Ghost Museum - An oddball novelty Museum is different enough to attract tourists looking for an alternative experience. The Museum features exhibits from Malay & Chinese folklore. Located in the UNESCO World Heritage core zone of George Town, Penang Island, Malaysia.
The Travel Weekly Magazine, published a Story in its Postcards from Asia, page with the headline "Afraid of ghosts? Don't be. Come play with them"
The Story is shown below:
"This being the Hungry Ghost month -- the season, the Chinese believe, that supernatural spirits rule the earth -- it seemed appropriate that entrepreneur Desmond (he only goes by that) decided to open the Ghost Museum in George Town, in the Malaysian state of Penang.
When I walked past the museum located on 57 Lebuh Melayu (Malay Street), in the heart of the George Town World Heritage precinct, it had been open barely a month, and Desmond, an affable, cheerful chap, was positioned at the entrance, soliciting customers.
Curious, I stopped. First, let me explain my interest.
Ghosts are a big part of Chinese -- and indeed, Asian -- folklore. I grew up with tales of supernatural beings haunting our earth. And it is during Hungry Ghost month, the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar, that the (Chinese) ghosts are most active.
This is the month that little girls are told not to play with paper dolls (whether this now applies to digital avatars, I don't know), and we were told not to swim in the ocean or walk about cemeteries at night, if that was your kind of nocturnal activity.
Desmond, left, and Ghost Museum supervisor Ryan Leow in George Town, in the Malaysian state of Penang.
We thus grew up fearing ghosts, and to this day, I have girlfriends who will not sleep in hotel rooms without the light on and who refuse to stay in "heritage" properties. The best cocktail stories in Asia are those of ghost hauntings, and I have a bunch of anecdotes collected over the years of my friends' ghostly encounters in hotels.
In fact, when I started thinking about my travel book, I was asked by my publisher if I would consider writing about ghosts and travel because, according to him, the biggest-selling genre of local fiction in Singapore is, yes, ghost stories.
Anyway, back to Desmond, whose idea behind the museum is to change people's perception of ghosts.
"We Chinese and Asians are so scared of them, and I wanted to get people to understand ghosts better so that we don't fear but appreciate them as part of our lives," he said.
He runs five tours, themed around different countries and regions: Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Japan, Egypt and China. He also holds theme dinners around scary encounters and ghoulish props.
When I was there, a family of Chinese tourists was buying tickets, the children clearly excited about the upcoming experience.
A neighbor who lives on the street said he couldn't believe how busy it's been since Desmond's museum opened.
"I always see queues of people lining up to get in," he said.
Perhaps it's the novelty, but I believe this Ghost Museum is different enough to attract tourists looking for an alternative experience.
In this area of George Town, where every shop house has been turned into a cafe, bar, boutique hotel or souvenir shop, there is certainly a dearth of things for families to do at night.
And, there is another trend working in Desmond's favor. In recent years, Halloween parties have also taken Asian cities by storm. Singapore's Night Safari's Halloween theme nights are legendary and attract thousands of revelers looking to be frightened out of their skins.
Maybe I should really get around to writing that book about." Text Source: (
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Museum Facebook page: (
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Entry Fees:
Adult with MyKad: RM18
Children, Senior Citizen & Student with MyKid/MyKad: RM10
Adult without MyKad: RM28
Children, Student & Senior Citizen without MyKid/MyKad: RM16
*Children Below 7 years old free entry"
Days and Hours of Operation:
Mon~Fri 10am-7pm
Sat, Sun & Public Holiday 10am-9pm
Address:
57, Lebuh Melayu, George Town, 10100, Penang, MALAYSIA.
Related Website:
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What is in the collection:
Horror and Myth - Exhibits of all evils and ghosts especially local legends & myths.