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The Ghoulish Trail
(3rd Stop) |
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Fort canning Park
Kampong Java Park
Bukit Brown
Cemetery (Kopi Hill)
Mt Pleasant
Cemetery
Devil's Bend
Old Changi Hospital
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History
George Henry Brown arrived from Calcutta via Penang about 1840.
He bought the area and called it Mount Pleasant. Brown was a
ship owner in Singapore trading to China and Japan. He was a
strong supporter of the Presbyterian Church where he played the organ
which he had bought from the old London Mission Chapel at the junction
of North Bridge and Bras Basah roads.
The organ later went to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The
land was bought by Ong Kew Ho and the Hokkien Huay Kuan who gave it to
the She Ong Kongsi. After much resistance from the kongsi, the
government acquired the land in 1919 and opened it as a public burial
ground which was managed by a committee led by Tan Kheam Hock and See
Tiong Wah, compradore of the Hongkong Bank, on 1 Jan 1922.
Another commonly known name especially for taxi drivers is Kheam Hock
Road Cemetery because it is situated along Kheam Hock Road.
The 213 acre Bukit Brown Cemetery was known among the Chinese as "kopi
sua" or coffee hill. The cemetery contained some very ornate
graves, complete with "jagas" in Sikh dress to guard them. In
the 1970s the government began to clear the cemetery for
redevelopment. The clearing process has been stagnated recently.
Yet it remains as one of the oldest cemetery in Singapore. You
can see very old trees and unique plantation all over the hill.
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One of the most
historical cemeteries in Singapore |
Strange solitary sight
This muddy mound stands away from the other tombs on Kheam Hock Road's
Kopi Hill. It has flower offerings and a flag covering it.
On the flag there is a Chinese verse saying "Seek Ye The One True
God To Be Saved". Despite the odd grammar, it roughly means
"Seek ways to be saved by some kind of god" in proper English.
Obviously its meaning associates with certain religious doctrines,
and it surely has its purpose to be there. A big joss stick
urn is placed under the flag pole that makes it more like an altar
than a grave.
A strange flag pole with
saying "Seek Ye The One True God To Be Saved"
As shown in the picture, the muddy
mound is quite well maintained as the grass was trimmed in a circle
around it. And the patch of lawn near the mound was properly
mowed too. Perhaps that is the only place where you see has been
tidied up, while the rest of the hill is left abandoned like a wild
jungle. That shows some people are making use of it and
therefore well keeping it. |
Boutique tombstones
Throughout the whole cemetery, you will see tombs scattering
around the hill. The tombstones are in grayish sometimes
orange in color. They are in lime-stones and some have
slightly more content in sulfur. Most of them are ornate in
structure. Ancient deities and gods images acting as
"guardians" graced the tombs especially the Chinese ones.
For example, as in the first top photo, some wordings were
engraved on each side of the pillars that says in Chinese "The
vital soul travels to the west sky", and "The jade body buried in
the southern land". The Chinese believe that west sky
symbolizes heaven, and a land situated in the south direction is
of good feng shui that brings good luck. Many tombstones of
similar style can be found everywhere, but may come in slightly
different shape or wordings. The second top photo shows a
tomb of the same kind but in dual mode, possibly for a couple.
You will see tombs made
of lime stones sharing similar structure are everywhere in Kopi Hill
The water lily pond is
heavy in "Yin" energy. Nobody ever knows what is under the
water...
In the first two photos on the second
row, you will see tombs that are smaller and very old, covered by overgrown grasses.
Some tombs even got the front tablets
pushed down by the weed plants. And sadly speaking, nobody
bothers to do any repair work for it. They are among the
majority of them receiving very little maintenance. In
contrast, the tombs that are shown on the last two photos stand
brilliantly in good shape. They look grand, clean and each
one individually occupies quite a large area of land. Their
locations are of course prominent and near the main track, that
usually have a good facing overlooking the valley on the down
slope. They are probably for the rich people, just like some
live in luxury mansions, some in condominium and some in HDB flats
while they were alive. Realistic world, isn't it? |
Treasure land of Feng Shui
Regardless of shape, grade or color, all the tombs share one good
thing: they all situated on the treasure land of good Feng Shui in
Kopi Hill. The 213 acre of land is of a large dome shape
with a slight steep hill in the center and a long narrow water
creek surrounding the whole land. Such is a very good
topographical feature in Feng Shui which helps collecting the
universal spiritual breath (Ch'i). The form of hill and the
direction of watercourses, being the outcome of the molding
influences of wind and water, are just right well balanced in Kopi
Hill. However, at the concentric center of the hill, trees
have grown over many decades into a dense forest blocking the
"Yang" part of the cosmic breath (sunlight). The "Yin"
energy gets exceptionally strong that cultivates many negatively
charged entities. In a material form, it manifests many
insects (mosquitoes, spiders, ants) and very heavy mists.
Yes, there are sightings of mysterious smoke or mist that suddenly
come and disappear in both daytime and nighttime. And when
the heavy Yin energy comes into spiritual forms, they Are Beyond
Our Imagination...
The small water creek
marks a beneficial belt to Kopi Hill
Whether we believe in Feng Shui or
not, it is true that those dead resting in Kopi Hill are the pioneer
generation of Singaporeans who contributed building our nation.
Their siblings are blessed and live in good standard of living in
today's modern Singapore. |
For the living or the dead?
We have some insider news that this treasure land will be
converted into a prestige residential estate soon in the future.
The government is planning to exhume the tombs, probably after
Bididari. As for now, just outside the cemetery boundary
there have already existed a number of bungalows and semi-D
sitting just a few meters away from tombs (see the second photo).
Singapore's land is a scarce resource. Kopi Hill is truly a
Feng Shui land that even the living wants to take it over from the
dead!
To keep the souls and spirits in control, an Earthly God (Tao De
Kung Kung) is placed right at the entrance. Fruits and
incenses are offered to him as a continuous supply. However,
a big rubbish bin is placed right in front of it that may have
defected its power (see the first photo).
Ghostly orbs can be seen
at night on every visit to Kopi Hill
If we were asked about how haunted is
Kopi Hill, we would like to answer by taking you there and let you
see it yourself.
At night, it is pitch dark, no street lights, and the visibility
depends much on the amount of moon light available on that night.
Even aided with strong torches, you won't be able to see far
because of the thick mist and fog that disperse the light.
Looking around, other than visions of plants and tombstones, you
will "feel" that there is always something staring at you!
Most of our Ghoulish Trail guests said so. In the 70's Kopi
Hill used to be a hidden place as well as a gathering arena for
the gangsters of secret society. These people who known to
be the dare-devils whose business is to fight violently and
brutally, even got mysteriously deterred from staying there later
on. Rumors said that they have encountered "something" more
scary and more fierce than them! Occasionally, police would
patrol around the cemetery after midnight to safe guard the rich
residents nearby. They would have at least come in a troop
of six with firearms! Just imagine what kind of "enemy" they
are anticipating when compared to airport patrols in a small group
of 2 or 3 guarding against deadly terrorists. Hope this
little information would have given you hints about how haunted is
Kopi Hill...
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 Answering
Mysteries |
1. Why such a strange solitary flag
pole was placed in Bukit Brown Cemetery?
2. Who put the flag pole there and what is it used for?
3. Why some tomb stones were painted red?
4. Why Bukit Brown Cemetery is called Kopi Hill Cemetery?
 Come
share your view with us! |
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