Spirit House Graveyards

I thought that I had been asked to write a script for a very bad horror movie when this title landed on my desk this morning.

In a previous blog I explained the meaning of the ‘Spirit House’ and why Thais erect them on their properties – basically, for protection from the guardian spirits of that particular piece of land. 

Sometimes, you might acquire a property with a Spirit House already built on the premises but wish instead to receive protection from another Spirit or wish to install a new Spirit House of your own. If you want to erect your own Spirit House you need to hire a Brahmin priest to perform a special  ceremony to forewarn the previous Spirit that he is to move on. Only after the ceremony can the Spirit House be moved – to a specific “resting area” for unwanted, old or broken spirit houses, which can usually be found in every neighbourhood.

If, however,  you see a collection of Spirit Houses (new and broken) by the roadside it is most probably the site of a fatal accident and the Spirit Houses were placed there specifically to placate the tormented souls of the prematurely deceased. Some believe that if this is not done then an accident could occur again because the spirits of the fatalities are looking for other spirits to take their place so that they can go to their next life or be born again.