Top 5 Creepy Places to Visit in Vietnam's Hungry Ghost Month

With over 4,000 years of history and long-lasting culture, Vietnam experiences a great diversity of deep-rooted traditions and customs. If you travel to Vietnam during the Hungry Ghost Month - Lunar July, you should learn about some ritual activities and visit these creepy places to get a thrilling adventure in the country. 

The Month of Hungry Ghost, known as Tháng Cô Hồn in Vietnamese, takes place annually in the 7th month of the Lunar calendar in Vietnam. It is believed to be the month of lonely spirits and particularly misfortune. Along with many fears of bad luck, Vietnamese people usually worship their ancestors and the Buddha to pray for good fortune and peace. Also, they carefully avoid some DON'Ts activities during Vietnam Hungry Ghost Month, considered to bring unluckiness of the evil lost souls.

On the other hand, it is interesting to try some thrilling experiences during Vietnam's Hungry Ghost Month. To set aside the spiritual beliefs and practices of Hungry Ghost in Vietnam, let's visit these 5 creepy places for exciting adventures.

1. Con Dao Prison

Con Dao Prison was built by the French colonist in 1861 to jail those considered extremely dangerous to the French government and who had committed several crimes and political prisoners at that time. It was built on Con Son Island, the largest island of the Con Dao archipelago. Many Vietnamese leaders were detained here such as Phan Chau Trinh, Ton Duc Thang, Pham Van Dong, Vo Thi Sau (she was executed here in 1952, she was 16 at that time). Con Dao Prison is a special historical destination, opened for visitors soon later.

Prisoners were kept under cells and tortured with boiling water, spears, and acid

In the past, Con Dao was called “The Devil Island” of Indochina since 22,000 people were imprisoned and murdered here from 1862 to 1975 by both the French colonial government and the South Vietnamese government. This is the reason why you will find feel very remote although it is located only 200 kilometers from the mainland. The people who were killed rested in Hang Duong Cemetery. You can find many graves here having no name on them. According to Vietnamese tradition, people who die at home will be taken care of by family members, their spirits will go to another life. But people who die outside their homes, their spirits can’t go home, they will stay where they died for a very long time. Con Dao Prison is a very mysterious destination, many tourists come here every year to worship and explore creepy myths.

2. Abandoned hospital 

Ba Vi is only 80 kilometers from Hanoi, and has long been the favorite destination for young people to come by and explore at the weekend, a great place for an escape from the crowded city. Famous for Ba Vi National Park, various flora systems, and cool weather all year round, but many don’t know the fact that Ba Vi is also a very religious region of Vietnam.

The hospital had been abandoned for a very long time

Ba Vi Hospital was established a long time ago. During the end period of the Vietnam war (1968 – 1972), the US Army increased the number of bombarded airplanes and tried to destroy the North of Vietnam, facilities, and people from big cities had to evacuate to the suburbs and Ba Vi Hospital is one out of three evacuation points. Many soldiers and civilians died here and the hospital became a mysterious place. After the war, they abandoned the hospital and no one lives nearby until now.

3. Haunted Bulgaria ex-Embassy

On December 12^th, 1982, the Vietnamese government and Bulgarian government signed a contract for property exchange to build the embassy. Vietnamese government decided to give the property at No. 300 Kim Ma Street to the Bulgarian government to build the embassy and house for Bulgarian officers. It was a 1,307 square meters building on 3,243 square meters of land. The construction was completed in 1991. But for some reason, the building was abandoned until now.

The Bulgaria ex-Embassy 

To many Hanoians, the building at No. 300 Kim Ma is familiar because of its dark surrounding for years. Nobody remembers when it was abandoned. But according to the elders, hundreds of years ago, this land was a cemetery that buried several Chinese skeletons. After the war, the cemetery was destroyed and became construction land. Many scary stories were told about this building, but nobody can figure out whether it is true or not. The building is now under the control of the Vietnamese government, no one can get in without permission, but there are still many curious people who want to break in.

4. Hanoi West Lake

West Lake is way too famous to both local and foreign visitors. This is the largest natural lake in Hanoi and is also a favorite destination for taking photos of dusk, dawn, or lotus. It is really hard to take an ugly picture here in West Lake. Popular as that, not many people know there is a whole graveyard beneath the lake.

The lake looked beautiful...for now

A long time ago, West lake was a small dead turn of the Red river, not as big as now. On the bank of the lake, there were dozens of villages, rice fields, farms, and also graves yards. During the war with the Champa, captured prisoners were moved to West lake so they can live their life there. After a time, thousands of graves were created and buried by the rising water. Boats cruising in West lake sometimes crash into graves and causes minor damage.

Until now, you can still see some graves when the water level drops. If you have visited West lake in the daylight, you should also visit it at midnight to feel a complete difference.

5. Ba Chuc Tomb 

Ba Chuc Tomb is located in Ba Chuc district, An Giang province, Vietnam, bordered by Cambodia. This is the place where the Ba Chuc massacre took place. Over 3,100 innocent people including women and children were killed here in 1978 by Khmer rouge soldiers. Some people tried to escape to the nearby temple, but the murderers still found and killed them. Only 3 people survived this disaster.

Skulls and bones are divided by age and genders

The tomb consists of two parts: the ossuary housing the skulls and bones of more than 1,100 victims divided by age group and the memorial room displaying the massacre pictures and the weapons used by the slaughters such as knives, bayonets, etc. The bottom of the walls behind the memorial room is still dark with the blood of the stain. You can feel the cold atmosphere when standing on the ground where thousands of innocent people were slaughtered.

There are still many other creepy and mysterious places in Vietnam that nobody has the balls to explore. If you are a curious person and want to explore everything in the world, please refer to these Vietnam package tours that may be very suitable for you.

Hoang Nguyen

(Images source: Internet)