I spent 11 years of my education in St John’s Institution along Jalan Bukit Nanas. The school is just beside a huge (and only) forest reserve right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. This is the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve virgin rainforest on a small hill.

This was how everything started. I was with the Eagle Scouts since I was 13 until 17. I have heard many stories about the forest but never believed them. Or rather I never wanted to believe them. After all the Scouts had a great reputation of scaring everyone just for fun.

There was this particular story about a General’s wife during World War II. During the war, my school doubled as a hospital and a small missionary school. The story was about a British army General and his local Chinese wife. They were a very loving and caring couple who always helped the mission. However, when the Japanese came, the General was said to have been brought to the forest and beheaded in front of an old Jati tree. He was said to have been taken away by soldiers when he went for his mandi (bath).

When his wife realised he was missing and taken away, she panicked and begged the Japanese soldiers to spare her husband’s life. She was, however, told that her husband only went up the jungle to fix a telegraph line. Days and then months passed and she still never see her beloved husband. Slowly and gradually she was getting sicker with all the worries and anxiety. One full moon night, she ran out of her quarters dressed up in her white wedding gown and put on her best make-up to look for the General. She was never seen again after that night. Some said the tigers got her, some said she committed suicide. Accordingly, she was said to be haunting the hill now.

I never really believed that she actually haunts the hill until a fateful July 17. We Scouts were playing a game called ‘night-guts’. Basically we were to walk alone in the jungle at night only with a pre-tied rafia (plastic string) line guiding us. It was to test our guts, hence the name. Anyway, I was walking alone on such a game and was nearing the end of the path where a senior was supposed to meet us. Then, I saw a white figure about 100 metres ahead of me. Now, to be honest, the first thing that came into my mind was a ghost, not a human being. But I made myself believe that it was my senior. I called out and told ‘him’ not to play the fool. Then the figure just walked away from me and disappeared for a couple of seconds. As I was getting curious and trying to take a closer look, I saw the same figure appearing on top of a tall tree. She was singing a Chinese song with such forlorn tone. She was full of make-up and was combing her hair as she sang. She looked at me, stopped singing, smiled and then started laughing. I froze. I wanted to run back but I lost the rafia lead. So I just ran ahead calling my senior’s name and kept calling and calling. I finally bumped into another senior and told him to run. He ran with me not knowing exactly what happened. I related the incident to everyone later and scared everyone stiff.

Later, I heard from people that motorcyclists along the road often see the same figure, with blood-red lipstick and thick make-up. She would be seen singing on top of a tree while combing her hair. More often than not, their motorcycles would stall for no reason as they approach the tree. Then the figure would climb down the tree slowly and walked towards the motorcyclist, who would be frantically trying to get the motorcycle started again. Then, as she came nearer, the motorcycle would start up and she would give a chase while laughing all the time. This sure scared the wit out of them.