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5 Ghosts That ALWAYS Haunt Malaysian Schools & Hostels

5 Ghosts That ALWAYS Haunt Malaysian Schools & Hostels

Are we to believe every school had the same nasi lemak aunty and every hostel had a gruesome death?

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Any Malaysian student who spent their time living in the school/ uni/ college /matric hostel probably had the best time of their lives. After all, hostel life is kinda like a massive sleepover.

And one of the classic sleepover staples is sharing ghost stories, of course!

However, have you noticed that almost every one of these stories sound the same? It seems like Malaysian schools and hostels attract the same species of ghosts every time.

Credit: Yusof Mat Isa/Malay Mail

So we’ve dug through our memories and put our heads together to present you this list of 5 ghosts that ALWAYS haunt Malaysian schools and hostels:

1. The 3am Nasi Lemak Mak Cik seller

Probably the most famous of all hostel spooky stories is of a ghostly mak cik, typically old who comes knocking on the door, offering to sell nasi lemak.

Ghastly, yet delicious.

But if you’re overwhelmed by greed hunger to open the door, the result is either a benign “no one is there” or the scarier “kena rasuk”.

Other variations of the 3am haunted entrepreneur includes selling curry puffs or keropok.

2. Japanese soldier ghosts

If you studied in a school/institution that was established before 1941, you can bet there are stories of how it was taken over by the Japanese army for a variety of reasons.

The school is either a Japanese workshop, a training ground or a torture chamber for their prisoners.

These tales are usually followed with, “You can sometimes hear sounds of screaming/Japanese soldiers marching late at night. We’ve also heard variations of these soldiers can be seen either headless or with the head of a dog.

3. Ghosts following you when you’re on your period

Okay, this one is a bit icky but girls’ hostels are FULL of menstruation-related ghost stories.

Ah, puberty.

The gist of it is that these supernatural beings are attracted to the scent/aura of your “dirty blood”, like how a shark sniffs out blood in water. So you better dispose of your sanitary napkins properly or keep yourself clean during the goriest portion of your cycle.

These blood-loving ghosts are described vaguely as “spirits” or the more popular Pontianak.

(Credit: Resorts World Sentosa via Star2)

4. Beds rattling in the middle of the night/Kena tekan

Your roommate, or the student next door or your friend’s friend from hostel in another state will somehow always tell you that they’ve had their beds rattling in the middle of the night.

This is usually accompanied with a good ol’ “kena tekan” or sleep paralysis where you’ll have scary beings grabbing your body or sitting on your chest.

BONUS: Sometimes, there’s a loud thumping noise that no one else seems to hear.

5. Someone XX years ago died and now their ghost is haunting
this place

Yes, another classic school/hostel ghost story is the tale of a random student who died or committed suicide a number of years ago and now they haunt the place.

The amazing thing is, every hostel seems to have a deceased occupant who still resides there. The creep factor is sometimes turned up a few notches if you happen to be in the former student’s room or bed.

Typical haunting symptoms include, seeing a black figure in a dark corner of the room or even a roommate who comes into the room, has a conversation with you then leaves. When the roomie comes back, it’s always followed with a “that wasn’t me, dude. I just got back.”

While these stories were successful in terrifying our younger selves, their repetitive similarities seem so funny now.

But oh well, it was all part and parcel of the Malaysian schooling and hostel experience that certainly made life interesting.


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