Halloween in Hue

Hue is one of the oldest cities in Vietnam. Located in the central region, it once served as the capital during the Nguyen dynasty (that is why that Vietnamese last name is so popular). Throughout the day the peaceful character of the city became more and more apparent. The honks of big city horns could not be found on the streets and the hospitality of the Hue people left the already hospitable culture of the rest of Vietnam wanting. It is hardly believable that such a serene city was once the setting for so much war and violence. Many local residents believe they live among the souls lost in these wars. These are the ghosts of those who lost their lives during the Tet offensive, the massacre at Hue or other unfortunate events.

Spending Halloween in Hue was one of the most thrilling, scary and enjoyable experiences I have had yet. October 31st also happened to fall on a Buddhist holiday (for lack of a better term). Ram, occurs twice every lunar month. On this day Buddhist believers will set up beautiful and some times quite elaborate altars to offer food, drinks even cigarettes to the spirits. Incenses and candles are often lit to help souls find their way.

On this particular Saturday night, the sparse gray clouds hung by the nearly full moon as if framing it for the perfect picture shot. The air was crisper than usual and the slight breeze was just enough to give me goose bumps. After our wonderful Hue hosts bid us farewell and the fading Mark returned to the hotel room, Tam and I decided to wander the streets.

Over the last few weeks, Tam has become somewhat obsessed the existence of ghosts and the stories that accompany them. Why? A few weeks ago, during her last visit to Hue, she had an interesting experience with a hotel room and la boas. La boas are leaves that are traditionally hung to ward off evil or restless spirits. The room she had rented with her friends had 3 in one room, nearly unheard of. One was hung over the door with a picture of Buddha, the one opposite the bed had a depiction of a man holding a knife and the last one hung over the bed with a picture of a young woman but to the left side. What struck Tam the most was why the one of the bed was off to one side? She figured, why not ask the locals? So she did. The stories varied between creepy eerie and sick crazy scary. The creepiest one was that a woman was stabbed and murdered by her lover and was left there to be discovered by the housemaid 3 days later.

As we went from shop to shop, Tam asked the shop owners for their ghost stories. One of the best conversations we had was with a lady who owned a store on the same street as Tam’s la boa hotel. “On days like this, Ram days, it is not uncommon to see spirits walking around” the woman told us. “But how do we distinguish them from living people?” Tam asked eagerly. “By looking at their feet” the woman answered so completely seriously, “if they don’t have feet or their feet do not touch the ground, you should stay away.” I immediately see Tam’s eyes shoot toward the woman’s feet, then mine then the man standing near the store. “Not ghosts” I suspect was her verdict because she stayed there to hear more.

For the next half hour, we would hear about different stories this woman had heard and even some of her own experiences. Intermingled in the conversation would be warnings like “tie your hair up when you walk back tonight; many of the male ghosts are attracted to long hair. If you don’t, you’ll feel scratches as the spirits try to reach out to you.”

I can’t say that I believe in ghosts, but let me tell you. The look in the eyes of the locals when they told their stories was enough to give me the hibby jibbies. We then made the seemingly long walk back to our hotel jumping at the slightest sounds and checking everyone’s feet as they walked pass us.

Honestly, it was just fun to get caught up in the atmosphere and the culture. Talking to locals and enjoying Halloween in one of the supposedly most haunted cities in the world.