Top 10 Scary Vietnamese Urban Legends
Starting off at number 10 we have Ghost Tape Number 10. During the Vietnam War, its claimed that the US came up with a creepy new tactic in their fight against the Vietcong. With the help of the South Vietnamese, the US army created scary messages that sounded like voices of the dead. Along with shrieks, screams, and moans, a dead Viet Cong soldier pleads with his comrades, saying things like -My friends, I have come back to let you know that I am dead … I am dead!- and -Don't end up like me. Go home friends, before its too late!- … American helicopters blasted the Ghost Tapes over the jungle to make it sound like the voices were coming from everywhere. This was intended to do more than just scare them - the US army was playing on the strongly held Vietnamese belief that the spirits of the dead are doomed to walk the earth in their own personal hell if their bodies are not found and properly buried. It was hoped that this fear could be instilled in the Viet Cong and convince them to give up the fight or meet the same fate as the ghostly voices.
Next up at number 9, we have The Pregnant Ghost. In December 2001, a house caught fire in Saigon which took the life of 7 family members. The fire started in the early morning and quickly engulfed the first floor which was also a showroom for the family's motorbike shop. People living nearby were woken up by the smell of burnt plastic tires. The family tried to escape but found the only way was through the balcony. One by one people jumped but then a pregnant woman stepped forward onto the balcony. She was the daughter of the owners. The upper floor wasn't that high so everybody urged her to just jump - but she was too scared. She stepped back from the balcony, towards flames, and was never seen again. By the time the fire was put out the next days, the pregnant woman could not be found. In the years since then, locals swear that on certain nights - you can see the ghost of the pregnant woman standing on the balcony. Even though she is already dead, they say you can see the fear in her eyes as she looks down at the ground, clutches her baby and steps back into the flames that went out years ago.
Moving on to number 8 we have Apartment 727. This building used to be a symbol of luxury in Saigon - the tallest millionaire residence. Its divided into 6 blocks with 530 rooms but despite the grand plans of the past, it now lies almost completely abandoned. The simple reason is - people believe its haunted. In the 1960s, this was where a lot of US officers lived. Now, locals claim they see military ghost parades and the shadow of a blonde American soldier holding hands with a Vietnamese girl. They believe this is down to the spirit of the 4 virgins in the building. The legend goes that during the construction of the hotel, everything was going smoothly until the last floor of the building where many deaths and accidents occurred. The owners stopped construction for 3 days to set up an altar. People say they were advised by a Chinese exorcist to bring in the bodies of 4 virgin women. They then buried the bodies in the 4 corners of the building in order to exorcise whatever demon or curse was stopping construction. It seemed to work and the building was completed - but locals say that this act is the reason the building is so haunted today - and no soul wants to live there anymore.
Moving on to number 7 we have the Batutut. Every country seems to have some sort of Bigfoot story - well this is Vietnam. This apelike creature is said to wander the forested hills of Vietnam. Many locals have reported seeing it for a number of years. It gained wider attention when US servicemen returned from the Vietnam War with the same stories of the creature. The first documented Batutut sighting was in 1947 by a Dr. John MacKinnon in the Vu Quang Nature Reserve. Dr. MacKinnon was searching the area for undiscovered wildlife and came across tracks which he identified as hominid - a human-like creature. He said it stood at around 6ft in height. The creature is said to have hair covering its entire body except for its hands, feet, and face. The hair color can vary from grey to brown to black. They've been observed walking on two legs and also both alone and in small social groups. Those who claim to be experts say they forage for fruit and leaves but also hunt small prey. However, there is no evidence beyond eyewitness accounts and so for now, the Batutut remains an intriguing legend.
Moving on to number 6 we have The Meat Eater. The story goes like this. In a small town in Vietnam, the houses were very packed together. This was many years ago when people didn't have a fridge to keep their meat fresh and so the only way was to put salt on the meat and store it in their backyard kitchen. They didn't have any special container and just left it on a shelf. One night, a housewife in a family store their meat on the shelf. The next morning, a piece of it was missing. Furious, she went round and asked the family where it was - nobody knew. That night, she put the meat on a different shelf to make sure no one would take it away. The next morning, she went to the backyard and again, she found the meat missing.
She complained to her husband and that night, the couple stayed up to try and catch the culprit. When night came, they sat by the window overlooking their backyard. Just after 1 Am, they saw the shadow of a woman jump over their fence. They realized it was the old woman from next door. When they went out to catch her - they were shocked to see she already had the meat in her hands and was biting into it raw with a crazed look in her eyes. She looked possessed and was tearing the meat apart with sharp teeth and fangs. After finishing up the meat, she lept back over the fence. The next day they confronted the old woman's family about what had happened, they refused to believe their grandmother could have done it. The next day, the couple had to leave town for some business - they left their 1-year-old baby at home with a babysitter. They returned at 1 AM just in time to hear a loud scream come from the babies room.
They rushed upstairs to find their worst fears had come true. They had left no meat in the backyard that night and so the possessed old woman had climbed into the room and was biting on the babies arm - her face pale and fangs dripping. They attacked her and she jumped out of the window. The whole village helped to hunt the old woman - they eventually found her on top of a house. They tried but failed to get her down and decided the only way was to burn the building down. The old now transformed into her demonic form. She laughed and laughed until the roof collapsed and she fell into the flames - letting out a blood curling evil scream and then - silence, only the crackling of wood. The next day, all they found in the ashes was a very small skull. The old woman's family had already disappeared - leaving the village with more questions than answers - and a terrifying story to pass down the generations.
Moving on to number 5 now we have Mirrors. It is a common belief in some parts of Vietnam that Mirrors have a supernatural quality to them which can be used as a help or a curse. Its believed that mirrors are a portal to the spirit world. This is used as a defense against evil spirits. It's not uncommon to see mirrors hung on peoples doors. The idea for this is that an evil spirit will approach the door and be scared away by the mirror, not wanting to slip through the portal as it passes through the door. However, mirrors aren't always tools for good. Some Vietnamese believe that if you stare into a mirror for too long, a reflection can take your place and you will be the one who ends up in the mirror. You won't realize it until you go to step away and blink out of existence, forced to wait in the mirror until the real you return. Youll be forced to copy their movements exactly - and nobody will be able to see you screaming out for help through your eyes.
Next up at number 4, we have Thuan Kieu Plaza. In the heart of Saigon's busy Chinatown district is a series of three towers - each one stands 33 floors tall. Buildings A and B are completely deserted while building C has just a few people living there. During its construction in the late 80s, some of the workers died due to poor safety standards. No compensation was offered to the family and so one of them put an ancient Chinese curse on the site called -Lo Ban- …. The accidents and problems only got worse - people blamed it on the curse. Then, the ghost stories came. One involved a taxi driver who got a call from one of the abandoned builds. He went anyway but when he arrived at the place, it was of course empty. He called the girl on the other end of the phone but all he could hear was heavy breathing and muffled screams. He drove away, terrified. When he asked locals about it - they said it was most likely the ghost of a girl who was murdered by her boyfriend on the site in 2005. There are many stories like this - only adding to how deserted and creepy this plaza really is.
Moving on to number 3 now we have the Lonely Ghosts. There is a belief among some people in Vietnam that if people die alone then they will stay near where they died as ghosts because nobody was there to guide their spirits to the afterlife. They could have died alone, maybe their family didn't even know of their death or a person may have died with no family at all. If someone had a violent death, as spirits they'll be mischievous - not always evil but often violent. September is the -Ghost month- of Vietnam and during that time you can see people burning paper money in rusty buckets in the hopes of appeasing the lonely ghost.
Next up at number 2, we have Tao Dan Park. This 10-hectare park in Saigon is beautiful by day, attracting many tourists who wander around its green gardens and shady tall trees. If you dig a bit deeper - you'll find that some consider this to be the most haunted park in all of Vietnam. The story goes that over 10 years ago, a man and his girlfriend were having a picnic in the park when they were brutally attacked. The man was killed but the woman managed to survive and escape. Officials say there is only one recorded case of a murder in the Park. It was of a young man called Tuan in 1989. He was trying to sell his motorbike and asked his friend Hung to help. Instead, Hung and another accomplice killed Tuan and took the bike for themselves. Locals say that whichever one is true - the cold-blooded murder that was committed has stained the park forever - and the spirits of the victims remain.
And finally, at number 1 we have The Singing Girl. For many years, there was only really one official place in Saigon to bury the dead - Binh Hung Hoa Cemetery. Because of this concentration of dead people - many believe its one of the most haunted places in Vietnam. Perhaps one of the most famous stories is that of the singing girl. There was once a 16-year-old girl who lived in the area. She was known for her love of Kai Lung (c?i l??ng) - a well-known singer in Vietnam. The girl fell for a singer from a local theater - however, her Father didn't approve of their love due to the singer's lowly background and forced him to enroll in the army in hopes of separating them. A few months passed by and the girl was heartbroken to learn that her lover had died in the war. She was furious at her father and so hurt by her lover's death that she took her own life by jumping into the pond in the cemetery. Her body wasn't found until 6 days later. Ever since that fateful day - on every night with a full moon - locals swear they see her standing on the edge of the water, mournfully singing her favorite singers songs.