Frightening Asian Urban Legends

Goal: The goal of this lesson is to practice your reading and pronunciation skills in English while we entertain ourselves with frightening Asian urban legends. There will also be a Free-talking session later on to practice your English conversational skills.

TONIGHT'S URBAN LEGEND LIST PER COUNTRY: 1. PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭 -The White Lady At Balete Drive -The Headless Priest -The Jeepney Ride 2. SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷 -THE VIRGIN GHOST (처녀귀신) -The Hollow-Eyed Woman 3. JAPAN 🇯🇵 -TEKE TEKE (テケテケ;てけ てけ) -THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN, KUCHISAKE-ONNA 4. THAILAND 🇹🇭 THE KRASUE (กระสือ) 5. INDONESIA 🇮🇩 -SUSTER NGESOT

PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭 1. THE WHITE LADY AT BALETE DRIVE Quezon city is known as a big and beautiful city in the Philippines. But, when Filipinos hear about this city, there’s one thing that could never leave their mind – the white lady at the Balete Drive. Balete Drive is a road that seems made to order for ghosts. The street wasn’t well lit because big trees blocked the lampposts. No light from the nearby houses reached the street because high concrete walls surrounded them. So the street was empty, dark, lonely, and scary. This spooky road is where the white lady resides. People who have encountered the white lady said that she wears a long white dress and has long black hair. Some said that the white lady tries to hitchhike with the people who pass by and suddenly disappears. There are different stories about the identity of the white lady. According to a person living on the Balete Drive, the white lady was a college student who sneaked into their home to go with her friends. They got into a car accident, and she died. Some also believe that the white lady was a young woman being raped. She continues to find the person who did that to her. Until today, many taxi drivers are still scared to take the Balete Drive at night, fearing that they might encounter the white lady. Many people, even famous Filipino celebrities like Maris Racal, still share their encounters with the white lady until this day. Whether it’s true or not, it wouldn’t hurt to at least drive there when you go to the Philippines. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get the adventure that you are looking for.

What does Balete tree symbolize? In a tropical tree like the Philippines, the balete tree (Ficus sp.), is believed to be a favorite abode of supernatural beings. The tree is believed to be enchanted and inhabited by the so-called encantos or encantados, beings living in a different plane but who can appear to those they desire at will.

Free-talking: Imagine driving late at night on a quiet and dark road. Then suddenly, a white lady appeared in your back seat. What would you feel? What would you do?

PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭 2. THE HEADLESS PRIEST A student was studying late at night at a school library and heard the sound of chains being dragged. When she checked who was making the noise, she found a priest. But wait, a headless priest. The headless priests are another Filipino ghost part of the urban legends. The priests played a vital role in Philippine history. They were the ones who led the church, and they were also the ones who taught the students in class during the Spanish era. As their name suggests, these clergymen hang out in universities, graveyards, churches, and other places that feel spooky. They sometimes bring their heads with them and seem to be looking for them when they don’t. As for their heads, people said that either Filipino revolutionaries during the Revolution or Japanese soldiers during World War II cut off the heads of these priests. Older stories about biblical figures and martyrs who were killed, like St. John the Baptist, have also helped spread urban legends about priests.

Free-talking: What would you do if you were studying alone late at night in a library... And suddenly saw a headless priest?

PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭 3. THE JEEPNEY RIDE An urban legend meant to showcase the hazards of riding a jeepney alone at night especially if you’re a girl. The story starts when a woman goes into a jeep without any passenger but herself and a driver at night. When she asks to be dropped at her stop, the driver takes a glance at her through the rear view mirror and continues on driving. By this time, the girl is now worried that he might be planning something evil. After some time, however, he finally drops her off at her stop. Before she could hurriedly depart, the woman was told by the driver that she should immediately burn her clothes because when he looked at her through the mirror, she had no head—an omen signifying her death.

Free-talking: If you were the woman, would you burn your shirt or let it just slide because you don't believe in it?

SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷 1. THE VIRGIN GHOST (처녀귀신) Yep. You read it right – virgin ghosts. Like the name suggested, it means female ghosts who died a virgin. They died without being married to someone, so their bitter and shameful soul cannot cross the border to the underworld. This is probably the most famous myth out of all the other Korean urban legends. In ancient times, it was a disgrace if women died without fulfilling their purpose (i.e. serving their husbands, fathers and children). So, legend has it that once these single women are dead, their vengeful and bitter spirits would be cursed and stuck wandering on earth, haunting their own family for eternity. These virgin ghosts also always mess with couples, especially the newly weds, as they want their marriage to fail – like their own love life and how their mission of getting married was never fulfilled. Some even believe that these virgin ghosts represent raped, betrayed, or wrongly murdered women. Legend has it that these women spirits linger on earth because they died unjustly. That’s why they could not enter the underworld – they have unresolved issues on earth and wish to seek revenge or simply want to be proven guilt-free. When they finally get their peace, they can move along. They usually hang around abandoned buildings like schools and mental institutions, creepy places normally people don’t usually go to.

Urban Legend inspired movies/k-dramas? Oh My Ghost (2015): This Romantic Comedy is about a Virgin Ghost taking over a woman’s body, in order to find a romantic partner. It is a funny and light-hearted portrayal of the supposedly terrifying spectre.

SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷 2. THE HOLLOW-EYED WOMAN Imagine you’re driving one night, it’s foggy everywhere and you can vaguely see a woman with sunglasses walking along the sidewalk. You start thinking to yourself, “oh okay. It’s a little weird that she’s taking a stroll alone at this time of the day. And it’s not even daytime, why the shades? Maybe something happened to her? Maybe her car broke down?” Like a decent person that you are, you would probably stop and offer her a ride. Big mistake. Because when she approaches your windshield, you would realize that she is not a human wearing sunglasses, but a ghost with her eyeballs brutally gouged out, leaving a void behind – that is the Hollow-eyed Woman, haunting the Jayuro highway in Seoul Korea.

Based in the north of Seoul, this story is about a highway called Jayuro which connects Goyang to Paju. The highway is quite infamous for the fatal accidents that happen to people travelling on it. People have claimed to have seen a woman standing by the side of the highway who appears to be wearing sunglasses. It's when they get closer to her that they realise that she isn't wearing any sunglasses but instead, her eyes are gouged out. It is said that when the drivers get closer to her that they realise that she isn't wearing any sunglasses but instead, her eyes are gouged out with black ink-like substance dripping from them. She jumps in front of the car, causing accidents and takes the dead bodies away. No one knows what happens next. Legend has it that, this woman was a hitchhiker who wanted a lift on a full moon night. But to her bad luck, the one who gave her the lift killed her in the woods and gouged her eyes out. And now, she does the same to her victims in a gruesome way.

Free-talking: If you saw a woman walking around at night without you knowing it is a ghost, would you offer her a ride?

JAPAN 🇯🇵 1. TEKE TEKE (テケテケ;てけ てけ) The Teke Teke (or Tek Tek) is a Japanese urban legend about a girl who fell on a railway line and was cut in two. She is an onryō, or a vengeful spirit, who lurks in urban areas and around train stations at night.  She has no lower half and carries a scythe and travels on her hands while searching for victims to cut in two, mimicking her accident. The Teke Teke is universally portrayed as a girl or a young woman, usually with long, black hair. She is often portrayed as having claws instead of fingernails or fingers, as these help her drag her torn body around.  The legend is called "Teke Teke" because of the sound she makes while "walking" and carrying the scythe.  Like most urban legends, there are so many versions of the Teke Teke story that it is impossible to know what the original story was or where it began from. Every locality has its own version with different details.  In some stories, the Teke Teke was the victim of a tragic accident; in others, it was suicide. In some stories, certain magic charms can protect you from its wrath; in others, nothing can protect you and you will certainly die. In some versions, the Teke Teke's victims become Teke Teke themselves.  There are many things in common between these variations, and the most common ones point towards a woman from Hokkaidō named Kashima Reiko. In the years after World War II, an office worker in Muroran, Hokkaidō was assaulted by military personnel.  She was left injured on the rail tracks and was hit by a train which cut off her body in half. The severe cold of the Hokkaidō night caused her blood vessels to contract and prevented her from bleeding out quickly. 

Instead, she squirmed and wriggled around for help for several minutes. She was seen by an attendant. Instead of trying to help her, the station attendant just covered her with a plastic bag. She died a slow, agonizing death. According to legend, three days after hearing this story, you will see the ghost of a woman with no lower half.  The ghost will try to catch you, and escape is impossible even in a car; the ghost can crawl at a speed of up to 150 km per hour. Some say that the ghost is searching for her missing legs. Others say that she is simply out to slaughter as many people as she can.  Another version of the story suggests that the legend was designed to deter people from bullying, abusing or assaulting others. In many variations of the legend, the Teke Teke was mistreated by others in life and this ill-treatment directly caused her death. The only reason why she rose from the grave was to get revenge on others, albeit rather indiscriminately.  So the moral of the story is, be kind to others or they may just split you in half. Now that is a message that speaks to all of us.

Free-talking: If you were the one who saw her, would you ask for help or just leave her alone to die?

JAPAN 🇯🇵 2. THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN, KUCHISAKE-ONNA This popular and ancient urban legend originates in Japan, during the Heian period (roughly 1200-800 years ago). Japan is known for its number of frightening ghost stories, with this one in particular being beyond chilling. The legend commences with a stunning woman, who was married to a samurai. But beware, looks can be deceiving—she was very vain and one day, went as far as cheating on her Samurai husband. When he found out about the affair, he grew very enraged and slit her mouth from ear to ear, giving her a Glasgow smile (which is a smile caused by wounds cutting from ear to ear). Following this savage action, he asked, “Who will think you’re pretty now?” Although the original tale is a cautionary one to remind people to stay faithful, the story takes a gruesome turn.

 In 2007, a coroner found records of similar shocking cases during the time of day that the story takes place, the nighttime. The records showed that many children had died at night, rumouring sightings of a woman with similar features were at the time and place of their deaths, giving a frightful realistic twist to the legend. This apparent phenomenon can be explained:a woman wearing a surgical mask or mask of some sort who would approach people (usually children) at night and ask them, “Am I pretty?” If they said no, she would slash their faces with a pair of scissors, giving them a similar Glasgow smile. However, if they said yes, she would reveal her face and ask again. If this time, they said “no”, she would slash their faces regardless Even if they still said yes, she would follow them home and still brutally kill them. Many people believe the only way to break this pattern, is to confuse her by answering with either “you’re okay” or “so-so”, not providing a definite answer. The confusion from these replies would buy the victim enough time to get away.

THAILAND 🇹🇭 1. THE KRASUE (กระสือ) Krasue is a nocturnal female spirit who manifests as a young, beautiful woman. The only problem is that this “beautiful woman” has her internal organs hanging down from her neck. In order to move from place to place, she hovers above the ground with her organs below. The organs typically include a heart, stomach, and intestinal tract, but she can be represented with more internal organs as well (such as lungs). The intestines are usually spotted with fresh blood and glowing. Her teeth are often represented as vampire-like. The origin of Krasue takes place in Thailand. Her legend comes from the Angkorian Khmer culture. The story tells of a Khmer princess who was meant to marry a Siamese nobleman after her people were defeated in war, but she was in love with a young man of low status.

She was eventually caught with her lover and was sentenced to death by burning by the Siamese nobleman. Before the execution, the princess had a spell cast over her so that her body would be unharmed by the fire. the effect of the spell was delayed, so the princess burned until only her internal organs and head were left. She continued to live as Krasue. The curse that Krasue experiences is that she is always hungry and is forced to go out at night and feast on blood of cattle, chicken, or water buffalo. If blood is not available, she is forced to feed on excrement of the animals. During the day, Krasue lives as a normal person on a body that she stole. She only moves alone at night as a head with intestines trailing below. She must rejoin the body before daybreak. There are three ways to kill a Krasue: you must destroy the body when Krasue is hunting at night and replace it with the wrong body so that Krasue suffers until finally dying, or make it so that she cannot find the body when morning comes, or cut off Krasue’s intestines. There are variations to this story as it has been passed down through centuries between different cultures.

Krasue Urban Legend inspired movie and game? Movie: 'Inhuman Kiss' is a 2019 Thai supernatural horror film directed by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri. Mobile Game: EYES: Krasue (Sometimes called 'The Ghost' by fans and new players) is a major character in 'Eyes.' She makes her first appearance in Chapter I, as the main threat of the Mansion.

INDONESIA 🇮🇩 1. SUSTER NGESOT Suster means 'nurse' and Ngesot means 'crawling.' No one knows her real name but here is her story. Once upon a time a beautiful nurse was working the night shift in an old hospital. The night was quiet. She walked to a laboratory and the doctor abused her. He then mutilated her legs so she couldn't walk. She had to crawl with her hands while dragging what was left of her legs behind her. She died that night and has haunted hospital corridors ever since. Most people agree that the hospital was Cipto Mangunkusumo Public Hospital (RSCM) in Jakarta because that was the last place Suster was allegedly seen alive. Most old hospitals from the Dutch colonial era have their own stories about Suster Ngesot. They say she wanders around hospital corridors or nearby alleyways, covered in blood and dragging her legs.

People believe that if Suster Ngesot comes by, your body gets stiff and you lose the ability to speak. Once she passes, control over your body returns. While some insist that it's just a myth, recently a janitor claimed he saw Suster Ngesot at a hospital he worked at in Bandung. As a new employee, he covered the night shift. One night, he had to clean the morgue when he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching him. He continued cleaning in the hallway outside when the electricity suddenly shut off.

With no lights, the man- Budi- started getting scared. Then Budi heard a woman crying in pain! He tried to distract himself from the noise by playing music on his phone. The last room on his rounds was the operating theater. Budi entered to start cleaning, but when he opened a dividing curtain, right there under the bed he saw a pale nurse looking straight up at him. He tried to remain calm, but he dropped his mop. Then, his body froze. The nurse moved on, dragging herself along the floor away from Budi. She eventually disappeared into the toilet. For minutes, Budi couldn't do anything but stare as she made her slow way along the floor. After she was out of sight, he could move again. He immediately packed his things. Budi quit his job the next day. She really is an interesting ghost who does not harm people but anyone can get scared to the bones when they see her.

Suster Ngesot Urban Legend inspired Movie? Movie: 'The Secret: Suster Ngesot Urban Legend' is an Indonesian horror film released in 2019. The film was directed by Arie Azis.

Free-Talking: Is there any scary urban legend from your own country you want to share with us?