if you die wearing all red, you will return as a powerful and vengeful spirit. A story goes that while the school was still functioning, a young girl seeming possessed, attacked her fellow students and tried to bite them and then attempted to hang herself.

The Dragon Lodge (Lung Lo) 32 Lugard Rd, The Peak

(Image credit: herehongkong.tumblr.com)

Whether it be the owner dying in the home, possible Japanese occupation during WWII, or nun decapitation, this place is known for its creepiness. Past restoration of the lodge has long since been abandoned and it sits vacant. The view from the grounds is gorgeous but inside it’s a different story. Many claim to hear the sounds of children crying on the premises.

Murray House, Stanley

(Image credit: wikimapia.org)

This colonial style mansion is one of the oldest and one of the many remnants of British occupation in Hong Kong. Originally located in Central District, it was moved brick by brick to Stanley after being named an historic building. While being used as a government building in the 60’s and 70’s, past employees used to hear the sounds of typing late into the night, even when they were the only ones there.

They felt so uncomfortable and has so many experiences that the building has been subjected to two separate exorcisms, one in 1963 and the other in 1974 and was the first televised exorcism. The government even gave permission for this to occur in its building. Like many of the other haunted locations throughout Hong Kong, this building was used during Japanese occupation in WWII as a command post and a place of executions for Chinese citizens.

Granville Rd 31, Tsim Sha Tsui

(Image credit: theparanormalguide.com)

This particular apartment is known throughout Hong Kong due to a grisly discovery in 1999. Called the Hello Kitty Murder, a young nightclub hostess named Fan Man-Yee was kept and tortured for a month in the home before being dismembered and her head found inside of a mermaid Hello Kitty doll. Many of the shops nearby find images on their CCTV of a young woman wondering in the shops long after close. After tenants refused to live in the building, the apartment building was demolished and a hotel built over it.

High Street Community Center, Sai Ying Pun District

(Image credit: yp.scmp.com)

This community center was a mental hospital in its former life, leading those who have had experience to not only believe there are ghosts of the insane. During the Japanese occupation, the building was used as an interrogation center for Chinese citizens who were then taken to the King George V park across the street for execution.

After being abandoned in the 70’s and making it through two fires, most of the building was torn down and rebuilt as a community center, but pieces of the original building remain.

Many claim to hear women screaming in the community center and see balls of fire. Interesting fact: High Street is actually 4^th street but due to the fact that four (say in Cantonese) sounds like the word death with the slightest tonal change. Therefore, the street was renamed.

Ghost Bridge (Mang Gui Kiu/Hung Sui Kiu), Tsung Tsai Yuen

(Image credit: geocaching.com)

On August 28th1955, a teacher and her students from the nearby St. James Primary School were having a picnic when a storm came. Seeking protection under the bridge from the storm, the teacher and students didn’t know where they were standing was used a drainage ditch during heavy rain. A flash flood occured and killed 28 people.

(Image credit: geocaching.com)

A few survived the flooding under the bridge but most on the picnic perished. Bus drivers say that they often pick up phantom passengers or find that when their last ride is nearby that a passenger will just appear in the bus.

Don’t go away yet. There’s more haunted Hong Kong on the next page.

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Movies

‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt

Published

17 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.

In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.

This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.

Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.

“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”

The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”

The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.

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Movies

‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time

Published

19 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?

It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.

^{Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott}

Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.

Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.

_{Great Movie Ride}

The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.

_{Alien Romulus}

^{Alien (1979)}

The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.

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News

Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween

Published

21 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Cameron McFarland

Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.

The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.

This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.

This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.

“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”

But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.

This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.