SHE was only 12 when she began dabbling in the occult. She began by playing spirit pen, a version of the ouija board, and was later joined by friends who were also curious about the supernatural.
'I know the 'force' moving the pen is a ghost, but I don't know why I am not afraid, perhaps because I usually play it in broad daylight. Actually, they [the ghosts] are very easily invited,' said Jacqueline Lau Chi-ying, now 14.
Teenagers in Hong Kong, in their search for answers to life or to more practical problems, are turning to the supernatural. Jacqueline, for example, began playing occult games to foresee her future. Her cousin had told her the spirits could be 'invited' to predict future events.
'Sometimes the spirits that we call name themselves as Baby, Uncle Tsang or Uncle Lee,' Jacqueline said.
A Form Three student at Cognitio College, she said she only needed a pen and a piece of paper to play spirit pen.
'While holding the pen, you say 'spirit pen, spirit pen, if you are up here, please write the number '2'. The pen then will move automatically and you should ask the spirit to go back to the starting point [a designated point on the paper] so you can begin asking questions.
'If you want it to leave, you should also invite it to return to the starting point. After counting one-two-three, you should say 'if anything happens, I won't be responsible' and then discard the pen,' she said.