Oh My Ghosts! Horror stories of Asian ghosts
Jumping vampire, cursed dancer, snake woman, wandering child dressed in red... These evil spirits, from Southeast Asian folklore, have found a resurgence in popularity in recent decades, notably thanks to cinema and television. These six episodes invite you to discover a little-known legendary universe, whose figures continue to haunt Chinese, Taiwanese and Thai imaginations.
Episodes
The Jiangshi, “stiff corpse”, is an undead in Chinese folklore. Born from a violent death or a botched burial, he goes out at night to suck the vital breath of humans. Stiff, arms outstretched, he moves around hopping, dressed in a Qing dynasty uniform. His body decomposed, he may have fangs, claws and supernatural strength allowing him to fly.
Dead in childbirth, Mae Nak has become a ghost. Back, her husband discovers her true nature and flees, terrified and helpless. Betrayed, Mae Nak will haunt the living, prolonging her pain into a relentless curse. A monk will finally free her, but her shrine in Bangkok still whispers her name. Mae Nak continues to be a source of inspiration for Thai cinema.
The little girl in red has haunted the streets of Taiwan for thirty years. Dressed in red, she wanders at night, mute or laughing, and sometimes asks to be followed. Others say she appears in photos, without ever having been there. All the media on the island talk about disappearances or unexplained accidents. A simple look can seal the fate of the person who crosses his path.
Krasue is an abject, nocturnal creature from Thai folklore. During the day, she goes unnoticed in human guise. But when night falls, her floating organs reveal her true demonic nature, as she sets off in search of carcasses and placenta. Silent and elusive, she embodies an ancestral fear still alive in certain rural regions.
Phi Nang Ram, ghost of a Thai dancer who died tragically, returns to haunt familiar places. We see her at dusk, dressed in a traditional dancer's dress, dancing to the sound of bells. Her beauty is troubled, her gaze petrifies. Victim of a brutal death, his mind wanders restlessly, delivering one last blood-curdling dance in front of his paralyzed victims.
This Chinese animal spirit transforms into a femme fatale. Snake-woman or vixen, she charms her prey with a hypnotic look and bewitching grace. Young men fall under her influence, attracted by her artificial beauty. Slowly, she consumes them, pushing them to madness and death, while they cannot escape the icy embrace of her fatal desire.
