11 Haunted places in and around Bangkok with the most horrifying tales

Written by Patt Wattanasupt
Edited by Candice Neo

Superstition is embedded deeply in Thai culture.

Today, you can still see the shred of old beliefs mixed with modern-day innovations, such as spirit houses in front of modern high-rise buildings. Ghost stories are still being told and passed down from generation to generation.

Do you know what supernatural phenomenon scares Thais the most? Ghosts. Especially when they are the result of unnatural, sudden and violent deaths. We Thais call them the “Tai Hong” ghosts. Thais believe they are angry spirits that stay behind to haunt the living (and the many ghost hunters who challenge them).

Read more:

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19 unique and magical places to visit in Thailand with fairies, dragons and flaming cliffs

We’ve gathered 11 reportedly haunted places in and around Bangkok with their most chilling tales, from abandoned brothels, old towers, suicide spots to creepy graveyards that will make your hair stand. We even rate how scary they are, on a scale of 1 to 5.

Warning: Don’t read this alone at night. As they say, fear attracts unwanted spirits. You do not wish to bring one home.

1. A morgue that kept 2,002 unborn babies in plastic bags: Wat Pai Ngoen Temple, Bangkok

It was just another regular day in 2010 in the market. People were busy with shopping, while merchants were gossiping about the latest TV dramas. A local guy noticed that a dog was carrying a plastic bag in its mouth. When the dog tore the bag open, he was shocked. The dog was chewing on a baby’s body part.

Police followed the dog and traced the source of the bag to the nearby Wat Pai Ngoen Temple. When they entered the morgue, the stench was unbearable. What they discovered was more shocking – piles of plastic bags that had overflowed from the storage area. Inside the bags, dead foetuses and babies’ body parts were found. In total, as many as 2,002 dead babies were found.

After investigations, police found that for years, the cremators had been paid by an illegal abortion clinic to destroy the bodies. But recently, the crematorium malfunctioned, so the bodies were piled up in the storage until it had overflowed.

Although the bodies were properly cremated after that, locals sometimes can still hear the sounds of babies giggling and crying coming from the direction of the temple. A photo even surfaced on the news – someone had captured a shadow of baby figure in front of the storage door where the bodies were found.

This story of 2,002 dead babies has shocked everyone in Thailand till today.

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2. Abandoned ashram with hundreds of statues made from human remains: Ajarn Chuan Ashram, Chachoengsao

One statue might not be scary. But how about hundreds of life-like statues left in one spot?

And what if, among these statues, many were made from human remains and bound by dark magic?

A well-known monk who was famous for his sorcery had built hundreds of statues – statues of humans, children, monsters, and mythical creatures were scattered around the ashram (a spiritual hermitage where a religious leader and their disciples live).

For some statues, he performed a ceremony where the human remains such as ashes, bones, hair, and especially skins with tattoos were mixed together with the statue-making material.

After his death, the ashram was left unmaintained. The area was overgrown by trees and vegetation. Many statues were damaged and broken. Some believe that some dark strange power still exists in the ashram.

Locals know well enough not to enter the ashram after the sun sets. Some said these statues come to life at night. Many thieves have attempted to steal the statues but they encountered an unexplainable force that chased them away. A group of 10 thieves was reportedly trying to lift one statue, but they never could.

3. Countdown to death by the Lady in White: Abandoned House at Thawi Watthana, Bangkok

Are you familiar with the movie “Final Destination”? No matter what you do, you can’t escape your final fate. Imagine watching your friends die one by one in bizarre ways, and you can only desperately hope that your ending isn’t too cruel..

This true horrifying fate befell a group of 7 teenagers in Bangkok.

One night in 2015, these daredevil teens set off for Thawi Watthana District. High on alcohol and adrenaline, they wanted to explore an abandoned house – one that was rumoured to be haunted.

They drove all the way to the end of the road and saw two abandoned houses. But before they could enter, the lights in front of the house were suddenly and mysteriously turned off. Spooked, they decided to leave.

Three months after, two of the teens were killed in an unfortunate motorbike accident. Witnesses claimed that they saw not only the two teens on the bike, but also a lady in white dress riding with them.

A year later, another boy in the same group crashed his motorbike and died on the spot. When police came to the crash site, witnesses told the police that they had seen a lady in a white dress riding with him. But the second body was never found.

The following year, yet another two teenagers were killed – this time from a house fire. A witness from across the street reported that he saw a lady in white enter the house before the fire started.

Now here’s the plot twist: Along the road the group had driven to that night, the real abandoned house was actually at the beginning of the road. At the end of the road, where the group had seen two abandoned houses, was only empty land.

Until this day, the two remaining teenagers are living in fear, hoping desperately that the lady in white would not come after them.

4. The countdown that turned deadly: Santika Pub, Soi Ekhamai 8, Bangkok

Do you believe in signs? Or a supernatural force trying to tell you something?

A tragedy might have been avoided at a pub, if only someone had read the signs.

The upscale Santika Pub was having the biggest party on New Year’s Eve, preparing to welcome in the year of 2009. But the countdown turned deadly – a tragic fire broke, killing more than 60 people and injuring more than 100.

As rescuers entered the scene, they saw a pile of dead bodies at the narrow exit of the pub. Screams of pain could be heard from the survivors. It was a true sight of horror.

After the accident, people started to point out certains signs that might have forewarned the tragedy. This party was called “Goodbye Santika”, the last party of the pub, its final night before it was permanently closed. Staff gave out a CD with a black cover to every guest. The website promoting the party had burning flames in its design, and even the band playing that night was a rock band named “Burn”.

The rumor has it that the lot the pub was built on used to be a murder house before it was torn down. Now there’s nothing but an empty lot. At night, some locals claim that if you listen carefully, you can still hear a scream coming from the empty lot, crying for help.

5. Where the buses rest in peace but ghosts won’t: Bus Cemetery, Soi Saiyud, Bangkok

The bus authorities use this location to retire out-of-service buses and other vehicles. It’s also a place to dispose of buses involved in tragic accidents with many casualties.

Strange happenings have been observed at night. Cries for help have been heard coming from the area. A taxi driver once saw someone flagging him down, but when he stopped, there was no one.

Neighbours had also reported to the security guard that loud singing, cheering, and even the beating of drums could be heard from a bus in the compound. Concerned that some teenagers might have trespassed the compound and were holding a party, the guard went to check it out. But all he saw was an empty bus, that very bus that had crashed and killed a group of teenagers on a school break.

Though the surrounding area has been developed and the compound gets cleaned from time to time, it is still being used as a final resting place for broken buses and spirits that can’t seem to move on.

6. Don’t forget to honk along this curve where more than 100 lives have been lost (and counting):  Ratchada Road, Bangkok

If you drive along Ratchada Road, you might see an unusual sight when you come to a curve near Bangkok Criminal Court. A shrine and many offerings placed on a big Bo tree along the median. This is a spot where more than 100 people (and counting) have lost their lives due to traffic accidents. Some blame the poor design of the road. Some blame the intoxicated drivers. Others blame the spirits that still linger there.

Crash survivors have described that moments before the crash, they had seen a dark figure jumping out from the tree and cut in front of their cars, thus causing the accident.

Some believe that spirits who lost their lives here are trying to take another life to replace them in order to move on beyond the underworld.

In 2015, Thailand’s authorities cleaned up the shrine and removed the offerings for safety. But friends and family of the victims still continue leave their offerings at the tree or on the overhead walkway.

Next time if you happen to drive along this curve, slow down and don’t forget to sound your horn to chase the spirits away. Better be safe than sorry.

7. Abandoned building that had claimed 5 lives (so far): Thai Zhong Tower (also known as Thaifah Group Building),  Bang Na, Bangkok

This abandoned 32-storey high building next to Bang Na-Trad highway had claimed 5 lives from suicides to a terrifying murder.

During the 20 years when it was abandoned, 3 people had jumped off the building. One body was found with his wrists and ankles bound – he was beaten to death. And one man had hung himself and left a suicide note on the wall to his girlfriend who had just left him. The message reads: “Try to remember what was good. Sorry is not enough”.

The building was then nicknamed the “Abandoned building of 5 corpses”.

As the building is located next to an elevated highway, motorists driving past the building at night have testified that they have seen a dark human figure leaping off the building, with the act repeated over and over again. They believe that the spirit was reliving its death to pay for the sin of suicide.

Today, the building is being renovated into a condominium complex. Would you live in it? Would you live with the unrest souls?

8. The haunted brothel of horror: Prostitute Graveyard, Kanchanaburi

Sometimes you may think that scary tales begin after a place was abandoned. But not this one.

The horror in this building started from the very beginning and till today, if you are ‘lucky’, you might even see or hear remnants of the atrocities in the past. 40 years ago, this place used to be a brothel. Some women had worked here willingly, while others were forced into the trade. But most of them were horribly abused in unimaginable ways.

Many had died from physical abuse, deadly diseases, and illegal abortion. No one knew how many women and babies had died in this building, which was nicknamed “Prostitute Graveyard”.

Now, though this place has been deserted and locked up, you can still witness the evidence of the horror that has been left behind.

A labyrinth of rooms and corridors shows how tough it was to navigate within the building (or escape). A hallway of more than 20 small rooms with no windows had been used to service clients. A room with a small entrance was believed to have been used to lock up children. Women’s personal belongings are still left untouched in each room.

And every brothel comes with its terrifying secrets. There’s even an underground chamber that no one knew what it was used for. Some people claim it was used to hide women who were abducted or trafficked. No one has ever been brave enough to go down.

Locals passing by have heard screams from women and children crying for help from within the building. But when they rushed in, thinking it could have been ghost hunters who have trespassed and got injured, they could not find anyone.

9. Don’t follow the woman on the rail at the Haunted Suicide Bridge: Bang Pakong River Bridge, Chachoengsao

One night in March 2018, a passer-by rescued a woman who attempted to jump off the bridge into the river below.

After the woman came to her senses, she said when she was driving across the bridge, she saw a woman wearing a red dress sitting on the railings on the bridge. The woman in red had beckoned her and jumped into the river. She immediately parked her car and rushed toward her. But the next thing she knew, someone trying to stop her from jumping off the bridge herself.

She wasn’t the first one to experience this.

There have been more than 60 cases of suicide attempts reported at this bridge, and at least one attempt has been recorded every year. Many did not survive. For the few lucky survivors, they had told the same story: They saw a woman sitting on a rail on the bridge, who waved at them before jumping. They then felt a strong urge to follow, as though the woman had encouraged them to do so.

Many cultures believe that the locations where people commit suicide often harbours a dark energy that lures people who are facing tough times to end their lives here. Could this be the case at this bridge?

10. Most haunted graveyard in Bangkok: Graveyard at Wat Don Temple, Bangkok

If you ask any Thai locals today about the scariest place in Bangkok, we bet they would name “Pa Cha Wat Don”, which means the graveyard at Wat Don Temple.

More than 50 years ago, this massive graveyard was a burial ground for many people who had died, often from tragic accidents, and most of their identities could not be traced. Hence, though more than 10,000 bodies have been buried here, most of the graves are unnamed. The area around the temple is isolated and covered in thick jungle.

It was an unspoken rule among taxi drivers back then to avoid dropping off passengers at this area. Some taxi drivers who have driven passengers to the area have claimed that, when they arrived and the driver turned to look at the back seat, they either saw that their passenger had vanished or that he/she was covered in blood.

Some said after they had dropped off their passengers, they unknowingly picked up an extra passenger.

Locals had often seen taxis leaving the area with someone severely injured, covered in blood, with missing arms or missing part of the head, seated in the back seat or even right next to the driver.

Today, some parts of the graveyard have been transformed into a park where the living can walk and jog among the dead.

Anyone up for a night jog?

11. Tower of terror in central Bangkok:  Sathorn Unique (Ghost Tower), Bang Rak, Bangkok

In the middle of busy Bang Rak District in Bangkok stands Sathorn Unique Tower, which was meant to be a luxury condominium that was erected over 20 years ago. When it was first up, locals believed that it was already cursed.

The 46-storey-high tower casts a shadow over a very sacred temple nearby, and locals see it as a sign of disrespect. Not long after it was built, the builder ran out of money. The architect was arrested in a murder-for-hire case. The tower was since left unfinished and abandoned.

Locals know not to venture near the tower, but it attracts many daredevils who seek the thrill of exploring what many have come to name “The Ghost Tower”. Step into its dark and eerie interiors littered with broken pieces of bricks and windows, and you might start to feel a little uneasy. What might be lurking around the corner?

And the story gets creepier. One night in 2015, a photographer made his way up to the rooftop, thinking that he could get a good shot of Bangkok’s skyline. He was walking along a pitch-dark corridor, passing room by room, when he saw a lifeless body hanging from the ceiling in one of the rooms.

He ran for help, but did not manage to get any. Desperate, he posted the story on social media. Netizens went wild. The story kept everyone on the edge of their seats the entire night, as everyone wanted to know if it was true.

It took the police many hours to locate the body of the man who had hung himself on the 43rd floor. Apparently, the Swedish man had been dead for few days.

But what spooked me personally the most was that, on the same night that the photographer saw the corpse, I was actually exploring this same tower, though (thankfully) I did not chance upon the body, neither did I see nor hear anything supernatural.

These days, although the authorities have been warning everyone against trespassing the tower, there seems to be something that keeps luring people in.

Do you believe in the supernatural? These chilling tales are true stories shared by eyewitnesses in Thailand. Do not disturb the dead, unless you are brave enough and wish to risk your soul…

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