PHOTOGRAPHER Haris Ibrahim and I arrived at the village graveyard about 11pm on Sunday night.
Under the full moon, I saw several villagers gathered nearby.
While waiting for the ghost to make an appearance, I chatted with some of the villagers who had also come there to check out the stories or to relate their accounts to curious people who have been visiting the village.
One villager said the ghost, which was that of a murdered woman, was not in the grave but sat on a rubber tree nearby.
Another said the haunting was caused by the bloodsucker langsuir, which according to Malay folklore, is the ghost of a woman who died while giving birth.
Another villager said the ghost had been haunting the area for the past month while yet another said it had been in the area for almost a year!
"We should have brought popcorn," said Haris as the hour neared midnight.
Moments later, the area saw more arrivals and soon became crowded with outsiders, including mat rempits (illegal motorcycle racers).
The locals were happy to share their stories with the visitors.
As Haris took a few shots of the crowd, I wondered about the wailing sounds the villagers had talked about.
About 12.30am, everyone was silenced by a distant noise. It seemed as if someone was wailing.
As the sound echoed, some of those present froze.
But seconds later, it was pointed out by some of the locals that the sound was actually from a futsal hall about 500 metres away, where people would come and play indoor soccer every night.
Could the sounds emanating from the stalls have triggered the stories about the wailing and a ghost? Some of the villagers, of course, dismissed this suggestion.
The curious crowd waited for another hour-and-a-half but there was no sign of a ghost. By 2am, everyone, including us, decided to return home.
If there was a ghost, it had probably decided to stay silent. But, after sitting there for three hours and talking to the villagers, I am sceptical.
My conclusion is that people are easily swayed by rumours about the supernatural.
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