Ghosts are a big part of Malaysia Culture, which could explain why we love scary ghost stories so much!
Before Islam, Native Malay practiced Animism and other nationionalities eventually brought their own religion and beliefs into our country. There are actually a lot of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and even Jewish people in Malaysia!
Malaysian Culture as a hotpot of culture and belief can be a possible source of so many Malaysian ghost stories and legends. Who can forget the Hantu Pocong, Pontianak, Toyol, Hungry Ghosts, Penanggalan, Orang Minyak and so much more!
So it’s no wonder why there are true ghost stories in Malaysia. As the saying goes: when there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Scary Ghost Stories and Urban Legends from Malaysia
#1: Haunted Amber Court Hotel & Ria Apartment in Genting Highland
Everyone knows Genting Highland or Resort World Genting! It’s the only legal casino in Malaysia right now, but it’s also famous for a lot of other attractions. There’s the Genting Theme Park, Cable Car Genting, Sky Avenue Malls and most importantly the haunted Amber Court Hotel, as well as Haunted Ria Apartment!
Yes! Near Genting Highland or Resorts World Genting is one of the most haunted hotels in Malaysia: the Amber Court Hotel and Ria Apartment. It’s such a popular ghost story that they made a horror movie about it called “Haunted Hotel!”
There are actually many versions of true ghost stories that they say happened in Amber Court and Ria Apartment all around the internet. Somehow, it always involves tourists visiting Resort World Genting and trying to get lucky at the Genting Highland Casino!
“Saying this place was creepy is the understatement of the century!!! I knew from the moment I looked at it that there was something very wrong about it all. My emotions are easily affected by my surroundings, and this place was sending my anxiety off the charts!”
The story starts with a couple visiting Genting Highland with nowhere else to stay except Amber Court. They don’t know the Genting Highland Hotel is haunted, and like the Haunted Hotel Malaysia horror movie, they always encounter scary hantu (ghosts).
Sometimes it’s just creepy: you feel like someone’s watching you (even though there’s no one there)! But serious haunting experiences include hearing a creepy voice howling like a hybrid of girl and wolf in the middle of an empty hallway!
Spooky Ria Apartment near Genting Highland Casino
The same can be said in Ria Apartment.
A couple who checked in during the 1st day of the Hungry Ghost Festival didn’t know the Genting Hotel was haunted, so what happened to them was scary. They felt like they were being watched all the time, and the woman couldn’t sleep ‘cos she could hear a group of people eerily whispering and talking from the living room when they were the only 2 people staying in the room!
They managed to photograph a ghost @ 03:51
Another scarier Ria Apartment ghost story tells of a “man” who walked backwards into an elevator. Not only that! When the story-teller asked the 2 girls who shared the elevator with this man, they said that he had no face.
*shocked*
#2: Karak Highway
Did you know that roads and highways can be haunted too?! That’s right. KaraK Highway (Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway) is one of the most haunted roads in the world, and it has its fair share of urban legends in Malaysia.
Like every Amber Court and Ria Apartment, Karak Highway, Malaysia true ghost stories also have many versions.
- Yellow Volkswagen in Karak Highway
This is probably the most famous haunting in Karak Highway.
Urban Legend says that if you’re driving in Karak Highway and you see a Yellow Volkswagen, it will slow down and you will be forced to overtake it.
But that will be your mistake, because when you slow down and drive ahead of it, you will again see it in front of you, and again it will slow down so you will overtake it again.
This happens again and again in a scary loop. And they say that when you look at the front seat, you’ll see there’s no one driving the Yellow Volkswagen at all.
- Car Breaks Down, Husband is Attacked
The next one involves a couple driving in Karak Highway in the middle of the night. They’re on their way home when suddenly their car breaks down, leaving them stranded at night.
They wait for any passing cars to help them, but no one arrives. So the man goes to find a nearby phone booth, all while telling his wife to keep the car’s doors locked and stay inside to be safe.
Hours later, the husband doesn’t return and police pass by the woman inside the car. They help her, telling her to “please exit the vehicle slowly and don’t look back”. She got off the car and walked toward the officers.
However, she made the mistake of turning to look back, where she saw a monster-like banshee creature eating her husband’s lifeless body on top of the car.
- Lost School Boy Looking for His Mother
You could see a lot of scary hantu in Karak Highway, like the ghost of a school boy looking for his mother.
The story goes that you could see this hantu walking around Karak Highway, asking for his mother again and again. You shouldn’t talk to this hantu or else.
- Pontianak at Karak Highway
There have also been stories of a scary Pontianak flying along Karak Highway at night. In Malaysian culture, a Pontianak is a vampire-like ghost of a woman who died of childbirth. It’s believed that Pontianak prey on men and eat their organs.
But they don’t always come off so scary. Many stories tell of a beautiful young lady in white walking along Karak Highway, trying to seduce men by asking them for a ride.
If you see a woman or anyone along Karak Highway, it’s best to just drive past them.
#3: University Utara Malaysia Kedah
You wouldn’t think it, but University Utara Malaysia is also riddled with Malaysia scary ghost stories.
They say the University was built in the middle of nowhere in Sintok, Kedah, and that Government did some creepy things which was famously called “The Bus Accident”:
… The government sent busses empty with passangers in the middle of the site and strictly instructed the bus drivers not to turn around or look back at the rearview mirror. After a while, the bus drivers would drive into another faraway area in the middle of no where. It was said that this action is to “ferry” all the ghosts away from the woods and carry them to their “new home”.
Why is UUM haunted? Well, the place used to house a Japanese army camp and even a communist cemetery. There’s also a “ghost bus” that operates after midnight, stopping at all of the bus stops to let passengers board but in reality it’s empty.
#4: Krokop Cemeteries (Miri Sarawak)
Even East Malaysia is filled with haunted real ghost stories! Krokop Cemetery or Graveyard is located in Miri, Sarawak in East Malaysia.
The story goes like this:
“…About midnight time the police patrol car was driving along the graveyard road then suddenly it was a dead end, which is blocked by a lot of Chinese graves.. When they decided to reverse the car then they realize behind them was also Chinese graves and there is no way out. So they called up a patrol car to come over to help them out. The other car arrives but can’t get to them. So hopelessly they went back to the car and pray till everything was back to normal.“
Creepy, right?
There’s also another scary story and it goes like this: during the 60s or 70s (it was a long time ago), people used the Graveyard Road because it was the nearest road from town to Kropop.
A couple was riding a motorcycle home after watching the cinema. They used the Graveyard Road since they lived near Krokop.
On the way home, shivers went down their spine when they saw a pair of legs walking from a grave without the upper body! It then it disappeard into the river.
#5: Villa Nabila
Villa Nabila is not just one of the most haunted places in Malaysia, but in all of Asia!
The Villa is a large house in Danga Bay, Johor Baru that’s been abandoned for 40 years. It’s so famous for being a haunted location in Malaysia, they even made a horror movie-documentary about it.
Strange things have been reported to happen in Villa Nabila. There was news in 2013 about a boy who suddenly went missing after entering the creepy, abandoned house. Thankfully, he just forgot to inform his Mother that he would be sleeping at someone else’s home for the night and didn’t actually get captured by the Haunted Villa Nabila.
Villa Nabila’s Past
If you want to know how it came became haunted, there’s actually many versions of the story. Somehow, it always involves a girl named Nabila who lived in a mansion (Villa Nabila) and whose wealthy father (probably a businessman) afforded his family a comfortable life.
Villa Nabila Abandoned
Sadly, things got worse for Nabila. In one version of the story, her parents die and leave her living alone in the mansion with a maid.
This maid eventually becomes greedy, kills Nabila to get her inheritence fortune, and seals Nabila’s body hidden in one of the walls of the mansion.
In another version, Nabila’s house gets robbed and the criminals end up killing her whole family. She, on the other hand, got raped and then killed–her body cemented inside the walls of the house.
Villa Nabila Urban Legends
- If anyone enters the bungalow in even numbers, they will leave the house in an odd number
- Photographers who take pictures in Villa Nabila capture “uninvited guests”.
- Large groups of people who enter the villa don’t come out
#6: Mona Fandey and her “Aeroplane” House
Left, “Dukun” Actress Umie Aida; Right, Real Life Mona Fandey
If the name Mona Fandey rings a bell, it’s because she’s been turned into a household Urban Legend.
Nur Maznah Binti Ismail or Muna Fandey became infamous for being a bomoh and for killing a politician named Mazlan Idris. This case turned into one of the most high-profile murder cases in Malaysia.
What’s Mona Fandey’s Aeroplan House?
Hole where Mazlan Idris’ chopped body parts were buried
When Mona Fandey died, she left 2 mansions that eventually became abandoned. Many say that one of her mansions, the Aeroplane Bungalow in Cheras still retained the black magic that Fandey and her husband were practicing when they were still alive.
Some Malaysians advice that it’s best to go there in groups, and that there should be more boys than girls.
Scared? You should be. But if Malaysia True Scary Ghost Stories aren’t scaring you enough, you can check our list of 8 Terrifying Malaysian Horror Movies!
