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Investigating into the deadly rumours
The Malays' belief in ghosts is perhaps the most interesting. They
seem to have categorized the ghosts into different types and each
was given a special name. The most violent and fierce ghost in the
Malay version is perhaps the 'Pontianak', otherwise known as 'Hantu
Kontilanak' among Indonesians. Pontianaks are actually the Malay
version of a vampire. They kill and tear their victim's body up to
suck their blood. They use long nails to shred open the abdomen,
and feed on the intestines inside the body. Very disgusting.
Another version of attack is swiftly dig out the victim's sex
organ when he leaned near to her.
Over the past years, SPI had collected a wonderful batch of
stories (some with witness' account) regarding this mythical beast
namely Pontianak. Most of them are quite drastically incredible
like those you read from those bedtime ghost story books. Some archetypes
are however summarized as follow for your reference:
1. Lady figure in white was seen near the trees
2. Flower fragrance was smelled in cemeteries
3. A white figurine flew pass from tree to tree
4. A lady ghost was seen singing on a tree branch
5. Pontianak hiding inside a banana tree, etc, etc..
Nevertheless there are some good stories obtained as first-hand
information from the witnesses who dare to stand up and testify the stories. The accounts are somewhat more credible than those
hearsay you got from elsewhere.
For example:
(1) We have a SPI fan who is an ex-police cadet. During his
training in the Mt Pleasant camp, his supervisor told him that
there are cases of Pontianak encounters in the forests near the
police academy. They are of course classified cases and the
supervisor seriously warned the fellows not to walk near the
forest at
night.
(2) A SPI member, before joining, had witnessed the existence of
Pontianak at Mt Pleasant cemetery with his other friends.
(3) A young girl called Lina, who claimed to be the daughter of a
bomoh, insisted that Pontianak did exist according to what her
father told her. When she was about 9 years old, she saw a
Pontianak
during her father's summoning ritual.
With an open mind, SPI decided to find the truth behind such myth.
We vowed to research, to explore and to investigate to the bottom
of this legend. Since we started up SPI we have been collecting over dozens
of accounts about Pontianak. By saying we keep an 'open-mind' that
means we first not to believe or dismiss its truthfulness. We take
our best efforts as usual to try verify whether Pontianak exist or
not. If necessary, we are happy to debunk the myth by proving no
such thing exist. Otherwise we will testify its real existence.
There is only one aim in this investigation - solve the mysteries
clouded around the legend of Pontianak. This is why SPI exists,
and this is what we do.
 
1. Getting ready for the hunt; 2. Narrow path to
the Pontianak land; 3 & 4. Mathwizard is scanning the environment with
gadgets
Starting the hunt
We code named this mission "Pontianak Hunt". Although it is not
quite like the common concept of hunting where weapons and traps
are used, bullets and cannons are fired, we took instead a combined method of research, static
and dynamic investigations. For more details, readers can view our
investigation plan. The venue chosen is Mt Pleasant
cemetery, at Ornate Road, Singapore. According to our data, Pontianak encounters exist covering almost everywhere in
Singapore, from Labrador Park to Seletar Camps, from Changi Beach, Bedok Reservoir
to Lim Chu Kang Cemetery. However, Mt Pleasant cemetery is
considered as one of the least visited (disturbed) place by human.
We have moreover eye-witnesses on hand ready to guide us about the
spots of the encounters than relying on those unreliable rumours
found from the Internet. First-hand information is used throughout
the whole investigation.
Mt Pleasant is one of the earliest cemeteries in Singapore filled with old graves in the midst
of very tall trees. The trees are perhaps as old as the place itself
standing still over many decades.
The cemetery is reputed to be a vampire land, though we are not
exactly sure what that means. But what we know is that many
sightings of Pontianak from that place were reported, such as
crouching under a tree, flying across the trees, etc. The reports
do sound as frightened as they get. The Mt Pleasant cemetery that
is near the police academy is reputed to be "Pontianak Land" by
many people.
On a fateful Thursday evening that the Malays believe evil
spirits roam free out on earth, our team assembles at the entrance
of the cemetery track. Together we have news reporter team
and filming crew from Channel U. After briefing on the agenda of
the investigation and the witness's information that we have, we
started 'phase 1' of the investigation, that is, checking out the
whole place. We made sure we become familiar with every corner and
every step if possible. Take note of any strange sight when there
were still some daylight. Importantly we wanted to make sure that
the place is clear from human pranksters in order to ensure our
experiments wouldn't be disturbed.
 
1. Rusted lamp-post left from an old kampong; 2.
An address for the living among the dead;
3. Barbed wired and metal gate at the door front;
4. Dare you open the old umbrella on top of the letterbox. On this
picture, check the bottom left corner, horrible isn't it?
A Bomoh hide-out?
Yes, we found some strange sights! The house, the tree and the tin
cans. (We will go through them one by one later). Remembering the
story of the movie "Return to Pontianak" the undead Pontianak is
controlled by a Bomoh in a secret hut in the middle of a jungle.
So it is a controlled puppet, actually a killing machine,
rather than a wild monster that strays around and kills. This
story, somehow, coincides with the sights of what we see here...
There exist a secluded little house, right in the middle of the Mt
Pleasant cemetery! Fortunately SPI has had an exclusive interview
with the owner, and the interview footage will be reported in the
forthcoming article.
That house gets as eerie as its look and its location. Imagine you
are looking for someone with such an address "No. 56, Mt Pleasant
Cemetery, Singapore" (!!) True enough, there is such an address
with a address number painted on a monument and a letter box
erected in the cemetery; and, that is the one and only one house
in that cemetery. We wonder then where are number 55, 54, 53? or 57, 58?
Why only No. 56 still standing? There is
no answer of course.
Double coincidentally, we have a witness called Lina who also told
us that Mt Pleasant cemetery in some generations ago, used to be
an old Malay kampong before the world war 2. Bomohs (witch
doctors) did exist in the village there as her father and
grandfather who were both bomohs. This belongs to some old
memories of Singapore that has no written documents in history,
and they are just going to vanish in time.
Strangely, how on earth then, such kampong disappeared, and turned
into a cemetery? All the human inhabits now turned into dead
dwellings, except for only one: No. 56 that still stands today.
Nonetheless, this is a Chinese cemetery. How could be a Malay
vampire exist in a Chinese cemetery instead of a Malay cemetery?
Isn't it a bit weird? This fact makes the mystery more mysterious.
Lina's witness account
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A true Pontianak encounter
When Lina was young, she wanted to see how a
Pontianak looked like, and after much persuasion, the dad who is
a Bomoh agreed.
She was led by the dad to a cemetery, and told to sit at a
certain place or stone.
Prior to that, she had to fast for 7 days, in order to purify
herself.
She was also given a Koran verse to recite over and over. She
was told that the recitation of the verse will strengthen her
energy, so as a further defence against the Pontianak.
Then when they are finally at the cemetery, the dad said he will
be at a further place where he want call up the Pontianak.
The Pontianak he said, will walk by the girl. the girl is not to
stop reciting the protection phrase, and the Pontianak will
simply walk pass her.
Eventually it happened. The girl said that the Pontianak did
walk pass, and she was smiling at her. In fact, after walking
pass her the Pontianak continued looking back at her and
smiling.. until at one point, she simply zoomed out of sight in
a flash.
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1st strange sight - a lone house in the midst of cemetery
The house that we found in the midst of the cemetery looks quite well equipped, from water pals that are
holding clean water, to many common household items. Obviously
somebody is living there. Other
cleaning tools like brushes and mops are kept there too. It looks
like the occupant regularly lives there though we don't get to see
him often at night.
 
1 & 2. Strange sights of strange site;
there are half dozen of water pals and half dozen of umbrella, what
are they used for?
3. The front view of the mysterious hut; 4. Channel U camera man
filming the house
 
1 - 3. At night the house is soaked in total
darkness; 4. A black dog is kept in a wood cage
 
1 - 3. Peeping inside, what do you see inside
the mysterious house? 4. The house is surrounded by broken tombstones
2nd strange sight - a mysterious bunch of tin cans hanging on
the tree top
Another strange sight that worth reporting is a bunch of
mysterious tin cans hanging on top of a tree. The bunch is
attached to a cable that is stretching from the top of the tree to
the ground. A little loop that looks like a handle is attached
near the lower end of the cable. When it is pulled, the cable
swings the tin cans making some matte clinking noise. Well, many question marks are flying
around. What is that bunch of tin cans used for? Who put them up
there? Why?
While observing around the place, we have been making some
speculations. But none of them really holds perfectly possible.
Here we share with you the speculation, and may be your can come
up with your own one.
-
Is
it a door
bell? But it seems quite ridiculous. A door bell is
usually mounted on a door, not on a tree top. The noise that the
tin cans generate is not loud enough to be heard on the ground,
not to mention from inside the house. Some more, the hut is only
a simple shelter, one could just give a yell from outside to
call the owner out. Why the fuss somebody want to erect a bunch
of cans to so high?
-
Is
it a tool
for warding off something? Birds? We have been watching
over the tree for a long while; the tree doesn't have any bird to rest on. And
the tree doesn't bear any fruit. Under the tree, there is only
an empty land with some broken tombstones. No reason to have the
tin can bunch built for warding off birds. If it is not bird
that the bunch is supposed to ward off, then what is that? ... Pontanak?
-
Is it is a signal
post? If it was not a door bell for ringing the owner,
couldn't it be a signal post for the owner to give a signal so
it could be seen from far? The tin cans are hanging at about three
to four storey high. However, they don't look prominent
since their color blend into the leaves and branches of the
tree. The swinging movement doesn't catch much attention too
when observed yards away from human eyes. Wait.. human eyes...
What if the calling is not for human eyes? Well, we mean, they
are not for human to see. IF (a big if) the
owner is a bomoh, who knows what flying creatures he summons by ringing
those tin cans?!
 
1 & 2. A bunch of tin cans is hanging high on a
tree; 3. Attached to it is a string that can be pulled; 4. How the tin
cans look at night..
3rd strange sight - a tree home not for human beings?
This is stranger than a tree home. We doubt it is a normal tree home
that is built for human to live in. In some tropical countries
tree homes are common. People work in the forest and live in the
forest, up on a tree. They sleep there, live there as a house.
However, this particular tree home found at the other side of the
cemetery seems a little strange. We observed the structure on the
tree that is
built using some flimsy metal panels and wood sticks. It would be
too fragile for normal human beings. Any adult of average weight
can make it collapse in no time. Some may think it is a rain
shelter but isn't it a bit too dangerous as if the structure will
drop at any time under heavy rain and wind. Wouldn't a simple
umbrella will serve the purpose better? On the other hand, if the
structure is not built for human, then what is it constructed
for?? There seems no appropriate answer.
 
Some weird structure is built on this tree
 
SPI spent extra efforts in checking out this
strange tree at night.
eerie branch
Starting the hunt
After the phase 1 which is observing almost every item over the
whole place, now we moved to the phase 2 of
the investigation. That is also the highlight of tonight's
mission. Phase 2 was mainly on ambushing the prey - that is also
known as static monitoring. The idea is nothing new. It was about
deploying a bait, electronic sensors, detectors and
night-vision surveillance camera to capture the vampire. SPI as the
pioneer in ghost detection has tried this many times before.
However, the challenge is, we were trying to catch a Malay vampire Pontianak from a Chinese cemetery. It was
well anticipated that we
would capture some paranormal phenomena. But how we know that we
would hit the target - Pontianak, instead of other spirits?
We took no chances. A full array of sensory gadgets were deployed,
such as infra-red thermometer, ion-meter, barometer, hydrometer,
motion sensors, sound eavesdropper, EMF meter, night-vision
cameras, Geiger meter, humidistat and remote night-vision scope.
With all the latest surveillance gadgets applied, we can record
(and capture) even the slightest change in atmospheric changes by
all means. Besides the electronic gadgets, the centerpiece of this
static monitor is of course the bait.
The set of baits used include a number of shamanic tools as well
as a baby doll! Why a baby doll?
Here we extracted from the book "Malay Magic" edited by Prof.
Salleh, UKM, Malaysia.
"Pontianak or Mati-anak, and is supposed to be a child of the
Langsuir, and the Penanggalan, which is believed to resemble a
trunkless human head with the sac of the stomach attached to it,
and which flies about seeking for an opportunity of sucking the
blood of infants."
This is why a baby doll and blood wrapped in a cloth of something
- as a bait was used. It was supposed to attract Pontianak to
reveal itself if it really exist.
 
1 - 3. The centerpiece of the
Pontianak summoning ritual is a baby doll; 4. The ritual was
performed just opposite the mysterious house
 
1. The ritual site and the bait is closely
monitored by a video camera
2 & 3. From some distance away, another "stealth" night vision
camera is installed to capture fishy phenomena by surprise
4. Under night-vision scope the infra-red camera is constantly
emitting a stream of IR beam which cannot be seen by naked eyes
 
1. SPI gadget briefcase; 2. A high-power
radio frequency receiver is used to pick up any peculiar signals
3. KC is checking the remote monitor that receives signals from
the wireless IR camera
4. The key element to the success of the ritual - a secret potion
provided by Lina
For the shamanic tools, according to the
information provided by Lina and a Malay bomoh friend, we used a
fresh fish (certain info indicates that Pontianaks are fond of
fish), summoning spells, summoning charms, summoning incense and a
secret substance that by the federal law of Singapore government we have
no choice but to classify it. Lina who is the daughter of a bomoh
guided us on chanting the summon...
Dusk fell quickly. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, but
the air was unusually still. Other than a few crickets and several
toads, the
cemetery remained dead silent. The timing was just fine. As soon
as we finished setting up all the equipment, our bomoh consultant
friend and Lina started the ceremony. Darkness covered us
completely. The chanting was pitching up and down in certain
rhythms. Our cameras were rolling, all the electronic devices are
performing at tip-top condition. Surprisingly the mythical chants
and high-tech gadgets somehow did blend in quite well.
When Lina chanted out the last word, she gingerly sprinkled the
secret portion on the doll. At that very moment, everybody was
holding his breath and stared at the doll. The liquid after
dropped on the doll, quickly vaporized and left no trace but a
foam of green light on the doll. Then the light disappeared. When
asked, about where she learnt this ritual from. Lina simply
answered "My father", and refused to elaborate any further. She
insisted on censoring the photo and video footage taken on her as
well.
 
1. Click
here to
view it under light condition
at midnight - the bail indeed looks
sinister at night
2. Ritual site with the bail under night vision scope (absolute
darkness is required for the summoning)
3. A closer view of the ritual site; 4. The ambushing lasted for
exactly 1 hour
Note these three pictures that were taken in
sequence.
When the high-power radio was operated, it seemed to attracted many
ghostly orbs; is it because of its exceptional EM energy?
Ambushing the vampire
We were all shocked by the green glow that flashed across the
doll. The silent cemetery became dead silent when the ritual was
done. The SPI members who could "sense" whispered that there were
pairs of eyes as if watching at us. We felt the time is right; by
given a signal, KC switched on the motion detectors and the whole
team retreated quietly. We avoided using torches to disturb the
environment and we walked away from the investigation site to as
far away as possible. However, the maximum transmission range of
our wireless infra-red camera was about 300 meters. So we waited
at the entrance, patiently observing the bait through a mobile TV
monitor.
Half an hour has passed. No movement was detected, everything
seemed normal. The ambush was intended to last for one hour, that
is as long as a DV tape can last. Time was counting down from 60
minutes. The minutes were clocking to the finish line soon.. 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.. "Ok, that's it" said Abductboy while he was eyeing on
his stop watch. We walked back to the investigation site and found
everything was intact.
 
1. At the end of the ritual, the poor baby doll
was unwanted by anyone. Why? See the following pictures
2 & 3. The baby doll looks just damn spooky in the dark. Who wants to
take it home?!
4. Through a special camera lens, it glows green in the dark!
Did she really come?
A little disappointed we were. Busy in checking the equipment we
squatted down inspected all the meters. From a preliminary check,
no particular extraordinary event was recorded. Perhaps it was too
early to conclude whether the Pontianak had come or not. There
would be a long process to meticulously analyze all the footages
in the lab later on. We collected back every piece of gadget that
we placed around the baby doll earlier.
"eh.. who is going to take the doll home?" Mathwizard asked. No
reply however was given to such a simple question. "Hey, if you
put it on e-bay with this story, you can sell it at a very good
price", half-jokingly Abductboy said. Kenny followed "You can't
just abandoned the doll like that in the cemetery", with a tone of
pulling his leg. Mathwizard, frowned, deeply, while he was holding
the doll. He didn't know what to do with it.
Lina offered "Wouldn't you mind if I can take it home?". Almost
couldn't believe his ear, Mathwizard quickly passed her the doll
without a second thought.
We added a few more jokes about the doll. Almost forgotten
our objective of tonight's hunt was on Pontianak!
.. continues in Part 2.
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Answering
Mysteries
Come