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Acknowledgements
I could not have written this book without being constantly pushed by my good friend Deen. He was the one who convinced me that the time is now, that this book must be written and shared with the world.I am also most grateful to my wife, who has patiently nudged me to complete this book. She was the first to read the stories ‘fresh off the press’ and she was the first to give me valuable feedback.I thank Dr. Jawad...
Introduction
I never thought I would write and compile several short ghost stories. One would think that all ghost stories are the same, but our Borneo ghost stories are far different from what we have seen in the written world and the media.The media has whitewashed our supernatural stories into the same old one, which is essentially the image of a girl dressed in white with long black hair covering her face. The Pontianak vampire is ‘famous’ across Borneo and Southeast...
Chased
As a young child growing up in the 1980s, I spent my time living in Tutong as my father was posted there. He was the Land Officer for the Ministry of Development. My father had a few Army relatives who were based in the nearby army base camp. It was common for my family to attend dinner functions in the Tutong Army base, also known as Tutong Camp. His relative, who was actually my uncle, would host dinner functions till...
The Lady in White
Recently, I had read a Facebook article about some ghost-hunters who were looking for this particular ghost at the (Jalan) ‘Kebangsaan’ road. Basically, they had gone to a large government water storage facility to look for this ghost in the middle of the night and had a ‘mishap’.At first, I didn’t believe it. After all, there are too many fake news on Facebook. Besides, why should a ghost back in the 1970s suddenly reappear now? I thought little about it...
Things that go bump in the night
They say you shouldn’t chase after strange things at night, especially ones that go bump in the night. No matter how brave or courageous you may think you are, bad things can happen… very bad things can happen.It was a long night at the Capital city’s hospital. I was working in the A&E department (the emergency department). I usually love working at night; as it was at this time, my mind was most active and the best medical cases happen...
The Stream
They say that secluded quiet places are owned by the different spirits, and Man continues to trespass its property. The spirits love to dwell at hills, rivers and streams. One of my nurses had shared his encounter with the supernatural.On one quiet afternoon, Nurse Jack and I talked about our experiences with All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV) also known as quad bikes. ATVs are quite popular in Tutong and are available to rent out at the beach.I told Jack about the one...
Sukang Health Clinic
Almost 10 years ago, I had been instructed to attend an orientation programme with the Ministry of Health. It was strange, because I had already been working there for a few years.Somehow the fine people in the administration department had sent a few of us doctors and ‘allied health professionals’ to undertake an ‘in-house orientation programme’.Essentially, it was a team-building programme and, of course, an excuse for a paid holiday adventure.One of the activities involved the entire group of 40...
Cemetery Party
I was watching the news and saw that one of the elderly had complained about people drinking at the cemetery and had left all kinds of beer cans and bottles. It reminded me of a sad incident one of my friends; Jim, had told me.In a country where there are no pubs, those who choose to drink usually drink beer that have been smuggled across the border and into Brunei. Several years ago, Jim used to drink and party with his...
Siti & The Tree
One of my cousins; Siti, decided to share with me her own encounter with the supernatural.Back in the 80s, children spent most of their time playing outside of their houses. Each household did not have more than one television set and it had limited channels and programs.There was no Wi-Fi or internet and we did not have computers or video games to play with. As children, we would run across the jungle, climb trees and play hide and seek etc....
Missing In The Jungle
Over the course of time, several retired soldiers and police rangers (think jungle police) had shared their experiences in the jungles.The PoolOne police ranger named Abu told me that during a patrol break deep in the tropical rainforest, he decided to walk away from his group to inspect a gentle sloping in the ground. He noticed a row of trees that were growing very close together. He was curious and decided to slide between the trees and find out what...
The Old Woman
This story was contributed by Adrina Hj Mohd Agus Din, a passionate English teacher from Rimba 2 Secondary School.I don’t remember when I first noticed her. That old woman in the house in front of mine, either sitting or standing on the verandah watching me. I do remember that I saw her for months and months, every afternoon, facing me, watching me. I was only five years old and this old strange woman, standing on the verandah watching me, became...
The Hotel in Kota Kinabalu
It was 2002. My wife and 5 other girls decided to go on a short holiday to Kota Kinabalu or KK in Sabah.They drove their car from Brunei all the way to KK. However, the journey took much longer than anticipated, as their drive was hampered by heavy rain and slow traffic.Weekend holidays can be very busy as many Bruneians will drive out to either KK or Miri. They had planned to arrive in KK by early afternoon but ended...
People Living Downstairs
I don’t know what is wrong with me. Whenever I sense an ‘abnormal’ Presence nearby, my first instinct is to ‘challenge’ it. I like to think that it has to do with my Kedayan roots (an indigenous tribe of Borneo who love to enter jungles whilst challenging the spirits, at least that is what I have been told.)The idea of these challenges is to show that you are not afraid of them. After all, spirits seem to appear amongst people...
The Sound
Contributed by Daisy AbdullahDaisy Abdullah is a dedicated English language teacher at a government college in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. She refused to share with me this story until she was safe and sound at home.8 years ago, an unforgettable incident had occurred to me.My colleague and I had to stay back at the school in Bandar. Being a teacher, we sometimes stayed back till 8pm; or even worse 9pm, to complete our paperwork.One late afternoon, we were in the...
The Susuk
Ten years ago, I was working in the Intensive Care Unit in the capital city’s hospital. Many very ill patients were admitted to the ICU ward. We had a high ‘turnover’. It meant that we had many patients who either went to ICU and died there or they had recovered enough to be transferred to one of the less intensive wards.As a result, every day, I saw a lot of x-rays. The standard being the chest x-ray. It was there...
The Visitors in ICU
No matter what people say, hospitals are not haunted places. I think it happens everywhere, and one thing for sure is that there must be a reason why only certain people can see these apparitions. We talk about ‘lemah semangat’ or the weakened soul. I believe if someone was depressed, under pressure or physically unwell, they would also have ‘lemah semangat’ or reduced ‘tenaga batin’. But hey what do I know? I’m just a doctor.Anyway, as a medical doctor, I...
Papasan
A former ranger shared me this story. Thirty years ago, his squad and him were tasked to find a missing soldier, who had mysteriously disappeared into the Labi rainforest.When they landed at the forward base camp, there was already a company of soldiers established there looking for this missing soldier. My ranger friend, Captain Sarin and his friends had been called a bit late into the mission. The soldier had already been missing for a week by then.After gathering as...
Bugang: Rumble in the Jungle
There are many indigenous tribes in Borneo. One of which is the Dusun tribe. Those who have not converted to one of two monotheistic religions, still strongly hold to their shamanistic and paganistic beliefs.Sam was one of the male nurses who worked in my clinic. He is a Dusun. He doesn’t like to talk about his supernatural experience but every day, I would do my best to pry out these stories from him.He is quite reluctant to share, as he...
House on the Hill
I was in my teenage years when I first moved to Jalan Kebangsaan Lama. My parents had rented a large house there, which happened to be on the same road as my mother’s cousins, which would of course, made them my second cousins. One of the things that I love about this place was that I could ride my bicycle to my cousins’ houses on top of the hill and then pedal downhill with speed.My late mom (may her soul...
A Tale From Bukit Panggal
Original story contributed by Feefy Abdullah, who is currently undertaking her MBA in KL, Malaysia.One weekend, 13 years ago, my friends and I, who were students at the local universities (UBD & ITB) decided to chill out at one of my friend’s house. We were a large group, as we brought friends of friends who became everybody’s friends. They were 15 of us in total, boys and girls. It was a sort of ‘multitask and chill’. We would hang out...
The English Lady
Original story shared by Hannah Sim, an English teacher who is passionate about the Brunei people, especially her students and loves the tranquil life in BruneiOther than being a family doctor, I used to moonlight and provide IT services. I loved doing the odd jobs as it allowed me to meet all kinds of people with their diverse backgrounds living in Brunei and get wonderful insights into their lives. Yes, I know curiosity killed the cat.One client I had was...
Not One of Us
During the search of the missing soldier in Labi back in the late 1980s, both soldiers and spiritual masters poured into the forward base camp in the jungle of Labi.The soldiers had to attend “roll calls” or to us civilians, we’d call it attendance checks. This was routinely being carried out throughout the day and even at night, to ensure there were no missing soldiers.One night after a disturbance in the camp, the commander of the base camp decided to...
The Waterfall
There are many waterfalls and small lakes in Brunei. We call these ‘Wasai’. Some can be found on Tripadvisor.com or google and are considered as tourist attractions but there are a number that are only known to ‘privileged’ locals in the know-how.There’s nothing more amazing than to trek into hot humid jungle to find a Wasai. The water is cold (by tropical standards of course) and it’s always fun to jump off a waterfall (ledge) and plunge into the pool...
The Forbidden
Original story narrated to me by a former patient named Suhardi, a jungle enthusiast.A common ‘pantang’ or ritual taboo when being inside the jungle is not to make too much noise. The other pantang is not to pick up any abnormal objects, no matter how tempted we are. Actually, having the temptation to pick up an item is itself the big red flag.The forbidden items could be anything ranging from strangely shaped pieces of wood, stones and trinkets that don’t...
The Chicken Farm
My mentor Bob has a nephew whose family lives near Junjungan village, which is near the Limbang-Brunei border.One day he shared with me a sighting one of his nephews, Zul had.Zul lived near Junjungan village. Zul is the second youngest amongst 5 brothers. His family lived in a big house and their land was huge. Most houses are like that. You have to drive to meet your neighbours. A jungle surrounds most of their house.One good thing about having a...
The Jamboree
I was looking through my first day cover (FDC) collections and saw this one particular FDC that made me remember one real good story to share.Back in the 1980s, I had joined the Cub Scouts. One of the most important expectations when joining the Scouts (or Cub Scouts) was to go on a camping trip. I was lucky to join the Brunei Jamboree of 1985. I had never been to such an event before and I had never seen so...
The Vessel
More than 30 years ago, there was a soldier who went missing in the jungles of Labi. I found out about this incident from patients, friends and even my staff told me about it. The story goes that during a military training exercise, this soldier had mysteriously disappeared.On the 14th day, the Search and Rescue (SAR) mission was called off. He was found 23 days later under a house in Belabau village in rural Tutong.There are many supernatural stories surrounding...
The Golf Game
I had heard this story at least twice from two different people. This story has been edited to protect the identities of the involved.Two prominent businessmen were playing golf at the local golf course. Being a hot tropical country, it made sense to play golf during the late afternoon, when it was much cooler. Golfers can also play golf during the night.Mr. Said and Mr. Rahman were having a friendly golf game. They were both escorted by their trusted employees;...
Surung Tarik Ghost
Contributed by Liza IshakLiza Ishak is from the village of Tanjong Maya in Tutong. She shared with me a ghost folklore her mother told her, which may explain the strange sounds in the jungle.A long time ago, there were two villagers who were very close friends. They did everything together. They were like brothers.Village life was very simple. There was no trade in their village. One had to either farm or hunt. These two men loved to hunt together. They...
Summary
Details coming soon.
