With Singapore's hectic pace of life, there is apparently no rest for the dead either as our little island has quite a reputation for haunted spaces.
Ghost stories, supernatural sightings and urban legends… we've got them all. We've scoured around the island for some creepy spots to check out.
The only good news here is that all these places are free to visit. Good luck!
1. Old Changi Hospital
When you think of haunted places in Singapore, Changi Hospital immediately comes to mind.
This colonial-style building was originally constructed as part of a military base in 1935 by the British government.
However, the hospital’s use was short-lived, with the grounds being seized by Japanese troops in 1942 and used as a holding ground for prisoners of war.
More than 50,000 prisoners were detained here during the Japanese Occupation, and the grounds were used by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police, who were feared for their brutal torture techniques.
Despite the hospital grounds being vacated in 1997 when the new Changi General Hospital was opened, crying and moaning sounds in the vicinity, plus sightings of shadowy figures and pontianaks have also been reported.
The abandoned building still stands and occasional ghost tours are held there.
2. Old Tampines Road
This road isn’t for the faint-hearted. Legend has it that this road is haunted by pontianaks.
What’s a pontianak? It’s the ghost of a pregnant woman who died during childbirth, or brutally at the hands of men. She then returns from the dead with vengeance, determined to get her revenge and retribution from men.
To do this, the pontianak transforms into a beautiful woman in order to lure her prey.
Once the unsuspecting man falls into her trap, she reveals her monstrous form and eviscerates him by ripping out his internal organs with her long fingernails, leaving behind a bloody scene after eating her victim.
And there is always the aroma of a seductive perfume lingering in the air after such an incident.
Taxi drivers have also claimed seeing a woman flagging them down at the Old Tampines Road juncture at the same time every day. And when they drove past her, she would never show up in their rearview mirrors.
Many riders and cyclists have even said they feel 'extra weight' when passing through this eerie stretch of road late at night. Creepy!
3. National Museum of Singapore
Built in 1882, our National Museum of Singapore has a Victorian-style spiral staircase that is said to be haunted. And that stairway is sealed off to the public!
Visitors and staff have claimed to see the wandering spirit of Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill, a British doctor and zoologist and the former museum director. Gibson-Hill suffered from poor health in his later years and apparently committed suicide at the stairway.
Many people have also reported unexplainable cold spots or drafts while seeing a ghostlike figure. Some say that ‘something’ invisible tripped them and prevented them from accessing the staircase.
4. Bedok Reservoir
You wouldn’t know it by looking at the peaceful stretch that is Bedok Reservoir, but this popular jogging and recreational spot has a reputation for being one of Singapore’s most haunted places and is known for the number of suicides that have occurred there.
5. Yellow Tower at East Coast Park
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Although in a popular family venue, everyone steers clear of the yellow-hued Amber Beacon Tower near Carpark C at East Coast Park.
According to the story, a couple was strolling around this area at night in 1992 and it was exactly at Amber Beacon Tower that a poor 21-year-old lady was brutally gang-raped and subsequently stabbed to death.
The criminals were never caught and now the tower is said to be haunted by the spirit of the murdered woman. Some people have even claimed to have seen a ghostlike silhouette of a female crying for help on some nights.
6. Bishan MRT
Joining the legion of haunted MRT stations that rest on ex-burial grounds is Bishan MRT, complete with sightings of headless ghosts and apparition commuters.
The station sits atop the old Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng Cemetery (one of Singapore’s largest Chinese cemeteries), which was established in 1870 by early Chinese immigrants.
The site was exhumed in 1982 to make way for the Bishan Town we see today, with the station and surrounding housing estates built on the site of the former cemetery.
While the cemetery has since been relocated with new temples, the ghosts of its past are said to still roam Bishan MRT station.
Maintenance staff on the graveyard shift have reported seeing phantom passengers who do not cast any reflections on the windows, a headless ghost, and figures carrying coffins through the tunnels. Spooky!
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This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.