My Pulau Ubin Ghost Stories

I have told this story to many people, some believe, some just thought it was faked. Well, whether you want to believe or not is your own problem, not mine. This story is just to warn you about the danger present at an island call Pulau Ubin. Do not wander there alone, especially during the moonless night. A lot of news was reported about people drowning at abandon quarry, fishpond and mangroves swamp even at broad daylight especially during a certain month, which we call the Hungry Ghost Festival. The whole story is broken into three parts, The Beginning which was an encounter by my friend, which led me to the Actual Event and the Grand Finale. Just be patient with me, as all good stories seem to be extremely long winded. Once there was a short story competition, the contestants have to include Religion, Sex, Royalty and Mystery in their story. In the end, the winning entry was: “Oh my God! I am pregnant.” The Queen said, “I wonder who did it?” Get the joke? I don’t think you would like to read a story like that, right? So bear with me, if you want to read a good story, you must have the patient. It takes time for me to type the whole story out, especially when I have to do it in the middle of the night when I can’t seem to get any sleep.

How it all begins? It happen long time ago, it all started with a friend named AK. AK was an Officer Cadet of the NPCC during our Secondary School time; we become the best of friends due to our interest in adventure sports. During the third year of our study, he was responsible for the planning of a Recruits Training Camp at their NPCC Camp Site at Kg Mamam, Pulau Ubin. As usual, the itinerary for the first night is the famous Night Walk around the island without any source of light; it is to test the courage of the new recruits, if you can over come your fear, you can over come anything in your life.

Before they set off from the Camp Site, AK already gives specific instruction to the recruits to wear T-Shirt, Short and Running Shoe, no source of light in any form were allow. They set off from the Camp Site as the sun set to the west and the darkness of the night slowly covers the environment that surround them. They head south toward the mangrove swamp, after walking for some distance they head west. They continue their Night Walk in that direction for some distance before they head north to enter a rubber plantation at Kg Bahru. Just east of that plantation is their Camp Site; every thing will be over in a couple of minutes.

Just then, AK heard the noise of some one walking on a pair of slipper, he stop the whole group. Piss off by the fact that one of the recruits had defied his direct orders; he on his flashlight checking on every pair of feet determines to find the culprit. He manage to locate it after some time, he shine his flashlight upward and found that the recruit was wearing Singlet instead of T-Shirt. He got even more piss off and was prepare to give harsh punishment to that recruit for disobeying his orders. As he shines his flashlight upward to see the face, he realized that he could not shout out the name of that recruit.

He pauses to think what was the reason for his doubt. Just as he blinks his eyes, that guy was gone right before his eyes. He then realized that that guy actually didn’t have any head above his shoulder. He was shock, but that was not the end. He saw two green fireballs heading at high speed coming their way at a distance not far from them. He shouted: “Take cover!” and all of them dash flat to the ground. The two fireballs went pass them and he immediately shout for all the recruits to run back to the Camp Site.

AK could not believe what had happen that night; he doesn’t dare to ask any of the recruits whether anyone of them saw the same thing as what he saw. They might think that he is crazy, so it is better for them to think that as part of the training plans. He went back to the rubber plantation at Kg Bahru the next morning. There he met up with the owner of the plantation, the owner was burning some garbage that he had collected all over the plantation. AK approach the owner, trying to start a conversation so that he can find out some information that will help him understand his encounter last night. He didn’t find out much about his encounter, but to his surprise he manage to hear another weird incident that happen in this plantation few years back.

NCC girls have conducted a Recruit Training Camp at this rubber plantation few years back. A female Sergeant was missing on the second day morning. Police were call in for the investigation. After much questioning, two female recruits who setup their tent near the well have claim that they saw the female Sergeant taking a bath near the well at around midnight. Police suspected that she have fell inside the well by accident, divers were sent down to recover the body. After much search, the body could not be located. The search was call off and the female Sergeant was file as another missing person. The owner claimed that the color of the well water would turn into blood red in color on the same day every year.

AK told me about the two incidents after he came back from Pulau Ubin and I didn’t believe it at all. He challenges me to go there to experience it for myself, so we prepare for everything and went there during our next school holidays. I thought it would be a better idea to see the well during the day just to play it safe. Why me? Because I am the only friend he can trust. That is not the main reason, the main reason is that I have the ability to see some stuff other people couldn’t see. Not directly, but only through the corner of my eyes. Sometimes when I am doing my homework in the hall, I would see someone walking into the kitchen. I thought it was my mom or one of my aunties, but when I went there to fix myself a drink, I realized that I am alone in the house.

Everything was set; we begin our journey into the twilight zone. It was a beautiful morning; we arrived at the jetty at around 1000 hrs. Before noon, we were already there, Kg Bahru rubber plantation, in front of the Haunted Well which the owner had fence up. Nothing seems to be wrong; I could not sense any forces of evil anywhere near the well. I turn my head back, wanted to laugh at AK for his paranoid behaviors. Just then something caught my attention.

There is a Toilet Bathroom beside the well; I saw a white shadow staring at me at the dark corner through the corner of my eyes. I was shock for a moment, AK seem to notice something wrong from my sudden reaction. He ask me what was wrong, I just told him not to ask any more stupid questions and get the hell out of there fast.

We ran out of that rubber plantation, if that thing is able to appear during broad daylight, it must be very powerful indeed. We head east toward Kg Mamam, pass the NPCC Camp Site and continue our way toward Kg Che Jevah. We have know that island very well, as we have been trekking and camping there almost every school holidays since we become friend. Along the way, every household that owns a dog seems to bark fiercely at us. AK was afraid of dogs, he start chopping branches to clear the way in front as we ran. Suddenly he stop, I was unable to hold my pace and bang hard against him. I ask him: “What had happen?” He replies me with another question: “What is the color of latex?” “White!” I answered. “Then can you explain to me why this rubber is dripping with red latex after I made a cut on the bark?” He asked. I look over his shoulder; I saw the red latex dripping from the rubber tree like blood flowing out from a wound!

“We don’t have time for this, we have to get out of here fast!” I said. We were at another rubber plantation around Kg Che Jevah area; there are three roads in front of us. We knew that the middle one will led us back to the jetty, but we end up coming back to that rubber plantation. “Maybe we should take the right track.” Said AK. We still end up back at the same rubber plantation. “Let’s try the left one.” I suggested. In the end, still the same, we couldn’t seem to walk out of that rubber plantation. “According to the map, the center track should led us north toward the Quarry near Tg Balai and further west back to the main road.” I said, “Maybe the road have change, and our map was not updated.”

AK got angry, “Do you know how to read the map properly?” He stretches his hands towards me to snatch the map from me. His middle finger of his right hand was cut by my knife, which I was holding under the map. “Help! I felt something sucking my blood!” He said. I was terrified; I quickly tear a piece of paper from the map and draw a Tai Chi logo with a pen. I place the paper over the wound and tie it up with a nylon string. The feeling of something sucking his blood is gone, and we decide to get out of there as soon as possible.

We manage to find our way to the main road, we were heading our way toward the jetty, and we have to get out of that island fast. AK claim that the feeling came back again when we pass by a cemetery. At last, we found ourselves at the town area near the jetty. We were tired and hungry, so we decided to rest for a while and have dinner at one of the coffee shop there. After dinner, I decided to open up the piece of paper to inspect the wound. The bleeding had stop, but to my horror his blood form on the piece of paper a shape that represent rubber plantation according to the legend of the map. I asked him to keep it inside his wallet; we shall find a temple and burn it after we went back to main land Singapore.

As AK and I were getting onto the boat, he trip and fell, his wallet fell into the water. Nothing else was lost, other than the wallet that holds that piece of paper, which had his blood forming a shape of a rubber tree. We never did dare to go back to that island until one year later.

Finally, after the long wait, all good things must come to an end. Maybe some of you might think that the story doesn’t end here, maybe some of you might have something to add on to this encounter in time to come. But to me, it had to end here, because I don’t think I would be able to handle any more of this if it is going to continue haunting me for the rest of my life. Maybe telling the story will prevent others from making the same mistake, maybe it would help to save innocent lives, or maybe it would help me to overcome my fear. Too many maybe, the future is not for us to see, who know?

It’s been one year since the last incident, AK and I thought it’s about time for us to go back to face our greatest fear. If you can’t run away from it, why not turn your back around and fight it? We prepare for our next trip into our darkest fear.

My mom had prepared some baby potatoes for us to barbeque for dinner that night. Yes, we have decided to spend our night there, at the rubber plantation in Kg Bahru, we are going to sleep beside the well, we are going to fight our fear.

We set off in the afternoon, by sunset we have reach the plantation. AK starts setting up our campsite while I bake the potatoes. Two overhead shelters were setup above our hammocks with waterproof ground sheet. By the time AK finish setting it up, my potatoes were ready to eat. I put eight potatoes in each mess tin and pass one of it to AK; we start eating our dinner for that night.

AK was bigger in size than me, he always finish his food much faster than me. After I finished my share, I saw him still struggling with his share. “Why? AK, got sore mouth is it, why are you taking so long to finish your potatoes?” I joked. “You have given me so much, how am I suppose to finish?” He said. “What are you talking about? I only give you eight of them only.” I said. “Eight? I have already ate twelve of them and I still got eight more inside here!” AK said as he shows me his mess tin. Believe me, I really couldn’t believe my eyes too when I saw the eight potatoes still lying inside his mess tin. “I help you finish it.” I said. Do I have a choice? I realized that I have eaten sixteen potatoes before the whole thing come to an end. I didn’t want to ask AK how much more he had ate, he also realized that something is wrong, very wrong. We never say much after that, just want to lie down on our hammocks, get ourselves to sleep and hope that we will be able to forget about the incident the next day morning.

Morning was not as pleasant as we thought. We found ourselves sleeping on the ground; our hammocks had become loose and slide to the ground. “You sure you tie the hammocks properly?” I questioned AK. “You are a light sleeper, you should had felt it and woke up in the middle of the night, right?” AK said. We just pack up everything and get out of there fast.

We brought a package of soft drink each along the way to the jetty; I had finished my drink by the time we reach the mangrove swamp. As you can guess, I had to help AK finish his package of drink. After that incident, I never did go back to that island with AK, not that I never did go back there, just not with AK. I did go back there with other friends or alone, nothing seem to go wrong. Guess the entire incident just surround around AK; everything had come to an end.

Is this an ending? As I have told you before, it is for me at least. If you don’t like the ending, you can always go to that island, that rubber plantation and that well. Maybe you will have some new stories to tell, but never say that I never warn you before, just be very careful when you explore the island, especially on a moonless night.