95 4.19 The Abandoned House and Wandering Spirits (1/2)
Our rented van had stopped right at the first house that had been marked as abandoned. Even though the entrance of the driveway had an enormous walled archway, there seems to be an electrical line going through it. The walls really need a fresh coat of paint while mosses and other creeping plants were lined at nearly every inch of the wall. Two bronze electrical lantern was affixed on each corner of the archway that stood out among the disrepair and under-maintenance of the wall.
The SPI team who drove the van stopped and parked alongside the dirt road before deciding to let it park there instead of driving towards the house.
”Pornsak, can we move by foot because the space between the archways is too narrow for the van to pass through and I don't think it's a good idea to drive since we won't know if there's any sinkholes or whatever along the road that leads to the house.”
He spoke that under one breath while he looked at Pornsak for approval. He should be asking the team leader of the SPI team and not the Narrator but after seeing and believing several incidences of Pornsak and me, the level of respect seems a bit higher than usual.
”if you guys don't mind carrying the equipment around, I think we can leave the bulky axillary batteries and other stuff behind. Just carry whatever mobile we can get our hands on and if we need a recharge we can continue back to this van anytime.”
The team leader of SPI team spoke up after confirming with Pornsak about leaving the equipment behind. Seeing there are some 3 hours of daylight left, they felt that they could cover up the documentary within an hour or so.
So they picked whatever equipment that was needed, distribute it among the team members and my two office colleagues and we all left on foot walking past the archway. The plastic bag that was filled with offerings were carried by me. As I passed under the archway, I saw a familiar object that was embedded in the ground near the walls and I went to pick it up.
”What have you found there? Oh... It looks rather rusty and old. What do you wanna do with it? Part of your memorabilia?”
Pornsak asked me while I examined a rather rusty and slightly crooked nail about 6 inches long. It's a nail meant to drive through the wood rather than concrete by looking at its tip. I smiled and placed it in the back pocket of my jeans.
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My mother used to say, ”I'd you meet a pretty lady or a lady in white or a screaming banshee; stick this nail through the back of its neck and it will transform her into a normal person. But in no circumstances should the nail be removed or she will return back to its form and fly away. You could even make a wife or concubine, a domestic helper or cook for you.”
YOU GUYS BETTER DON'T GIVE A SHIT OF WHAT MY MOTHER SAYS OK?
If you think you saw a lady in white and somehow you stuck that 6-inch nail behind her neck and she screams and curses at you and falls down next to your feet, don't you go around and blame me for it. It's all your fault! Not mine! Because you just killed a human being!
Lady in white in other folklore:
Indonesian: Kuntilanak / sundel bolong
Philippines: tianak / pokpok*
Malaysia: Pontianak / Langsuir
Thailand: ladyboy wannabe* (aww aww aww)
Singapore: minah motor* (bike chicks)
*describing them lightheartedly
The lady in white do not hunt kids or adult but rather babies in their cradles or in some cases, babies that are still in their mommy's womb.
The lady in white would fly around at night and if they were to announce their arrival on top of people's roof, the occupants of the house can hear flappings from a large bird. While sounds of scratches would be heard all over the roof like scampering cats, provided your roof was made from zinc and not like the genting tiled roof set.
Either that house or your neighbouring one has someone that was about to give birth.
Another distinguishing scent would be their sweet sickly flowery smell when they are far away followed by dog's howling and it would be the stench of rotting meat followed by dog's whimpering whenever they are nearby.
During childbirth, in old strap houses, this lady in white loves to sit under the raised platform of the house and lapped up blood that seeps through the loose floors. In this modern day, they even disguised themselves as nurses or midwives and would kidnap the baby as well as the placenta soonest the mother had given birth. So I let you have the wildest imagination roam free for this episode.
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After some minutes of trampling over overgrown plants that obscured the well-trodden path towards the abandoned house, we reached a clearing a majestic single storey concrete blue and white coloured bungalow house stood smack in the middle. The electrical cable that we saw was strung across a pole and a few wires seemed to be connected inside it.