echo As we near the last few months of 2023, the month of Halloween, October is upon us! While Halloween is an occasion commonly celebrated in the West, its influence has also spread beyond its Western origins,and is highly anticipated by even those in Malaysia. In fact, Sunway Lagoon is known for its phenomenal Nights of Fright, one of the biggest and scariest Halloween events held in Malaysia, every Friday to Sunday spanning across nearly a month.
To elevate this year’s Halloween experience, Echo Media has taken the liberty to obtain excerpts from Sunway University and College students regarding paranormal experiences encountered by them! Dive in deeper to learn of the spooky reality faced by our own students!
Record 1: Hiking expedition
By Moonbeam
Describe the paranormal encounter that you have experienced.
A few months back, a few of my friends and I went hiking to one of the famous hiking spots in KL(up to the readers to figure out where). We left early, to start hiking at 6, so that we would be down at least by 10. The six of us piled into a car, nearly at the crack of the dawn to arrive at our destination. We managed to arrive early as well, and set off chattering and laughing. The path was familiar to a few of us, who had trekked at the same location before.
Halfway through our journey, maybe 30 to 45 minutes later, I realised that I was hiking ahead of 3 of my friends and was behind the other 2. I could still hear the ones ahead of me talking, and caught glimpses of them as we made our way up. However, I had completely lost sight and heard nothing from those below me. I called up to my friends above and said I would be slowing down, to keep them company. They agreed and warned me to be careful, while they went ahead.
Soon enough, one of the guys below did catch up with me, tapping me on the back to alert me of his presence. He grinned at me, saying that we could just go at our own pace and the rest will catch up with us. We talked while we hiked, and I recall even then some of his mannerisms struck odd to me. Our hiking trail became steeper, and we had to be careful where we walked; one mishap could lead us to a dangerous fall.
While we made our way, my friend gestured for me to look over the edge of the trail. I was confused and worried about his precarious position which seemed at the edge of the cliff. I peered over curiously as well, but couldn’t see anything strange. As I was asking him what he saw, I felt a shove from behind. I yelped and stumbled, luckily my feet caught onto a branch, stopping me from falling off completely. I had grazed my knee and arms, stumbling away from the hiking trail. I remember turning around to look for my friend, but there was no trace of him.
My yelp must have alerted people, as a few hikers from above, including my other 2 friends, came down, panicked. They helped me up, checked for injuries, and questioned me on what occurred. When I mentioned the friend who had accompanied me, the both of them looked at me incredulously. Apparently, the 3 behind me had gone down, unable to keep up with us. They had called us earlier, but my phone had no signal.
Sure enough, when we descended , the 3 of them were waiting for us – including the one who had supposedly accompanied me. It struck me then, that he was wearing a dark blue shirt, while the one I met earlier was wearing black. The whole thing had been too weird, and we realised that it was something beyond our understanding.
What are your thoughts now about ghosts/paranormal creatures?
I don’t think I’ve given much thought about spirits or ghosts before, but after this experience, I realised that there may be some superpower beyond us. It does scare me until today, the best is to not travel alone anywhere.
Record 2: Nights Out
By Dewdrop
Describe the paranormal encounter that you have experienced.
I am someone who used to enjoy going out to go clubbing and became addicted to it at one point, often coming back home late. One night, I met a stranger, and we hit it off immediately. My friends for some reason, kept on shooting us weird glances. While I was confused, I decided not to think much of it. I was having a good time after all. The day after, I remember waking up with my body aching all over and, I recall a sensation of having an odd pressure on my chest. It was later that I would find out I was talking to no one that night, with others assuming I was drunk.
In the following days, I couldn’t sleep, plagued by bad dreams where I felt like someone was watching me as I slept, and I could see shadows beside me. These experiences only occurred in my dreams. I eventually confided in my parents, even though I had concealed the truth about my night out adventures and lied to them. They advised me to focus more on my prayers and took me to temples to feel better. Overtime, I started feeling better and could sleep peacefully as well.
What are your thoughts now about ghosts/paranormal creatures?
I did have a certain interest in paranormal stuff, yes. But, honestly never expected myself to experience it firsthand.
Record 3: School Retreat
By Summers
Describe the paranormal encounter that you have experienced.
Back in highschool, my school organised a yearly retreat for prefects and librarians, where we would go to a camping site to carry out team-building activities. As a prefect, I attended the retreat as well. While most of our activities were held outdoors, toilets and shared bathrooms were located not far off. At night, there were lights lit around the area, so it was easy to navigate to the toilet.
During the last night there, in the wee hours of the morning, I woke up to use the toilet. Most of my friends were fast asleep, so I had to creep along quietly to head towards the toilet block. I remember approaching the first toilet stall and heard a toilet flushing. I assumed that someone had occupied that stall and moved on to use the next. I could still hear someone shuffling in the next stall, when I came out once using the toilet.
As I was washing my hands, something in me prompted me to look up into the mirror above me. At the same time, I heard the sound of a door unlatching, with the door of the first stall opening. From across the mirror though, I couldn’t make out anything – it was eerily dark over the stall. I called out a hello, wondering if anyone was there. There was no reply whatsoever. Curiosity getting the better of me, I pushed the door wide open, only to find that it was empty.
Just as I was about to turn around, I felt a hand on my shoulder. At that moment, I didn’t think — fear had gripped me, and I just ran out of the toilet screaming, proceeding to wake up the rest of the people around me as well.
What are your thoughts now about ghosts/paranormal creatures?
I found out later that there were stories of the toilet being haunted, with flushing sounds being heard out of nowhere, dark figures looming over people. There had been no one who had gone to the toilet at the same moment as well. I am in a way, forced to believe that spirits do in fact exist.
Record 4: A Friend or Not?
By Seashells
Describe the paranormal encounter that you have experienced.
This was before I moved to Sunway, and was staying in a previous hostel during my foundation. While we had a strict curfew, some of my classmates and I used to stay back in the studying area and burn the midnight oil, struggling over our homework and revision. It was quite common for a lot of people to be studying in the wee hours of morning, especially during exam season.
Once, having not attempted my homework earlier, I had stayed back late to complete it. I had assured my friends that I would be fine and would head back soon. In the end, I was left alone, pouring over my homework with sleep nudging me a little. Till today, I don’t recall exactly when, but my friend had appeared before me. She was sitting opposite of me, and when asked she had merely shushed me up, saying it was alright.
Admittedly, I was a bit confused but chose to focus on my work, not minding her presence. A few minutes later, however, I found her presence oddly disturbing. She kept on grinning, and staring at me, twirling her hair, and giggling out of nowhere. I remember dropping my pen in the midst of it. As I was picking it up, I took a double take as her legs were not there. Feeling completely terrified, I looked up at whatever being that was sitting before me.
It giggled suddenly, and then said in a weird voice, ‘Kalau sudah tahu takpelah, aku boleh pergi’ (which can be roughly translated to ‘If you already know, it’s alright. I can leave now). Just as it finished saying the sentence, it completely vanished, as though it was never there in the first place. Never have I been so scared of sitting alone and studying before.
What are your thoughts now about ghosts/paranormal creatures?
To this day, I am unsure whether it was a dream or a real encounter. I try to sleep early these days, or at least stay up with a few people to avoid anything like this anymore.
And there you have it! Unbelievably real spooky experiences faced by Sunway students. But, what do you think? Do you believe in ghosts as well? Do you avoid staying up alone to avoid encounters such as these? And the biggest question of all, is The Other Side real? Happy Halloween to everyone!
Written By: Poorani
Edited By: Ruby
