5 Ghostly Incidents M'sian Drivers Experienced 'Cause Hantu Like To Lepak Tepi Jalan
You'll wanna cap your late-night mamak sessions at 9pm after this.
By Steffi Anthony — 19 Oct 2023, 06:27 PM
When it comes to ghost stories, Malaysians just can't seem to get enough of them
No joke, it seems like Malaysians tend to have some kind of fondness towards horror stories. The scarier, the better!
Coincidentally, some of the most common supernatural encounters happen on our Malaysian roads. I guess we're just more susceptible when we're out in the dark.
We asked a few Malaysians to share their supernatural encounters while driving, and here's what they said:
1. "He didn't know he was already dead"
"A relative of mine told me this story. We had an aunt whose son drove a motorbike home from work daily, and upon reaching home, would go upstairs to his room immediately to take a shower. There was one particular day when it was raining heavily, and the aunt was preparing dinner in the kitchen when she spotted her son walking upstairs towards his bedroom as usual. However, he did not greet her or say anything. Not thinking much of it, she went back into the kitchen.
"About 15 minutes later, she received a call from a police officer, telling her that her son had been in a motorbike accident and had passed on. She told him that it was impossible, as she had just seen her son at home moments ago. She called out to her son, but there was no answer. She went upstairs to check his bedroom, but it was empty.
"Apparently, he had skidded on a puddle of water while going around the bend heading towards his home and crashed into a drain. He passed away on the spot. His death must have been so sudden that his soul was not aware that he had already departed from this world and came home to carry out his usual routine."
– Owen
2. "We ended up on a strange rubble path which led into a jungle"
"My elder sister, younger brother, his wife, and I were heading to another state to attend a wedding that was happening the next morning. As the journey would take about three hours, we left at 10am so we could check into our accommodation, and have ample time to explore the town for food.
"My elder sister and I were seated at the back, while my younger brother and his wife were at the front. My younger brother was driving, as he was familiar with the highway and a few shortcuts to the town.
"However, while he was driving through the shortcuts, he lost his way, and we ended up on a strange rubble path that led into a jungle. Everyone suddenly felt uneasy with the strange path, and I told my brother to stop and reverse onto another road. He insisted that we proceed, as it could be one of the shortcuts. His wife was not having it and turned on Google Maps. We felt chills down our spines when the map showed that the path we were on did not exist, and that we should be taking the highway right next to the strange path!
"As we realised that something felt off, a strange, dark shadow suddenly loomed over our car. What was a hot and sunny noon became dark and gloomy from the view outside our window. We also felt something heavy weighing down on top of our car. No one in the car dared say anything, because we knew instantly that something wasn't right. My brother reversed immediately without needing us to say anything. Eventually, we ended up back on the highway. The mysterious weight and shadow disappeared from our car and no one said anything until we arrived at our destination safely."
– Anonymous
3. "Until this day, we are baffled by this unexplainable incident"
"I've heard stories about spirits who trick drivers with illusions of another path, so that unsuspecting drivers would take it and meet their untimely death. This tragedy happened to my husband before we got married.
"He was driving home from his hometown back to KL around 4am. Although he was familiar with the highway, he came across a fork road. 'Since when did they build this new highway?' he asked himself. He took his usual path home and the next thing he knew, he was staring down at his own body lying on the road, surrounded by pieces of his totalled motorcycle. He witnessed cars stopping at the side with people calling for paramedics, and his body being lifted into the ambulance. It was a terrible accident.
"He said that in a split second after witnessing the accident, he awakened in the hospital room, all bandaged and dazed from the operation. It took him a while to process his current situation. Although he was unconscious for two days, he said he witnessed the whole scene of the accident as if it were just moments ago, describing everything he saw in vivid detail; from the colour of the cars that stopped to help and the number of people involved, to the journey to the hospital. He had broken more than 60 bones and sustained multiple injuries to his body, but he miraculously survived.
"He was later told that he had crashed into a retaining wall, but he swore he was driving on the highway instead. Until this day, we are baffled by this unexplainable incident, but I'm just grateful to share this life with my husband who is alive and well today."
– Shalini
4. "I spoke Cantonese in an old man's voice"
"My mother told me this story, which happened to me when I was about 10. We used to live in Ulu Klang, just a few minutes away from where Highland Towers collapsed. To get in and out of my neighbourhood, we had to drive past a stretch of road where you could see the ill-fated building. On that road, there was an intersection with a huge shrine of Datuk Kong (a local guardian spirit who looks after peace, prosperity, health, and well-being).
"I was sleeping in the passenger seat while my mother was driving me to school early one morning. It was just our usual daily routine, nothing out of the ordinary. Here's where things started to get weird — my mother said that I started speaking Cantonese in an old man's voice. The thing is, I did not know how to speak the dialect as I grew up in an English-speaking household.
"My mother was shocked and asked the 'old man' what he wanted, and to leave me alone. That didn't work though, as I kept rambling on in Cantonese in that eerie voice to her. My poor mother was so terrified, but there was no one around who could help her as it was too early. All she could do was to keep driving and stop at the nearest location with people around.
"Right as she drove past the Datuk Kong shrine, there was silence. She turned to look at me, only to see me still fast asleep. When we arrived at my school, she woke me up and asked why I spoke to her, but I told her that I was asleep throughout the journey and didn't remember waking up or saying anything to her when I was in the car. My mother believed that Datuk Kong had protected me from the spirit of that old man who had possessed me."
– Sandy
5. "A sudden, hysterical laughter"
"Six of my friends, including myself, were taking a late-night drive just to chill out after supper at a nearby mamak. When you're in a big group staying out late at night, you would think there is safety in numbers, right? Well, not in our case.
"One of the girls in our group started laughing hysterically out of the blue. We asked her what was so funny, but we realised that her laughter wasn't normal. It sounded like an evil cackle mixed with manic laughing. We tried calling out to her and snapping her out of it, but it wouldn't work. My friend, who was sitting next to her, started crying out of fear.
"The friend who was driving immediately switched the music on his radio to his USB, which contained Islamic chants and prayers. A few of my other friends were praying along, hoping to chase away whatever possessed my friend. Eventually, my friend returned to her normal self, but she was in a daze and had no recollection of laughing or the whole incident during the drive. All of us stayed over at a friend's home that night and only went home after sunrise."
– Anonymous
