# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Ghost Story Marathon!!!



## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Wondering why I never thought this up before! Should've done this during the Halloween season, but oh well~ Recently I came across several stories from my friend's e-mail, and so I thought why not share them with you guys. Kill some time;P These are all in Chinese but I will translate them, one by one. To start off, I will do one story.

WARNING: If you get scared easily then please ignore this and go check out some nice plant/fish pictures!!!

'Who Do You Believe?'
"One year, a group from a mountain-climbing club went to climb a mountain. Amongst the people who were there was a couple who were very madly in love. When the group was at the base of the mountain and were getting ready to tackle the climb, the weather suddenly turned bad. However, not being deterred by the terrible weather, the group stubbornly decided to go up anyway. So they left the girl of the couple in charge of the base. Three days have passed, and still she saw no sign of their return. The girl began to worry. She waited and waited, and thought to herself that maybe the delay of their return was due to the bad weather. Seven days have passed, and finally everyone came back. All returned except her boyfriend. They told her that he had unfortunately died during the first day of the ascent, and that they hurried back on the seventh day to see if his spirit would come back to visit her*. Having told her of this event they surrounded her in a circle. When the clock was nearly midnight her boyfriend suddenly appeared; he was covered full of blood and injuries. Without saying a word he grabbed hold of her and ran out of the circle as fast as he could. The girl was terrified and kept on struggling to free her hands. At this precise moment the boyfriend told her.....'During the first day of the ascent there was an avalanche, and that all but him perished. That he was the sole survivor.' Who do you believe?"


*According to Chinese folklore/tradition, a person's spirit will return to visit his loved ones during his seventh day of passing to bid them farewell.


Paul

.........to be continued


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Wondering why I never thought this up before! Should've done this during the Halloween season, but oh well~ Recently I came across several stories from my friend's e-mail, and so I thought why not share them with you guys. Kill some time;P These are all in Chinese but I will translate them, one by one. To start off, I will do one story.

WARNING: If you get scared easily then please ignore this and go check out some nice plant/fish pictures!!!

'Who Do You Believe?'
"One year, a group from a mountain-climbing club went to climb a mountain. Amongst the people who were there was a couple who were very madly in love. When the group was at the base of the mountain and were getting ready to tackle the climb, the weather suddenly turned bad. However, not being deterred by the terrible weather, the group stubbornly decided to go up anyway. So they left the girl of the couple in charge of the base. Three days have passed, and still she saw no sign of their return. The girl began to worry. She waited and waited, and thought to herself that maybe the delay of their return was due to the bad weather. Seven days have passed, and finally everyone came back. All returned except her boyfriend. They told her that he had unfortunately died during the first day of the ascent, and that they hurried back on the seventh day to see if his spirit would come back to visit her*. Having told her of this event they surrounded her in a circle. When the clock was nearly midnight her boyfriend suddenly appeared; he was covered full of blood and injuries. Without saying a word he grabbed hold of her and ran out of the circle as fast as he could. The girl was terrified and kept on struggling to free her hands. At this precise moment the boyfriend told her.....'During the first day of the ascent there was an avalanche, and that all but him perished. That he was the sole survivor.' Who do you believe?"


*According to Chinese folklore/tradition, a person's spirit will return to visit his loved ones during his seventh day of passing to bid them farewell.


Paul

.........to be continued


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## imported_pineapple (Apr 28, 2004)

好故事，老朋友. (Good story, old friend).

You should think of 'translating' some Chinese lore into aquascape designs. That is where I think a great advance will come in this art.

Andrew Cribb


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

I will try doing that, Andrew







BTW, good chinese. How did you learn it?

Part II......................Again, if you get scared easily then go look at some nice plant pictures. Skip this section.

'So Many People???'
One day, a friend of mine went back to his dormitory after class. He punched for the 6th floor as that was the floor he lived on. Very luckily, the elevator came in no time. The elevator was empty so he walked right in. The door closed and the elevator went up. Up, up, up.....When it reached the 4th floor* it suddenly stopped. The door opened. Two people were waiting outside. They peeked in, but didn't step in. So the door closed again. Just right then, my friend clearly heard them say,"Damn! So many people inside!"

...............to be continued.

*In Chinese folklore and superstition, 4 is considered a very bad number. Phonetically, it sounds real close to 'death' in Chinese. That is why, when you go visit certain hospitals in Asia, you will not see a 4th floor; America is 13th floor, I think. I believe the same goes for other buildings. I also remember we discussed this long ago in Aquascaping, regarding rock number placements.


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## imported_pineapple (Apr 28, 2004)

I lived in Dalian, Northern China in the early 80s (大連，遼寧省）and then in Taipei, Taiwan with various trips to Thailand, Hong Kong, and all over China. A long story.

Andrew Cribb


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

If I remember the history correctly, Da Lien was one of many places in northern China that was under Japanese occupation during WWII. I think even now there are still their remnance, including descendants.

My family came from Taichung, Taiwan(which is 3rd largest city in Taiwan, next to Taipei and Kaohsiung). You had one heck of a trip, moving from place to place







It's got to have been an awesome experience!

Paul


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## imported_pineapple (Apr 28, 2004)

Yes, Dalian was part of Manchukuo. I visited many places in the NE, Shenyang, Anshan, Harbin.... much of it was Russian architecture. The history is interesting, the economy, typically heavy industry, iron, steel, coal.

Taichung suffered in that last large quake. Hope all was well with your family. Taiwan has an interesting aquarium community and I am interested in learning more about it - and in China too. Japanese aqua design has had great influence on the development of this art. I am hoping to see some strokes of genius coming from China and Taiwan.

Andrew Cribb


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

It is time for another ghost story; especially suitable in a dark Sunday morning........


'No One to Fight Over You with Me'
"A man hurried to the bus stop to take a late night ride home. However, because it was already very late, he wasn't sure if there will be any more buses coming. At the same time, he also didn't feel like walking the long road home because it was very far. He had no choice so he waited. He waited and waited, and just when he thought there wouldn't be any more buses coming he saw one headed toward his direction. He was happy and waved his hands to stop the bus. When he got on, he felt something strange. Normally, in a late night bus, there wouldn't be this many people because of the time and the long distance it would take. However, this bus was filled with many, but it was all so silent. Only one seat was empty. He had this peculiar feeling, but nevertheless he walked toward that seat and sat down. Next to him already sat a lady, and right after he sat down she whispered to him,'You shouldn't have taken this bus.' He looked puzzled. The lady continued,'This bus; it's not for the living to take. Once you get on (she pointed at the others), those people would take you for their replacement.*' The man was terrified, but didn't know what to do. The lady then said to him,'Don't worry. I will help you escape!' Having said that, she took hold of his hand and jumped out of the bus window. Just when they were jumping, he could hear the others onboard screaming 'HE ESCAPED!!!' When he got hold of himseld on the ground, he let out a sigh of relief, and looked around him. It was a barren hill they were standing upon. He turned to thank the lady, but then noticed a very strange smirk on her face.....'Now, no one will fight over you with me..........'


*Chinese superstition and folklore often talked about the dead taking the living as his replacement so he can become human again. One often sited example is when a person swims in the water and drowns. It is rumored his soul has been taken by the spirit present in the water who had also drowned and therefore required a replacement to be reborn.


..............to be continued.


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## FISA (Feb 17, 2005)

Paul... you could be a writer dude









Yeah ..you should have done this during halloween...


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