The Lake County star., 1876-06-15
Chinese Ghost Stories.

One peculiarity about Chinese ghosts
is that they do not always fully mate
rialize, but are frequently, says the Hong
Kong (China) Revie,c, seen in incomplete
form, the head first becoming visible,
then the feet, then the body, and 80 on.
Another quaint belief is that ghosts have
no chin, and to say to a Cantonese Nj
mo ha-pa"-you've no chin-is equiva-
lent to saying "you're ghost" Like
English ghosts, they appear during the
hours of darkness, and are compelled to
vanish at cock-crow; but the c0nven-
tional white clothing is absent from the
Chinese idea. A ghost in China always
appears in the dress he commonly wore
during life, and his advent is announced
by candles net burning blue but green
the Greeks call supernatural terror,
"green fear"
Animals also have their ghosts. A
resident at Canton named Ling, had a
very intelligent monkey, which, having
been severely whipped, for some mis-
chief, became sulky, refused food and
died. Shortly after the monkey began
to haunt the house. Food placed on the
tables mysteriously disappeared, and
strange annoyances took place. AT
length a fire broke out in the house
unaccountably, and Mr.. Ling shifted his
residence. But the monkeys ghost still
followed and prosecuted him, until as
last resource, he took room in the Tenn
pie of the Five Hundred Worthless; the
monkeys ghost did not dare to face the
gods, and left him in peace. Mr.. Ling
was still residing in the Temple last
year.
Ghost stories of the ordinary kind are
numerous. A mandarin met his death
in the late collision between the Chinese
steamer Fusing and the British steamer
Ocean. The Fusing was sunk and over
sixty drowned. The mandarin's ghost
appeared to his wife, who was living in
Soochow, streaming with water from
head to foot. He told her he had been
drowned, and that he had sent by a
certain friend some money for her use
before he took passagein the Fusing, and
that the friend would arrive shortly.
Two days after the friend named arrived
with the money, and shortly after came
the intelligence of the sinking Of the
Fusing.
The commander of a Chinese man-of-
war belonging to the Foochow arsenal
fleet was taken suddenly i'll, and died at
a friends house. After his death the
friend saw his ghost, and one night
addressed it, saying: you should not
lament; it was your fate; you should be
satisfied with it," Thereupon the ghost
disappeared and never showed itselfagain
to the same party, but continued often to
appear to the men on board the ship he
had been commanding, being frequently
seen to pace up and down the deck as he
was wont to do during his lifetime at
night, and would sometimes place him.
self in the attitude of drilling the men.
Here is a parallel to the celebrated
Berkely Square story. 1t must be noted
that the ghosts of suicides are distin.
guished by wearing red silk handker.
chiefs Outside the north gate of Hang.
chow there was house haunted by evil
ghosts, where no human being dared
reside, of which the doors were evel
barred and locked. A scholar nam ed
Tsai bought the house. People all told
him he was doing a dangerous thing, but
he did not heed them. None of his fam
ily would enter the house, so Ts'ai went
by himself, opened tue doors, lit a candle
and sat down. In the middle of the
night woman slowly approached with
a red silk handkerchief hanging to hel
neck, and having saluted him, fastened
rope to the beam of the ceiling, and
put her neck in the moose. Ts'ai did moi
in the least change countenance. The
woman again fastened rope and called
on Ts'ai to do as she had done, but III
only lifted his leg and put his foot in tn!
moose. The woman said " You're wrong.
Ts'ai laughed and answered, "On th'
.. contrary, 1t was you who were wrong
long time ago, or else you would not hav'
come to this pass" The ghost cried bit
terly, and, having bowed to Ts'ai, de
parted, and from that time the house
was no longer haunted. This Ts'ai wa
afterward very distinguished scholar
,, known as the provincial chancellor.
the writer remembers having reat
some time ago a similar curious story o
police cell, in which woman had com
! mltted suicide by hanging herself, afte
which inmate after inmate continued t
attempt to do the same, till at last gil
: declared that fiendish little woman nj
peared in the cell at night and com
handed her to hang herself, which sh
felt irresistibly impelled to attemr
doing. The cell, it is said, had to b
closed and abandoned.