Ghost Story In Bali - Ubud

I moved to Bali Island, the Island of Gods, just about two months ago.

If you have ever read my other stories, you'd know that I lived in China until recently. Last July I graduated, and the company had difficulties giving working visa for a new graduate like me due to new regulations, etc (China is making life exceedingly difficult for us foreigners). I was forced to go back home.

So I choose Bali. I have always been fascinated by spiritual things and stories, and Bali, well, you know, is a very spiritual island. Balinese people always say that every inch of land in this island is a sacred land, and every feet of the land has spirits. That is very true.

In the middle of July I arrived at Ubud. A small, very spiritual city in the middle of Bali where every house provided small offerings everyday, Hindu ceremony happened almost everyday, and there were still many small roads without lights and houses located between forestry and shrubberies.

My boarding house was located on a small lane. It had two or three several houses near, but in front of and on the left side of the boarding house was either paddy field, thick shrubberies, or untouched forest. No lamplights to light the road at nights, and in the middle of the night, you could hear crickets and sometimes, the nearby cocks screamed cock-a-doodle-do aloud. People said when cocks sounded in the middle of the night instead of at sunrise, they told you spirits were near.

No need to mention I didn't have the courage to venture out after sunset.

One particular night, I was lying on my bed, calling my close friend who lived in Kuta, near the famous Kuta Beach, and he tried to persuade me to move to Kuta or somewhere around Denpasar, not cooped up alone in the middle of a forest.

All of a sudden, the cocks nearby started screaming, one after another, and even the dogs were howling like wolves. It was a night of full moon (remember the middle of July?), but I wasn't really that scared because I was on the phone. Note that my room had very modest furniture, only a bed and a standing fan. No drawers, cabinet, TV, not even an air conditioner. No place to hide.

I started freaking out when the only light in my room went off. There was a small bathroom in the corner of my room, and I could see the light from inside, indicating the bathroom's door was opened, except that I was a hundred percent sure I closed the door before. I always did that before lying on the bed since I was afraid, you know, that if the door was opened something might creep out of the bathroom.

Now the door was opened and the light was on. If it was electricity problem, shouldn't the whole house be dark? I just changed the light in my room to a new white lamp (bought two days before) since the original lamp was yellow and dim. No way it could broke so quickly.

I told my friend the condition and very sure he could hear the freaking out tone in my voice, but he still tried to soothe me, telling me to try clicking on the light switch. I did that in a panic -- couldn't think anymore and just do whatever I was told -- and the light was on again. My friend said, "See? It ain't a ghost."

He didn't soothe me one bit because the lights turned on when I clicked the switch -- meaning something clicked it off while I was lying on my bed, not seeing anything. I clicked the switch several times and it worked normally.

So who turned the light off without me seeing it?