Interviewing at the Ghost Festival Water Lantern Release & Finding Joss Paper in My Bag After Going Home?

▲ Keelung Ghost Festival Water Lantern Release. (Photo / File photo illustration, taken by reporter Hsu Wen-bin)　

By / I Love ET

I’d long heard that during the Keelung Ghost Festival Water Lantern Release,there were always peoplestanding everywhere, but with reporting duties at hand, who would think too much about that? My mind was completely occupied with “I must get good shots” and “how many articles I’ll publish once I get home.” There was no way I could have expected anything supernatural to happen.

The parade began, and joss paper was burned in designated areas, but my photographer and I tried our best to stay away from the burning area — first to protect our own safety, and second because such footage wasn’t needed; following the parade around most of Keelung City, we finally reached the midnight moment of the water lantern release.I only remember that day the wind was incredibly strong, and the waves were incredibly huge... so strong that when the spirit boat was pushed into the sea, we could barely stand, and at one point a staff member was even swept far away from the shore by the waves, causing everyone present to gasp in shock; but as media workers, we had to calmly document everything that happened, and the photographer had to go right to the front line to shoot the water lantern release.

The water lantern ceremony finally ended！ I hurriedly drove home just to publish the article online as soon as possible. The moment I got home, sat at my desk, and was about to turn on my computer, I was terrified！Because a piece of joss paper was standing upright wedged between my laptop and the books in my bag.... The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed — I had never even gone near the area where joss paper was burned！ Moreover, my bag was packed full, not only were the gaps way too small, but there was also a magnetic clasp on the bag — there was no way it could have flown in there by such a coincidence.

The more I thought about it, the creepier it felt, so I decided to go to a temple the next day for a spiritual cleansing. Strangely enough, before I could even say anything, the temple keeper blurted out:“Have you recently been to a place where people worship the wandering spirits?”I immediately got goosebumps and said:“Yes！ I went to cover the Keelung Ghost Festival last night.”The temple keeper said:“There was someone... following you.”