Ghost of a chance to beat the spirits

There are not many haunted houses in Hong Kong. 'Haunted high-rise duplex' does not have the same drama, somehow. But the SAR loves ghosts. Immortal Spirit, the latest in a long line of Cantonese supernatural tales, is playing at the cinema. People are worried that Chi Lo, the new name for Government House, sounds like the 'paper house' used in ghost festivals. And to my eyes, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, with his vertical white hair, looks to me like a man who has seen a ghost.

For historical reasons, Chinese culture features many unseen spirits. But the word 'ghost' is likely to make today's Hong Kong youth think of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze instead of the spirits that haunted their ancestors. So let us re-visit some of the more interesting historical ghosts of traditional culture.

One of the strangest is the walking wall. You walk along at night and find a high wall in your path. You turn to the right and find the wall there, too. And to your left. You turn around to go back where you came from - and find a high wall behind you. You are trapped. You have been captured by Kuei Tang Ch'iang, the wall-building ghost.

This has happened to me many times. Only we do not call it the wall-building ghost any more. We call it 'property development'. The effect is temporary, and most victims find their way out eventually.

Perhaps the coolest ghosts are the Ti Mo, black patches which can move around, despite not having limbs. They sort of float. They are not particularly dangerous, but they can be embarrassing. They leak out of coffins and follow people about. It is a bit like having visible body odour.

Perhaps the most irritating is the demon barber, Kuei T'i T'ou. He comes and visits when you are asleep and shaves part of your scalp. The hair never grows again on patches where the demon barber has been. This writer has clearly been a frequent victim.