Induced Haunting (令屋闹鬼)

There are many Luban magic rituals that cause nuisance rather than harm.

A house can be haunted because of many reasons. It might be someone has died in the place and refused to pass on. It might be that the place has an ideal Feng Shui condition for spirits to congregate or it might just be someone has cast a Luban spell on the house.

If the haunting is caused by Luban magic, then the haunting is not real as it only disturbs the peace of the tenants of that house. Unless the item is removed, no other means can remove the disturbance.

There are some similar rituals practised by Indochinese folks to cause knocking noise on the door or window. Some researchers later found that by smearing the blood of a catfish on the door, a type of bloodthirsty bats will be attracted to the door. When their flapping wings approach the door, knocking sound would be produced.

On the other hand, Luban magic uses magical props such as human manikins and animals and the effects cannot be explained scientifically.

A friend of mine, Kow who was a contractor who specialized in house renovation projects suddenly came to me with a very special request...

Kow: "Liew, I have a small job of repairing the house of a very famous arjan (Thai magic master). Is there a way to somehow test his authenticity?"

Me: "Well, you know, 90% of the masters out there are fakes. 10% think that they have the real thing. I have done Thai magic and I don't like to test people."

Kow: "I know it is disrespectful, but is there a way to do a harmless test without harming anyone?"

I thought for a while and said: "If you can, try to tug a piece of paper inscribed with the Han characters 九死一生 (9 deaths 1 lives) and tug it underneath a Kumanthong or any statues. Do a few if you want the effect to be more noticeable."

Kow gave me a slimy smile and replied: "I will let you know of the outcome."

A few weeks later when I was having my favorite nasi lemak and coffee in a stall near my house. Ong came to me and without being invited, he pulled a stool and sat beside me.

Before I could open my mouth as I was chewing, Ong said to me: "Hey, Liew! Did you hear that a famous arjan in Alor Setar has gone mad?"

I had an ominous feeling: was it the work of Kow?

After I swallowed my mouthful of nasi lemak, I asked Ong: "What about it?"

"Well... I heard that the arjan suddenly being disturbed by strange noises at night and whatever he did couldn't remove the disturbances. The arjan recited mantras and invited the Kurba Arjan (grand master) to come but the noise became louder... And the arjan subsequently became insane. His followers think that the arjan's spirits had revolted due to the fact the arjan has aged..."

I nearly spurted as I was sipping my coffee. And I perfunctorily replied: "Oh, you know... people who deals with spirits has no ending..."

After Ong left, I picked up my phone and called Kow: "Ong tole me that the arjan in Alor Setar has gone mad... was that your work?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Served him right..." A burst of laughter came from the other end.

"Don't just laugh, remove all the papers right now!" I yelled.

Kow replied: "I couldn't do it my self as they know I am a contractor, but they don't know you. So you must come with me to do the job by hook or by crook...Hahaha!"

So, after Kow told the arjan's followers that Mr. Liew was some kind of 'super powerful arjan' and that he could 'solve their problems'; I borrowed a set of white clothing and a few bunch of amulets to be hung around my neck. And, off we went to save the day.

At the arjan's place, I asked everyone to go out of the house except Kow and me. We quickly removed those papers tugged under the idols and then pronounced the house was purified.

And folks, that was the beginning of my life as Arjan Liew...