There are haunted houses everywhere and each haunted house hides a dark tale. Li Kim journeys to Kundasang, Sabah, to explore the mysterious tales behind several haunted houses. She is accompanied by a local witchdoctor, and learns about the link between the hauntings and the history and culture of Sabah itself.
In this episode, Li Kim also unearths the myth behind an abandoned village, which was rumoured to have been abandoned abruptly due to an entity, which unleashed Hell upon the villagers. Is the entity still lingering within the village? What is the real cause behind that immediate evacuation? Follow Li Kim as she ventures within the land below the wind.
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TVTranscript
00:00 I always say that what we see may not be real and what is real we may not see.
00:06 My question to you now is do you see Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe?
00:11 This is a hybrid image created by Dr. Odd Olivia of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
00:17 whereby the picture changes with distance.
00:20 What about our experiences of the unseen like spirits or ghosts?
00:29 We normally rely on rituals and ceremonies to connect and communicate with them.
00:34 What happens if these practices are forbidden or are no longer respected?
00:39 [Music]
00:42 [Music]
00:46 [Music]
00:49 [Music]
00:58 [Music]
01:08 [Music]
01:11 In this episode, I will take you to Kundasang in Sabah
01:19 to experience and communicate with the spirits in four haunted and abandoned locations.
01:25 Is Kundasang a ghost-infested area as claimed by many
01:30 or are these just folk stories of a town with a bleak past?
01:37 I am with Ustaz Saiful, a spiritualist and exorcist with 15 years of experience
01:43 dealing with cases relating to jinn and spirit disturbances.
01:47 To him, Kundasang is one of the most haunted and eerie locations he has ever encountered.
01:53 We are now at a broken down hut that is said to be very haunted,
01:59 previously a ceremonial ground to call on spirits.
02:03 Let's find out what happened here.
02:06 Each time I pass by this place in the evening, I feel scared.
02:10 Sometimes it appears that someone is watching me from inside and I hear strange sounds.
02:15 Sometimes it looks like a woman, sometimes I don't know what thing it was.
02:19 It was like a hairy creature.
02:21 Have you heard anything or do you sense anything right now?
02:34 What I feel here is that
02:36 from the vibrations that I feel in here, the thought that comes to mind is
02:40 this place was once a ceremonial ground to worship spirits, maybe about 10 or 15 years ago.
02:47 This used to be a place that was used for gatherings of ritual.
02:52 The people from this area believe in spirits.
02:56 There are mountain spirits and plant spirits that they call Mambazon.
03:00 The Mambazon spirits look after the harvest of rice.
03:04 They will perform ceremonies and rituals to satisfy the spirits like the offering of food
03:09 in order to get a larger and more profitable harvest.
03:13 Before we find out more about this abandoned house that Ustaz Saiful claims to be a ceremonial ground,
03:20 we are also aware of the poignant past of headhunting,
03:23 a much feared and yet misunderstood brutal and ritualistic practice of the Borneo warriors.
03:28 In today's context, the act of decapitating an enemy's head
03:32 and keeping it on display as trophies is legally prohibited.
03:36 Did something similar happen at this ceremonial hut that caused residual energies to be left behind?
03:42 What is staying behind in this house that doesn't want to leave?
03:49 Anyone who enters this hut, it would call upon these spirits that would come to ask for offering.
03:55 These folks that stay here may not understand.
03:58 The spirits are asking for a sacrificed goat, cow or at times even a human.
04:04 This is a type of gong used in my tribe.
04:14 There are seven types and this is the third.
04:17 It is used to summon the spirits and mainly when there is a plague or there are diseases,
04:22 it is used to call the spirits for healing.
04:24 The energy that used to come when the people were doing the ritual here?
04:28 Yes, this is correct.
04:30 It will come when summoned or it will also appear when it hears sound emanating from this area.
04:35 Maybe it thinks that it will be fed with food and when we do, it will give us power like magic.
04:40 After that, it will leave.
04:42 Whether they are good or bad spirits, should these silent occupants be summoned in the first place?
04:50 And when the pact with these beings was formed by our ancestors, can we now put an end to them?
04:56 Another example of abandoned spiritual practices that crossed my path happened in the old Kamparanyan village.
05:07 The villagers nearby claimed that everyone seemed to have disappeared overnight,
05:12 leaving behind a picture-perfect settlement without any logical explanation except for spirit attacks.
05:20 This place is known to be haunted but about this village, there was still around in the 1960s.
05:26 They saw heads rolling on the ground, goats climbing up trees.
05:30 I also experienced not seeing a ghost but hearing a strange voice.
05:34 In 1992 or 1993, I visited the old Kamparanyan village.
05:44 I was certain that there was no one staying in the village.
05:48 At that time, the houses were still in good condition.
05:51 I walked about in the village and came across a small convenience store.
05:55 I was shocked because all the things were still left in the shop.
05:59 There were crackers, bread and matches.
06:02 The curtains and furniture were still in the house.
06:05 Therefore, I think the villagers left their village in a hurry.
06:09 Did the villagers of old Kamparanyan live in a hurry and why did they do that?
06:17 I was introduced to Pak Subi, an original resident of the old Kamparanyan village,
06:22 who admitted that the villagers did start leaving periodically,
06:27 beginning from the 1940s and the last batch to leave was in the late 1980s.
06:32 When we were pagans, we had a belief that we need to seek help from the deities and spirits.
06:40 Back then, we were friends with them.
06:42 But later we informed these unseen beings with proper care that we will be embracing a new religion.
06:49 We told them we appropriately that we will go separate ways.
06:53 Then we will build the new Kamparanyan and move out of the old Kamparanyan.
06:58 The real reason as to why strange things started to happen was that people were irresponsible.
07:08 They disrespected their previous spiritual belief.
07:12 For example, they disturbed the oath stone.
07:15 Do you have any knowledge of any body who was disrespectful and subsequently suffered and paid a big price?
07:22 Actually, I do not want to say his name, but he brought a group of people to destroy the oath stone
07:29 and finally he passed away when he was only in his forties.
07:34 He had a strange illness.
07:36 He was talking in a language that we could not understand.
07:39 Maybe he was talking to an unseen spirit that only he could see.
07:43 Until today, many claim that old Kamparanyan is fiercely haunted for various reasons.
07:49 But as clarified by Pak Subi, it could have been caused by the irresponsible people
07:54 who disturbed the spirits that they once worshipped.
07:57 We can choose to stop practicing any spiritual ceremony,
08:00 but we should still continue to show respect to these spirits or the silent occupants.
08:06 A graveyard or a tomb.
08:09 Sometimes the smell is so bad that it stinks like a rotten corpse.
08:13 As the investigation continues, Ustaz Saiful and I went to another haunted house
08:30 that is said to be built over a tomb.
08:32 The spirit was not happy because the owner of the new house invaded its privacy.
08:38 When we visited during the day, I felt very uncomfortable.
08:43 There was a very strong stench, like that of a decomposing body.
08:47 There was a very strong scent of death in the last toilet.
08:52 It was very similar to this smell behind these doors.
08:56 The strong stench of death.
08:58 The strong stench proves that something is happening here.
09:02 Sometimes the smell is so bad that it stinks like a rotten corpse.
09:06 Until those who stayed here couldn't even eat because of the strong scent.
09:11 The soul here is telling us this place belonged to her and it has been disturbed.
09:20 This means the construction of this house disturbed their peace.
09:23 From my experience, this must be a grave.
09:26 And it is located parallel to this bed.
09:29 A graveyard or a tomb or is it burial ground for the villagers?
09:35 In the 1960s, before this area was developed,
09:38 whenever anyone in the village passed away,
09:41 he will be buried in his own private land.
09:44 There was no specific area that was used as a general burial ground.
09:48 There is a possibility their family did not exhume the body
09:52 when the land was taken over by someone else who destroyed the tomb to build this house.
09:57 This house was rented out a few times but even the tenants could not stay long.
10:02 This was the original village of the Kunda Sang people.
10:09 And in the past, they all stayed in this area.
10:12 As a result, the old graves are also found here.
10:15 The graves were erected next to their houses.
10:18 You can't bury your family members in other people's land.
10:22 A deceased can only be buried in his own family land.
10:26 If you understand that they have been disturbed,
10:29 why hasn't anything been done for them on a spiritual level?
10:33 The people here used to believe and follow the old tradition on how to appease these souls.
10:38 But in this modern age of high intellect,
10:41 many have abandoned these practices and believe them to be false.
10:45 However, when they build a house like this, only then do they see the consequences.
10:51 But it is too late.
10:52 They are left with a big and beautiful house that is without any residents.
10:56 After much consideration, my team and I, together with Ustaz Saiful,
11:04 have returned for further investigations at night.
11:07 The technical crew has set up multiple cameras in the house
11:11 to capture any movements and activities that may happen during our exploration.
11:16 So, we just have a seat over here.
11:25 We're close to one in the morning.
11:29 For the lack of a better word, it's peak hour.
11:32 And if we focus, we should be able to either see something, hear something,
11:41 or have a sense of something.
11:44 A lady. A female spirit from upstairs is coming down now.
11:54 Listen. You can hear her steps.
11:59 I heard the sound like stepping on very old wood.
12:04 Crack, like that.
12:06 Just one time.
12:08 Now, the lady who is from upstairs is standing right in front of us.
12:19 Therefore, if you are willing, she wants to greet us with a handshake.
12:25 Extend your hand in front of you.
12:28 She said, "Your heart must be pure. You can feel me. Can you?"
12:34 Wait. She is now shaking your hand.
12:41 It was like tingling, like pins and needles.
12:45 And my leg down here is cold but not up here.
12:51 I cannot hear her but I can feel her understanding.
12:58 Another crucial and interesting story about this house
13:01 is that although unoccupied,
13:03 sounds of someone cooking in the kitchen were constantly heard by the villagers nearby.
13:09 If you walk past the house in the evening at about 5.30pm,
13:15 we can hear all types of noises coming from inside of the house,
13:19 like someone is cooking or washing dishes.
13:22 But when I checked, there was no one. The house is locked.
13:27 When we visited during the day,
13:29 we inspected the place and found nothing unusual in the kitchen.
13:33 But when we returned that night, we were spooked by a big surprise.
13:38 Whether you believe it or not,
13:41 definitely this kitchen does smell different than when we came in earlier.
13:49 It does smell like food has been cooked.
13:54 It looks like a dish.
13:56 Fried chicken skin.
13:59 Sprinkle of frying oil spatters.
14:02 The fried chicken skin was not in the wok when we investigated during the day.
14:09 There was definitely no smell of cooked food as confirmed by the crew and I.
14:14 Who would have used this kitchen to prepare food when there was no electricity and no water?
14:19 Besides, the only key to the house was given to us and no one from the team returned until nightfall.
14:25 Did someone else come in after us to utilise the kitchen?
14:29 Or as the villagers believe, they were prepared by the silent and unseen occupants.
14:35 Who is having their meal right now?
14:37 What you see is sometimes not just through your eyes, but in your mind, in your feelings.
14:44 It is time for us to take our leave.
14:49 There are so many stories and sightings of different beings by different people in this area.
14:54 Could it be exaggerated?
14:56 Could a real person actually have been using the kitchen utensils?
15:00 But I believe we cannot discount the possibility that there are spirits and they should be respected.
15:06 Maybe in the next investigation, a spirit will speak to us directly and tell us what he or she feels.
15:14 A lot of people died on that route, over 3,000 people. It's always had a spiritual element.
15:20 And the victims were executed here, their heads were chopped off.
15:24 The people from this area believe in spirits.
15:39 Each time I pass by this place in the evening, I feel scared.
15:44 Whether you believe it or not, it does smell like food has been cooked.
15:50 The Sandakan Ranau death marches took nearly 3,000 lives.
15:56 The demise of the tortured Allied forces, prisoners of war, left a spiritual void in Kundasang.
16:02 When the Japanese soldiers forced their hostages to march 260km to their death,
16:08 it is believed that their souls are still roaming and haunting this place,
16:12 just like the spirits found in Kaparengan and the two haunted houses I investigated earlier.
16:18 I'm sure that in Kundasang, the element of believing very strongly with the presence of spirits seems to be very dominant.
16:30 If you read back through history and study the history of Sabah,
16:33 there is a strong spiritual connection with Kundasang.
16:37 And it's interpreted in many different ways.
16:39 It's either the way the people interpret the forest here, which has been largely deforested,
16:44 but also there's the death marches that happened at the end of the Second World War.
16:49 Kundasang were the final location for the prisoners of war who were marched from Sandakan by the Japanese.
16:57 A lot of people died on that route, over 3,000 people.
17:01 It always had a spiritual element and it's been a place where they built memorials to this death march.
17:07 So that I think may have some significance and may also engender an additional spiritual element to the people in Kundasang.
17:14 Can you tell me what you know about the history of this place and how it ended up being debris like this?
17:29 At about 1962, my ancestors opened this forest.
17:32 They took care of this place.
17:34 According to the story of the past, this place is haunted.
17:38 It's true that the Japanese army was here during the Sandakan to run out death marches.
17:42 They brought their hostages to this forest and the victims were executed here.
17:47 Their head been chopped off.
17:48 Maybe their souls are still haunting this place.
17:51 I'm at a forest reserve in Kundasang with Ustaz Saiful,
17:58 a location that is said to be the home of a variety of spirits,
18:02 bloodstained from World War II when the Japanese Imperial Army beheaded their prisoners.
18:07 Many believe that the restless souls are still haunting this place.
18:11 However, Ustaz Saiful believes that there is something more that meets the eye.
18:17 According to the villagers, the Japanese soldiers brought their prisoners here to be executed.
18:24 And here the nature spirits witnessed the cruelty of the civilization of man.
18:28 So the vibrations we receive from these spirits are the ones that show that they are protective of this place.
18:34 This is why they constantly show themselves to disturb the humans that pass by this area.
18:39 And there is this sense of revenge.
18:41 Which part is the part about revenge?
18:44 They or human beings?
18:46 When they witness the violence exhibited by the civilization of mankind,
18:52 the spirits here will give us a shock.
18:54 Some sort of tragedy may happen to us.
18:57 So that we are frightened and won't return to this place because they cannot accept our violent behavior.
19:03 And if you are lucky, you may be able to film a family of nature spirits standing behind us.
19:09 They have agreed to let us be here for a restricted time period only.
19:18 As we were leaving the forest reserve, which was a challenging descent downhill,
19:22 Ustaz Saiful suddenly saw that two of our crew members were attacked by the nature spirits with invisible spears.
19:29 He immediately removed the spears and also appeased the spirits in the area.
19:33 Maybe, as he explained earlier, these guardian spirits did not welcome humans
19:38 as we were deemed as violent, uncivilized and they wished to be left alone.
19:45 Perhaps the protective spirits of the wild did express their annoyance.
19:49 The silent occupants that have been quiet throughout our investigations have finally spoken at the forest reserve.
19:56 As I was going through the footage, we may very well have picked up what is known as an EVP,
20:01 Electronic Voice Phenomena, a sound that is made by a spirit voice.
20:06 It is normally brief, generally the length of a word or short phrase.
20:13 To further confirm our finding, I have emailed the EVP to Mr. Augustine Tawansing,
20:18 a certified Malaysian ghost researcher, for his analysis.
20:22 Hello.
20:31 Yeah, hello.
20:32 How are you?
20:33 I'm fine, thank you.
20:35 I have listened to the whole interview.
20:38 Yeah, I agree that it is an EVP.
20:41 Okay, the EVP sounded like saying something like 'che' or 'e'.
20:49 That's exactly how the Sabahan responding to things that they are not agree with.
20:55 The spirit responded to the word 'dendam'.
20:59 I guess, just with the word 'dendam' because it's some kind of judgment.
21:09 It's some kind of negative judgment towards them.
21:14 Augustine also told me that a spirit who is unfamiliar with the researchers
21:21 may not speak to them unless it is necessary.
21:24 Why did the spirit give us a negative response in Kundasan?
21:28 Perhaps it didn't like our presence and also the way we spoke about them.
21:33 That's exactly how the spirit don't agree.
21:38 Based on the locations visited in this episode,
21:41 I come to understand that there are natural inhabitants,
21:45 nature spirits and also man-made occupants,
21:49 remnants left behind by the actions of humankind.
21:53 This respectful and irresponsible abandonment of the past,
21:58 using rituals to call on spirits and striking a bargain for our needs,
22:03 did we human beings break or disrupt that balance of not crossing the two realms
22:11 and making a place haunted instead of coexistence with no contact?
22:17 Like I always say, what we see may not be real and what is real we may not see.
22:23 What we see may not be real and what is real we may not see.
22:28 [Music]
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