Confused spirits roam Thailand

by Feòrag

Thailand: Survivors of the recent tsunami have started to complain about an invasion of foreign ghosts:

Volunteer body searchers at the resorts of Phi Phi Island and Khao Lak have been reported as claiming they have heard laughing and singing on a devastated beach only to find darkness and empty sand.

Taxi drivers at Patong on Phuket island swear they picked up a foreign man and his Thai girlfriend going to the airport with all their baggage, only to then look in the rear-view mirror and find an empty seat.

Guards at a beachfront plaza in Patong said one of their men had quit after hearing a foreign woman cry help m all night long and similar stories abound of a foreign ghost walking along the shoreline at night calling for her child.

Traditional Thai beliefs have an explanation:

Wallop said the reason almost all ghost sightings appear to involve foreign tourists stems from a belief that spirits can only be put to rest by relatives at the scene, such as was done to many Thai victims.

Thai people believe that when people die, a relative has to cremate them or bless them. If this is not done or the body is not found, people believe the person will appear over and over again to show where they are, he said.

The ghosts themselves are believed to think they are still on holiday.

Tsunami sparks ghost sightings - news.com.au, 14th January 2005.