The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month according to the Chinese calendar (lunisolar calendar). The entire month in general is regarded as the Ghost month (鬼月), but the 13th day of this month is called Ghost Day. The followers believe this is a time which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from "hell" to visit the living. I still remember my grandmother warning me to behave especially during this month as there are many spirits wandering around! What a fearsome threat!

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This is a performer who is part of a troop of artists who put up a traditional Hokkien show to entertain the many spirits who roam the earth during this month.

They will pray/chant and offer food and other things to the hungry ghosts, so they will have what they need to survive and move on to their next life. Here in Singapore, we sometimes see offerings and joss sticks at road junctions as believers appease the ghosts there to watch over their children and their partners as they use that crossing daily on their journey to school or work.

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This is a time where we have to literally watch where we are walking as devotees offer their incense and food along the pavement as well.

Food offerings to the hungry ghosts.

Hungry ghosts also appear in Chinese ancestor worship 鬼法界, 鬼界 is "the realm of hungry ghosts". Some Chinese believe that the ghosts of their ancestors return to their houses at a certain time of the year, hungry and ready to eat.

A festival is held to honor the hungry ancestor ghosts and food and drink is put out to satisfy their needs.

More food offerings prepared in a temple.

When Buddhism entered China, it encountered stiff opposition from the Confucian adherents to ancestor worship. Under these pressures, ancestor worship was combined with the Hindu/Buddhist concept of the hungry ghost. Eventually, the Hungry Ghost Festival became an important part of Chinese Buddhist life.

Monks chanting prayers outside the temple.

I remember as a child I visited Haw Par Villa in Singapore, where they showed the Ten Courts of Hell. My goodness, I was a well behaved child for a very long time after that!!

Believers burning "hell money" outside a parking lot in Singapore.

In a Chinese funeral, they burn many Hell Bank Notes for the dead. With this Hell money, the dead person can bribe the ruler of Hell, and spend the rest of the money either in Hell or in Heaven. There is a belief that once the dead person runs out of Hell money, and if he does not receive more, he will be eternally poor.

A Chinese glazed earthenware sculpture of "Hell's torturer," 16th century, Ming Dynasty.

A hot Naraka, one of the Buddhist Hells.

Singapore is unique in that the rituals are brought to life throughout the entire seventh lunar month. At the same time, the immigrants in Singapore have brought their own native rituals to the small island nation where the hungry-ghost month still thrives.

These are giant sized joss sticks burnt as offerings for the hungry ghosts.

These are papier-mache forms of material items to be burnt so that the loved ones can enjoy these comforts in their world.

This is The only month that the "hell gates" are opened for all ghosts to receive food and drinks as well as all other forms of offerings burnt for them.

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When driving by Red Deer on Highway #2 you would not expect that it is cultured or has major public works of art. In fact you may think all Red Deer has to offer is fast food restaurants, gas stations, and RV sales lots. This is because Red Deer's city planners, to avoid downtown congestion, created an area called Gasoline Alley. This strip effectively keeps Highway traffic out of its' downtown area. However, if you take the time to venture into downtown Red Deer there is a thriving cultural community and the city has invested in public works of art.

What I refer to are the statues affectionately referred to as The Ghosts of Red Deer. These incredibly well detailed, life size, sculptures are scattered throughout down town Red Deer. All these ghosts are of real people, with a couple of exceptions, which are real animals. There are plaques explaining the stories behind the statues.

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The first Ghost I saw was an older gentleman sitting on a bench downtown, he had a briefcase and was remarkably well done, I admired the sculpture, but until I saw another, I had not realized that this was a special feature in the city. I soon discovered many more. I have not included a photo of this chap, you will have to discover him for yourself.

There are two sculptures that I was especially drawn to, one because of its magnificent size, attention to detail in an action pose, and the other because of the story behind it.

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The Ghost of a horse drawn fire wagon is truly impressive. The expression on the horses as well as the two human figures is very strong. No question about it, this is an intense moment caught in time. It is the largest Ghost Sculpture, complete with two frightened horses, one driver in the fire wagon, and a man who is trying to control the horses. A rein has broke and they are loosing control of the team, who typically are used to charging full speed to the fire.

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Francis the Pig is my other favorite. This little guy made an escape on route to the slaughter yard, he evaded capture for quite some time. During this time Francis made himself a town celebrity and earned this statue from his days on the run.

All in all, seeing these lovely works of art, in an unexpected location gave me quite an thrill. Red Deer is about one hour north of Calgary, and one and a half hours south of Edmonton, should you find yourself passing through Red Deer, I suggest you turn off the highway, and go into the downtown area and look for these ghosts yourself. Bring a camera.

Athens Asylum building (Athens, Ohio)

In 1873, the Athens Lunatic Asylum building was built. Lobotomies, electro shock therapy, and other trial treatments were performed on the patients here. Purchased by the University of Ohio, the hospital was closed in 1979 but the building still stands today and is called the Ridges building. It is rumored to be haunted by ghost and other unexplained phenomena.

One particularly haunting aspect of the Ridges is the famous stain. On December 1st, 1978, a 54 year old female patient named Margaret Schilling disappeared. She was found dead six weeks later on January 12th, 1979 in a seldom used part of the hospital on the top floor of ward N-20. After removing her body, her outline appeared impressed on the floor, revealing even her hairstyle and folds of her clothing. Its appearance is not scientifically impossible, because it may have been caused by the decomposition of her body in reaction with direct sunlight from the window. But the stain was repeatedly cleaned, and always reappears, and can still be seen today. Some say the ghost of Margaret Schilling and others who have died in the hospital wander the halls at night.

In 1981, a female college student visited the Athens Lunatic Asylum building. After a short stay, something scared her and she quickly left. That same night, for reasons still unknown, that female student killed herself in her dorm room at Wilson's Hall.

Strange things have been reported happening here by many people for many years now.

Hannings Cemetery (Athens, Ohio)

One of the five cemeteries of Athens Mental Health Center ,Hannings Cemetery was called the thirteenth most haunted place in the world by the British Society for Psychical Research. Frequent sightings of a phantom man wearing a dark hood and robe and holding a sickle have been seen in various parts of the cemetery. Some people have even claimed being chased out of Hanning cemetery by the evil hooded spirit.

Mansfield Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio)

The Mansfield Reformatory, (also known as the Ohio State Reformatory) is a historic prison located at 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield, Ohio, USA. The Reformatory was built between 1886 and 1910 by architect Levi T. Scofield.

The prison was designed in Romanesque Revival style to look like the old world castles and cathedrals in Germany. It was built on the site of a former Civil War camp, Camp Mordecai Bartley. It is also known for having the world's tallest free-standing, steel cell block, at six tiers high.

On September 17th, 1896 the first 150 inmates were brought to the prison. By the early 1930's the prison was extremely overcrowded and outdated. It wasn't until the 1980's that Mansfield Reformatory was deemed unfit to serve as a prison. The state officially stopped using it as a prison in December of 1990.

The Mansfield Reformatory has an incredible list of haunted tales that are part of its long history, probably because over 200 people died within the walls of the prison. Many were murdered, others committed suicide, and a few guards were even killed during a few escape attempts.

From 1935 until 1959 Arthur Lewis Glattke was the prisons Superintendent. Glattke's wife, Helen Bauer Glattke, died three days following an accident in November 1950 when a handgun discharged as she was reaching into a jewelry box. Rumors have it that the warden actually murdered his wife and a huge cover up ensued. Warden Glattke died following a heart attack suffered in his office on February 10th, 1959.

The Mansfield Reformatory is supposedly haunted with several paranormal "hotspots" such as the two chapels, the area around the warden's office, the infirmary, and the solitary confinement area. The cell that is marked with an "X" has also been reported to have unusual activity in it. The ghosts of both warden Glattke and his wife Helen are reported to haunt the reformatory's east administration building. Many orbs and mists have been photographed in the administrative wing over the years. Visitors to this wing have felt cold air spots while wandering its halls and have complained of camera malfunctions as well. The sound of slamming cell doors and someone running through the halls have been reported. Almost every visitor feels as though they are being watched from many of the cells. The Chapel is also an area of high paranormal activity. Orbs, mists, equipment failures, and mysterious shadows are just some of the strange events that occur here. Some people believe that the Chapel was used as an execution chamber before being converted into a place of worship.

The facility gained fame when it served as Shawshank State Prison in the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The prison today is a museum and tours and ghost hunts are offered during the summer months only.

Wilson Hall - Ohio University (Athens, Ohio)

Viewed from a map, the five cemeteries of Athens Mental Health Center form the perfect shape of a pentagram. Eerie coincidence but right in the middle of the shape sits Wilson Hall, an Ohio University building that opened in 1964. It was built on the same land as an original graveyard used by the asylum, and is the site of several reported paranormal occurrences.

Room 428, in particular, has had reports of objects flying off shelves, doors opening and closing of their own volition, toilets flushing, and sights of the ghost of a student who died in the room.

Wright Patterson Air Force Base (Dayton, Ohio)

Wright Patterson Air Force Base is located in Dayton, Ohio, on 1100 Spaatz Street. It is the oldest and biggest aviation museum in the world. It contains an awesome huge collection of aircraft and war memorabilia inside of 5 very big galleries all connected to each other by hallways.

All 5 galleries are interesting and very educational as well. The first "The Early Flight Years Gallery" contains alot of old planes from the 1920's and 1930's and stories about military flight before World War 2. The second gallery is the "Air Power Gallery". It contains a collection of uniforms from all of the services, heroes, and campaigns the United States has been in. It also has alot of planes from World War 2 and this gallery also features a number of different exhibits and artifacts that would take forever to mention all of them. In the third gallery, "the Modern Fight Gallery", a B-52 Bomber is on display, along with alot of other planes as well. A few Helicopters can also be seen here. The next gallery is "The Cold War Gallery". This gallery is a 2 hangar setup with all the planes used by our Air Force in that era. This gallery’s aircraft collection shows a wide variety of aircraft, such as fighters, long-range bombers, attack aircraft, reconnaissance air craft, heavy airlift and trainers, plus more. One modern aircraft on display here is the world’s only permanent public display of a B-2 stealth bomber. Another interesting thing here in this gallery is a section of the Berlin Wall from Germany on display. The last gallery is the "Missile & Space Gallery". The Challenger Space Shuttle is up on display here as well as a number of different missiles. Space modules used in the Apollo program is also on exhibit here.

With so many historic items on display here, its no wonder that the Wright Patterson Air Force Base is believed by many to be haunted by a number of spirits. Some believe that the old Air Force relics and planes on display at the museum attract the spirits of crew members killed in action or accidents. Janitors and guards have reported paranormal occurrences taking place here at the base such as moving objects, unexplainable voices, actual apparitions, and strange eerie sounds. One janitor actually reported being hit by an unseen apparition. Pilots and crews who loved their planes while alive, still might be attracted to them even after they are dead. WW2 planes "Lady Be Good", "Strawberry Bitch", & "Bockscar" are all rumored to be haunted by ghost here. Two vietnam helicopters are also said to be haunted by spirits, the "Hop-Along" and the "Black Maria".

Recently the TAPS crew, from the TV show Ghost Hunters, did an investigation here. They had a very interesting time and collected some pretty good evidence of the paranormal activity taking place here. In the end they agreed that the air force base is definately haunted by something or someone.

The air force base is open to the public year round. It is free to enter the base but a photo ID is required to get in. Along with your ID, dont forget to wear a pair of comfortable shoes because you'll do alot of walking here.

Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Toronto Islands was first constructed in 1803 and was totally finished and operational by 1809. Local legend states it haunted by the first lighthouse keeper JP Radan Muller. Muller had been murder one misty night by drunken soldiers from Fort York looking for bootleg beer. The soldiers had cut Muller up and buried his body somewhere on the beach. The soldiers where charged but later acquitted. In 1893 a coffin was found buried on the beach with a jaw bone still inside it but it has never been known if it ever belong to Muller. The lighthouse since time is no longer on the shore line since the sand has built up, but lies 100 meters inland. Its not being used and is boarded up but people say on misty nights you can hear a mans voice moaning and even some people have reported ghostly figures roaming the grounds.

Screaming Tunnel

The “Screaming Tunnel” was built by Grand Trunk Railroad in the early 1900’s and is located near Niagara Falls. The tunnel was meant for railroad cars but shortly after finishing the structure World War 1 had begun and GTR went bankrupt never finishing laying tracks in the tunnel. Now there’s 2 different legends but both basically have the same story line. First legend is said that a little girls parents where separating and her father take hers down by the tunnel and buried her alive. Second legend involves the little girls parents fighting over her and somehow the house catches fires. Well the little girls ends up getting set ablaze as well and runs down to the tunnel. As she runs through the tunnel screaming for help she eventually falls in the middle and dies. Anyways legend has it if you enter the tunnel and stand in the middle and light a match, something will blow it out and you should be able to hear screams in the distance. Horrible story but makes a great ghost legend.

By Town Museum

The By Town Museum was built in 1827 in Ottawa Ontario. The building was used as storage and treasury during construction of the Rideau Canal. The building is located at the entrance locks of the Rideau Canal and is the oldest surviving stone building in Ottawa with 2 feet thick stone walls. It officially became the By Town Museum in 1951. There is said to be a few different ghost haunting this museum. One of the people that is suppose to be haunting the museum is the builder of the Canal “Colonel John By” and another is his assistant “General Dunan Mc Nab”. Staff at the museum over the years have reported strange events like TV’s turning on and off, lights staying on after being turned off, strange messages appear on computer screens when no one is in the room, voices of men yelling and even some angry voices saying “Get Out”. Some visitors mostly women to the museum have reported being pushed hard but no one is in the room, while other have heard children crying in the doll exhibit and seen dolls wink and move. Even to date this is suppose to be one of the most active haunted places in Canada.

Peterborough Lift Lock

Known at one time as one of the largest lift locks in the world, Peterborough Lift Lock has it ghost tails. The lift lock construction began in 1896 and finished in 1904 and officially opened to boating on July 9, 1904. Many died while building the pylons for it and many died after from suicides off it. It is said that many ghost roam the labyrinth of underground tunnels within the lift lock. Even Creepy Canada has done a TV show on it. I live here in Peterborough and there is a visitors tour of the inside of the lift lock. Legend has it that all the deaths surrounding the Lift Lock is due to an innocent woman who was burnt as a witch in the early 1840’s here in Peterborough. This Lift Lock is still fully functionally today and still known to be extremely haunted.

Skeleton Park “Mc Burney Park”

Back in 1813 to 1865 this park was known as Kingston’s Upper Cemetery. What this was, was a mass cemetery/grave site containing more then 100,000 bodies which all died from contagious epidemics. In 1894 Municipal government tried to remove the remains but many locals objected due to fear that contagious diseases might start again if dug up. The cemetery was transformed into Frontenac Park in 1895 and then became what it is known as today “Mc Burney Park” in 1965. It is said that over the years many different remains have surfaced through out the park thus giving it the nickname “Skeleton Park”.