Dress up as ghosts in Ghost Month – Hualien Fenglin’s Ghost Parade is absolutely terrifying

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

No taboos in Ghost Month！ Hualien County’s Fenglin Township hosted a “Ghost Parade” event where over a thousand elaborately costumed “good brothers” from all over Taiwan gathered together to parade through the Beilin San Village community. The scene was filled with ghostly figures — vampires, the Ghost King Zhong Kui, Sadako, red-robed female ghosts, and more were “running rampant.” But instead of a scary atmosphere, there was a joyful vibe, turning the usually quiet rural night into an open-air carnival.

▲Young people dress up as various ghosts and ghouls during the Ghost Parade. (Photo / Provided by Beilin San Village Community Development Association)

The Ghost Parade is being held for the second consecutive year, and this year saw an explosion in participation. On the evening of the 11th, the ghost parade featured nine university students who traveled all the way from Kaohsiung to dress up as terrifying zombies inspired by the TV series “The Walking Dead.” There were also 70-year-old grandparents who came up with the act “Zhong Kui Gives His Sister Away in Marriage,” and even the mayor of Fenglin Township donned a Japanese samurai outfit to play the role of a Japanese ghost, becoming a true “Japanese devil.” There were also adults and children who didn’t know each other but coincidentally dressed up as big and small zombies.

In Japan, “Hyakki Yagyō” (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) is a folk legend about a summer night procession of monsters, where people dress up as ghosts and scatter beans to ward off evil and invite good fortune. To promote tourism, Beilin San Village community in Fenglin Township came up with the Ghost Parade theme activity last year, which was very well received. This year, they introduced a series of “spooky” events that not only significantly increased participation but also improved the creativity and elaborateness of the ghost costumes.

Most people keep their distance during Ghost Month, but Beilin Community went against the trend by organizing a ghost night parade, which made participants feel refreshed and praise it as great fun.
 

%陌俟硪剐谢疃?忻裰谘莩鲲褙讣廾孟仿搿（图／北林三村社区发展协会提供)