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Thailand Haunting: Nang Naak’s Shrine
There is a particular site in Bangkok where the throngs of people and the thick sweet scent of incense assault your senses and give you the first indication that you are approaching a highly venerated site. In the grounds surrounding the shrine every tree has been tied with brightly colored ribbon, an offering to the spirits the Thai people believe reside in ancient trees. Inside, the shrine is piled high with gifts: flowers, food, and even women’s dresses and cosmetics. In another section, children’s clothing and toys are neatly stacked. The shrine is dedicated to Thailand’s most feared and revered spirit, that of the young bride, Nang Naak. There is much disagreement in Thailand about the factual details of the life of Nang Naak, also known by her original name, Mae Naak. Most believe that she was born in the second half of the nineteenth century, in either Bangkok or Ayutthaya. When she was a beautiful teenager, she met and fell in love with a handsome young man named Nai Maak. His family was poorer and of a lower social status than hers, and her father was incensed when the young couple announced their love for each other, but eventually he agreed to give his consent. Their happiness was not to last long. Early in their married life, Nai Maak was conscripted to join the Thai army in the war against Cambodia. Desperately unhappy about his fate. Nai Maak had no choice but to go, leaving his young wife and their unborn child behind in Bangkok. Nang Naak was never to have her longed for reunion with her husband-at least not during her lifetime. After a long, agonizing labor, Nang Naak and her baby died, leaving her family devastated. Nai Maak, still fighting for his country in Cambodia, had no knowledge of what he would have to face upon his return home. In Thai culture, the spirits of the deceased whose lives have been cut short may return to haunt the living if the body is cremated. Therefore, in keeping with these beliefs, Nang Naak’s body was buried very quickly after her death. But so strong was her devotion to her husband that her spirit refused to lay still in the grave. When Nai Maak returned home from Cambodia, he saw exactly what he had longed for: his wife and child sitting at home, awaiting his return. His family knew the spirit of Nang Naak was not allowing her husband to see the new turn his life had taken during his absence. They vainly struggled to make his aware of the horrible truth. Then one day the grim reality was finally revealed to Nai Maak in a most macabre way. The couple’s house was a traditional Thai stilt house: Nang Naak dropped a lime, which fell through the slatted floorboards to the space beneath. Nai Maak watched in horror as Nang Maak reached for the lime, her hands slipping straight through the solid wood of the floorboards as if through water. Nai Maak was finally able to see what his family had know all along. He fled from the specters of his dead wife and child in terror. The spirit of Nang Naak was deeply hurt by her husband’s horrified departure. The romance of their story now turned irrevocably into horror. Nang Naak pursued Nai Maak wherever he went, and the haunting became increasingly violent. He eventually remarried, but the venom of the spirit intensified and soon the entire village was terrorized by the ghost. Terrified and exhausted, Nai Maak and the villagers turned to a local Buddhist Temple for help. Nai Maak himself moved into the Temple, seeking refuge. The injuries the spirit inflicted continued to escalate, finally reaching a frenzied climax when the ghost killed a friend of Nai Maak’s as he tried to intervene to offer some protection. It took many monks to calm the tortured spirit of Nang Naak. When they finally succeeded, her body was reinterred, after the monks had first removed a piece of her skull. But the story didn’t end there. Sightings of Nang Naak’s ghost continue all over Thailand to this day. In some stories she is described as a guardian angel, and young mothers recite a plea to Nang Naak to soothe their crying infants. She is also regarded by many young Thai as their protector against military conscription, which in Thailand is decided by lottery. Those wishing to avoid military conscription visit her shrine with gifts, hoping she will influence the lottery and prevent their call-up. And when the spirit of Nang Naak informed one medium that she would like to be allowed to watch television, two TV sets were instantly donated to her shrine, one of which remains on from morning till evening, everyday. In many other sightings, Nang Naak remains a menacing spirit. In recent years, the extreme fear that Nang Naak’s ghost still commands in Thailand was brought under public scrutiny. The Thai press reported a story from Ayutthaya. A young couple in the city had committed suicide by hanging themselves. Their bodies were discovered together; the woman had been six months pregnant. In her suicide note, the woman had requested that both their bodies be cremated. Two local temples refused to carry out the dead woman’s wishes, terrified of the paranormal repercussions if they did so. The parallels with NangNaak were felt to be so strong that finally a surgeon was called upon to remove the body of the baby from its mother’s womb before burial.
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May, 2012
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