A Chinese Ghost Story On the Dragon Boat Festival, China

It was the Dragon Boat Festival break and my family had decided to visit our hometown. Little did I know, the peaceful festival would soon turn into a spine-chilling experience. As we drove into my village, I noticed poles on both sides of the road with a piece of white cloth tied to each one. My father explained that it was a Chinese folk custom called “Fan,” which indicated that someone had recently passed away. Several men in white gowns and pointy hats stood under the cloth.

To my disappointment, my father revealed that the deceased was our relative, and we were expected to attend the funeral as helpers. My older sister and I grumbled as we made our way to the funeral. However, before the proceedings began, my sister and I decided to explore the village. We stumbled upon a group of elderly women sitting under a tree, chatting away. Curiosity got the best of me, and I asked them about the deceased, whose last name was Song.

One of the women claimed to be the only witness to the tragedy that befell the Song family. She explained that the entire family of three had drowned in the nearby pond. Song had noticed that their house had no water, so he went with his family to the pond to fetch some. As his son waded into the water to pump it, he suddenly sank, and his mother tried to save him but was pulled under by the undercurrent. The father witnessed it all and tried to save his family, but all three ended up drowning.

Some villagers had called the police, but they claimed that the pond had miasma and undercurrents, and thus, it was impossible to retrieve the bodies. The old man in the village believed that it was the water ghost that had killed the Song family. In Chinese ghostly culture, water ghosts are those who died by drowning and seek to kill someone else to escape their torment. Despite this, they do not become human again but instead serve or feed mankind as animals with their afterlives.

When we returned to the city, we received a shocking message. The Song family actually had four members, but only one had survived- the daughter. She had returned to the village after hearing the news and had a terrifying dream about her father warning her to stay away from the pond. As time passed, strange things began to happen in the village. Villagers claimed to hear eerie noises and see shadowy figures around the pond, and some even reported being pulled into the water.

From that day on, I never dared to go near the pond again. The haunting of the Song family pond had become a terrifying legend in the village, reminding everyone that the supernatural world was not to be taken lightly.