More eerie tales from Singapore film sets to spook yourself this Hungry Ghost Festival

Read on to find out how you can win tickets to horror film Warning: Do Not Play, now showing at Cathay Cineplexes.

We're in the midst of the seventh lunar month, and with Halloween fast approaching, 'tis the perfect season to gather friends are regale them with chilling tales of the supernatural. 

According to those in the media industry, film sets are ripe with such stories passed down from one generation of storytellers to the next. 

One director even shoots with a solid wall behind his back, because he's felt the presence of 'others' lingering behind him (peeping at his camera screen, obviously).

And in upcoming Korean movie Warning: Do Not Play, an aspiring director goes through literal hell in trying to make the scariest movie on earth. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ex7_-a7cqQ[/embed]

If you enjoy the feeling of goosebumps breaking across your skin, here are more hair-raising tales from Singapore film sets that will leave you more creeped out this Hungry Ghost Festival.

THE LITTLE BOY WHO WHO FOLLOWED HIM HOME

Almost a decade ago on the set of a film shot for a university assignment, crew members reported disturbances apparently coming from a little boy.

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Multiple people heard giggles and spotted shadows but brushed off the incidents as the work of a mischievous spirit since no harm actually befell anyone during the filming.

On the last day, however, when the students were packing up and loading furniture on a truck, one of them spotted a little boy standing in one corner and looking at him.

In an instance, the apparition vanished but when the student returned home, he suffered from feverish dreams of a child, and his worried parents brought him down to visit a temple medium

Somehow, the medium deduced that he was being haunted by the child although the spirit was just attracted to him but meant no ill-will.

Following the medium's instructions, the student's nightmare only ended once he returned to the film set and sent the boy off to his "proper" home. 

'FAULTY' ELEVATOR IN A SENGKANG HDB

Have you ever walked out of a lift thinking you're on the correct floor only to realise you're on the wrong one?

Here's a true story which happened to local director Koh Chong Wu late at night on the set of Prank — a 2016 horror short film.

[embed]https://vimeo.com/161152415[/embed]

Taking the lift up to the ninth floor, he was busy reading the script and walked out without checking which level he was on. Only when he noted that the entire corridor was deserted and the cameras were not set up did he realise he was on the tenth floor.

Returning to the lift, he pressed nine again and resumed looking at the script. When the door opened again, he was bewildered to find that he was on the eighth floor this time.

Since the lift "refused" to bring him to the ninth, Chong Wu simply took the stairs up.

Maybe the spirit was trying to advocate for a healthier lifestyle?

THE YOUTUBE GHOST ALONG ADAM ROAD

This story also happened in real-life to Chong Wu when he shot a Halloween special back in 2015.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_smwWw7gws&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

After the video was uploaded onto YouTube, viewers noted a white humanoid figure standing in the corner of a frame.

Surprised, the team went back to check the raw footage but it was too dark to spot anything other than the silhouette in that frame.

"There was an electrical box (at the scene) but this thing looked more like a dress. I don't recall anything (other than the box) there that night, and when we went back to the actual location, there wasn't anything there," he added.

THANK YOU MR BOMOH

The Singaporean crew of a 2017 film in Batam experienced some unusual happenings on a film set that they later found out was located near a cemetery.

The filming outdoors had been set up by the art director and everything remained in place from morning to nightfall. As they were filming the horror scene in the wee hours, one of the panels suddenly collapsed out of the blue even though it was not a windy night.

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The art team who did the setting up also reported seeing a plastic bag on the floor spiral up into the air during a still night. Perhaps the spirits were giving them a warning, because a stunt actor was later injured during one of the takes.

During rehearsals, mats were placed on the floor and the actor was trained so he knew how to fall so as to not injure himself. However, when they went in for the actual take, he suddenly flew further than he was supposed to and landed off the safety mats, hurting his head.

Immediately after the incident happened, the team received an order from the bomoh (witch doctor) they had engaged, who chided them for using vulgarities and making the spirits unhappy. After his instructions were followed and apologies said, the spirits did not cause further incidents.

THE (UN)HELPFUL GHOUL AT CALDECOTT HILL

We've all heard tales of how the old Mediacorp campus is supposedly riddled with ghosts due to the age and history of the place.

One employee had an unfortunate run-in with a spirit that literally gave him trouble even though it was presumably trying to be helpful. Keyword: trying.

During a night shift where most people had gone home and the set was deserted, a wardrobe coordinator was asked by his designer to take a period costume from the warehouse as they were rushing a show.

The moment he stepped into the warehouse, he was spooked to see a white period piece lying on the floor — maybe the exact one he needed to find.

Frightened, he exclaimed: "No, thank you!" and proceeded to hightail it out of the building towards home.

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The next day, he fell sick, plagued with nausea and headaches which persisted for the next week until he was forced to see a doctor, only to be asked if he was trying to play hooky.

After a week, he confided in his sister who referred him to a temple medium, and he received instructions to burn the clothes he was wearing on that day at the temple.

After it was done, he recovered immediately.

Perhaps the spirit was offended that its help was rejected? Or maybe it just wanted to be given due respect? We'll never know.

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WIN TICKETS TO WARNING: DO NOT PLAY

Enjoyed reading these spooky tales? You might enjoy watching one come to life in theatres near you.

Here's your chance to win a pair of tickets to watch Warning: Do Not Play, an upcoming Korean horror flick slated for release on August 29. 

All you'll have to do is enter the contest and answer the giveaway. May the spookiest soul win! 

WIN! Movie tickets to Warning: Do Not Play

joeylee@asiaone.com

This article was brought to you in partnership with MM2 Entertainment.