Horror And Mystery Stories
LEGEND OF NANG NAAK (THAI GHOST)

There is not a single Thai who does not know the horror legend of Mae Naak (Nang Naak). In many villages in Thailand, there is even a play called "Nang Nak", and when the name is mentioned, the little ones must have run away, scream hysterically and then hide. The mothers in the White Elephant country also often use the name Nang Naak to silence their children who are fussy, "If not silence too, too, the ghost of Nang Naak will chase you and eat your head using sambel!", so hard on the mothers there.

Regarding the existence of the legend of Nang Naak, until now still a mystery. There is no other historical evidence, only his tomb in the Mahabute temple complex. Nevertheless, many Thais believe that the legend actually exists, or at least part of it is believed to have happened.

Nang Naak was born in Phra Khanong, an area in Bangkok about 130 years ago, more or less in the last days of the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868) and then died 18 years later at the time of his birth during the reign of King Rama to V (1868-1910).

The legend begins with the love story of two teenagers. A girl named Nang Naak falls in love with a handsome young man named Nai Maak. They grew up together in the same village, but the couple's relationship was met with opposition from the young man's family, Nai Maak, who was said to be from a wealthy family. While the girl, Nang Naak, only comes from a simple family.

No matter the gravel or smoothness of the relationship, the two of them ended up getting married and living together. Shortly after the wedding, Nai Maak volunteered for the military to fight against China. He left his pregnant wife with grief and fear that might arise.

Because of the severe injuries suffered by Nai Maak due to the war, he then received treatment for a long time at a temple. As a faithful wife, Mae Naak always looked forward to the return of her husband, but the day never existed until the end of her life.

Months after his departure, that day Nai Maak returned to his village, the river that divides the land where the river is located, his house, has been chased. The village looked quiet and quiet. There was doubt in his heart, where were the villagers? Why is it so quiet?

But the doubt did not last long when he saw the figure of a woman sitting on the face of his stilt house on the river bank. She sat holding her baby. He believed it was Mae Naak, his wife and the baby must have been his son who was born when he fought. His boat approached, he could not wait to greet his wife and child who he had left for months.

Nai Maak greeted and hugged his wife and their baby with joy, but his wife did not say much, only the look in her eyes that I felt painted a very deep longing for her husband. The somewhat strange encounter happened very quickly but impressively. The family got together and happy.

The next life is not an easy thing for Nai Maak (the husband). His days were full of nightmares due to the trauma of war. Nevertheless, as a good wife, Nang Naak always served her husband at his best.

Days change, months go by. One morning, Nai Maak, the abbot, came with several other young priests to his house. The priestess saw the atmosphere of Nai Maak's house which was shabby, dusty and filled with spider webs, like a house that had been uninhabited for so long.

Mae Naak died months ago long before her husband returned from the war. And Nai Maak has returned to his uninhabited home. Then who had been accompanying and taking care of him all this time? Is that really his wife, Mae Naak?

When his heart was upset, the priest told him to look at his wife who was cooking at the back of the house, by bending down and seeing who he really was between the legs that were stretched out.

What Nai Maak saw later was that the cooking utensils were moving on their own, no one was there. So all this time Nang Naak's ghost has been tricking Maak's vision. The house that he had seen so clean and cool was suddenly as real as the priest's head witnessed, shabby, dusty, very dirty and empty.

Then how did he die?

When maternity day came, in a storm Naak tried to give birth to the baby, but the delivery ended in death, the baby died with his mother. Nang Naak died in grief and longing. The sympathetic neighbors buried them well, but the spirit of Naak continued to wander. When Maak returns from the war, Nang Naak's ghost is transformed into a human.

The mysterious love story turns into horror. Upon hearing the reality that the Chief Priest had told him, Nai Maak ran away and realized that all this time he had been living with the ghost of his wife and baby. Ghost Nang Naak continued to follow wherever Maak went. During the hunt, the ghost of Nang Naak was brutal and did not hesitate to kill anyone who stopped him.

Villagers then brought shamans, religious leaders and even exorcists from various parts of Thailand to fight the ghost of Nang Naak, but the effort was in vain. The ghost continued to kill anyone who stood in his way, even the priests who were securing Maak inside the temple.

Finally, a young priest who came from a far enough area managed to reconcile the curious spirit of Naak. Some versions of this legend believe that he was Somdej Phra Puttajan of Thonburi. Reportedly he dug back Naak's grave and gave a kind of peg that was supposedly left by the Prince of Chumporn. The roped peg was then wrapped around Naak's head, and buried into his skull.

Now the burial place of Nang Naak is one of the places frequented by tourists from various parts of Thailand, even foreign tourists. The tomb is located at the boundary of the Mahabute temple complex in On Nut, Sukumvit Soi 77, Bangkok. Now, both the temple and the people who live around it get windfall from the popularity of this Nang Naak legend.

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