The Family Ghost (家鬼)

I have told you about the story of the basketball and the lift, now let me tell you a story of my family ghost:

When I was about 10 years old, my parents moved to Talang Garden opposite the Taiping Road. It was a 3 room terrace house with a skylight in the middle of the house.

My room was the center room. At night when the light is turned off, I could see the figure of a man sat in the sofa in the living room before dawn and the figure only appear there for a while.

I couldn't see it clearly as it was really a black shadow with its head stooped. The black figure always sit at the end of the sofa. Interestingly speaking, the way this figure disappear was not as fast as lighting strike. Instead, it just faded in accordance to the brightening of the environment.

I have tried to watch TV in the sofa and nothing happens. But when I switched off the TV and when I turned my back, the black figure already sat in the sofa. Worst of all, my pillow was still in the sofa. That was the time I need to come so close with that figure. That was really an unforgettable moment of my life!

By hook or by crook that I had to pretend everything was okay but braved myself to approach the sofa while pretended to say: "Oh, I forgot my pillow" or "I have forgotten my school bag!"

My grandma used to advise me when I see a 'dirty thing' (ghost), I should pretend not to have seen it or else... For once the 'thing' knows that you can see it, then it will possess your body and there will be no end.

Having said so, I am not sure if my parents saw the black shadow too, but since it didn't really disturb us; no one really cares anyway until...

Once I was really scared by this 'invisible family member'.

I was lying in my bed and before I fell into slumber, I was awaken by some Cantonese song. The song was unlike those of the contemporary Cantonese song or those of the Classic Opera. It sounded somehow more or less like those lengthy old operas with questioning and answering mixing with gongs.

I immediately opened my eyes, the commotion vanished.

When I opened my eyes again, the commotions was as if just next to my ears.

I opened my eyes and the commotion vanished. And I closed my eyes, the sounds repeated.

So, silent-voices-silent-voices...

I started to recite some prayers: "Please let me alone..."

After a while I peeped at the sofa and nothing was seen. But as soon as turned my body to another side, big problem! 

There was a pair of legs under the chair near my study table. It was just the lower body of a figure with a pair of bare soles. Then I felt my body was frozen solid and I couldn't move except that I could still moving my eye balls.

The sounds of opera play became louder and louder...

Frankly speaking, that was my 'first time' experiencing 'hag ride'. 

I was lying on my side and I could see that a black figure wearing white shorts climbing into the bed.

There was nothing I could do and I gradually fell into sleep and when I could move again, it was already dawn.

Since the hag rode incident, I continued to see the black figure in that sofa. But as I became older, I saw it lesser and by the time my parents moved to Taiping, I have not seen it again until the house was sold.

Perhaps the black figure is still in that house, that I cannot tell.