A Taxonomy of Chinese ghosts

By Carolyn Choa

Carolyn Choa wrote this wonderful piece inspired by one of our Daily Prompts on Instagram: “If you were a ghost, would you let people see you?” To subscribe to our Daily Prompt, click here.

I guess the short answer is no, I wouldn’t, for the simple reason that I am terrified of ghosts myself, so I wouldn’t want to frighten anyone.

There are many different kinds of ghosts in Chinese culture, all of whom are frankly alarming :

There are those who like to disengage their heads and allow them to fly about, mostly in the setting of a bedroom. These are usually female spirits who have died tragically. They have long hair and a pale face.

There are those who hang from bridges and swing into view on a dark night, just as one is about to drive past. These dangly apparitions are usually dressed in some sort of a white nightie, also with long black hair, which seems to be de rigueur.

There are those who like to pull at your feet with cold fingers if you are silly enough to sleep with them exposed under the blanket. Long tapered fingers of either sex are favoured.