This story happened on 12 October 1984 when we had a gathering at our school hall. BM High School is, in fact, a very old school and had seen itself through various misfortunes especially during the times of war and communist threat.

It was about 10pm, the sky is clear and the weather is just nice. Everything seems perfect and everyone was having a great time until Ah Ming left out a scream and collapsed on the floor. He was struggling to scream for help. He was obviously in pain and he kept holding on to his neck. Apparently, it looked to us as if he was choking or being strangled.

My friend and I rushed out of the hall to get help while another stay with Ah Ming to see if he can help in any way. One of our teachers heard our cries for help and rushed to the scene. When he saw the state Ah Ming was in, he was unusually calm and started saying some prayers. A couple of minutes later, Ah Ming recovered but he was obviously in a state of shock.

We asked Ah Ming what actually happened to him after he managed to calm down. He told us he felt a presence behind him as we were talking. So, he turned around to see if anybody was there. As he turned around, he suddenly felt a pair of hands reaching to his neck and started strangling him. He tried to shout for help but he felt a very deep pain on his neck and he could only manage to give out a scream. The pair of hands, though invisible, pushed him down to the floor and continued strangling him. He felt cold, dizzy and unable to breathe. After the teacher chanted some prayers, the ghost or whoever was strangling him gave him a hard push and suddenly, the pain disappeared.

We were shocked to learn of Ah Ming’s experience. Seeing the worried expression in us, our teacher assured us that everything is all right now. He went on to tell us that the school hall is haunted and many unexplained incidents such as this had been reported by students and teachers alike. He also told us that there is a secret passageway beneath the stage that leads to the art room (which is the prayer’s room in the hostel now). He advised us never ever try to explore into the passageway and avoid being inside the hall alone at night.