‘Neighbours’ a quiet lot
Rest assured, living next door to a cemetery is very peaceful
GEORGE TOWN: With the Hungry Ghost Festival coming up later this month, the spotlight falls once again on families living within the cemetery grounds who have built their lives among the dead for several decades.
A resident, who wished to be known as Lee, 57, said she and her brother’s family have been living next to a cemetery at Mount Erskine for the past 30 years.
Lee, who collects recyclable items to be sold, said she was initially sceptical of moving there.
However, she has not faced any problems or experienced scary encounters in the decades she’s lived there.
“I was living at Hong Kong Lane in the heart of George Town.
“However, when the rent increased, my friend suggested I look for a place nearby and I had no choice but to move here.
“In the beginning, I was only thinking about having a roof over my head and had not planned on staying long. That was over 30 years ago,” she added.
Lee is thankful as she has not experienced anything unpleasant while staying here.
“I don’t think much about the dead, but to keep myself protected and to feel safer, I wear a talisman,” she said, adding that she would continue living there for as long as she could.
“It is really peaceful and quiet here especially at night,” she said.
Lee once recalled how a taxi driver refused to drop her off at her doorstep, which was with the cemetery grounds.
“It was after midnight and I had just arrived in Penang after a long journey.
“The taxi driver stopped at the entrance of the cemetery and I had to drag my luggage up a slope to reach my house.
“It was the longest 20 minutes of my life,” she quipped.
“I was scared of both the dead and the living as I was worried of getting robbed as it was very late at night and I was also paranoid of the tombs around me.
“Although sometimes our pet dogs bark at night, our ‘friends’ have so far not disturbed us.”
The Hungry Ghost Festival is held every year during the seventh month in the lunar calendar. It falls on Aug 22 this year.
Lee lamented about the traffic jams leading to her house during the Hungry Ghost Festival in the past.
“However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, people have chosen to pray for their departed loved ones at home,” she added.
Mount Erskine is located at the northeastern part of Penang island.
The cemeteries in the area date back to the early 19th century and are managed by the United Hokkien Cemetery and Kwangtung and Tengchew associations.
Known as Pek Hoon Sua in Hokkien, there are families living within the cemetery grounds for several decades now.
Retired policeman Tony Anthony, 70, who recently moved into a house opposite the cemetery, said he enjoyed the peace and quiet there.
“I have been staying here for the past one year and I have not encountered any experiences with the supernatural.
“I usually spend my mornings cleaning my compound and taking care of my chickens.
“I used to stay in Ayer Itam before shifting here. This place is calmer compared to my old area.
“Since I stay near the hillside, it is very cool in the mornings,” he said.
Tony believes that as long as his intentions are pure and good, he has nothing to be afraid of.
“We must not say anything bad about the dead.
“If our mind is pure and clean, the dead will not come and disturb us,” he said.