These strange encounters happened some years ago while my family was still staying in Hougang. There are 6 of us and each of us encountered at least one eerie incident while staying there.

My dad had the honour of “meeting” the first spirit. This happened while he was painting the house prior to our move. He would sometime go to the house to paint after work. While doing his solitary painting, he’d notice another figure doing the same actions as he did, ie brushing the wall up and down, up and down…..

My mum often said that she’d see a figure walking across the hall to the bedrooms while she was doing ironing in the kitchen….

I’ve had several encounters myself. I think I have personally “seen” the figure that my mum always mentioned about. But the most vivid would be this:

My brothers and I occupied the master bedroom, although later, as we grow older, only I slept in the room while they use it to store their stuffs, change clothes, perform prayers, do homeworks and what not.

I was having my afternoon nap when the strangest thing happened to me. I thought I was awake but when I tried to get up, I simply couldn’t. Tried as I might, I felt that there was something, or someone, holding me down. I tried to shout for help but my voice wouldn’t come out either. I was desperate - I said a few prayers but none helped. I have had the same encounter before but it usually ended when I recite some holy verses. But not this time.

I forced my eyes open and I actually saw my brother performing his Asar (afternoon) prayer not far from the bed. I tried calling him but didn’t manage to catch his attention. Just then, I turned to the other side of the bed and what I saw haunts me till today… there was a black figure, sitting at the edge of the bed with its both hand holding down my shoulders.

I put up a struggle and I wasn’t sure how it would’ve ended hadn’t my brother finished his prayer and woke me up. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was disturbed by such thing. My brothers had them too whenever they had afternoon naps or sleep in the room while I was away.

Another puzzling thing that always happened was the sound of scattering marbles and chairs dragging from above. I had always assumed that my upstairs neigbour must have hyperactive children as these sounds normally came about in the wee hours of the night until we found out later that that particular neighbour hadn’t got any marble-playing children - they’re all grown up.

Anyhow, despite these things, we stayed at that particular house for almost 17 years. I guess after sometime you just learn to live with these things.