Jiufen was brought into the spotlight by the Japanese animated movie Spirited Away, which also conferred this mountain town the mystical aura which attracts so many tourists every day and that I longed to experience while visiting Taiwan.
In all honesty, I’m not religious at all and I don’t even believe in ghouls or the like. Still, once in a while I open myself up to feeling spiritual and attempt to pretend I can sense such forces around me. Normally when there’s a slight breeze blowing and while I imagine a Rita Coolidge voice-over narrating my life journey. I also like to picture a dead ancestor in the sky telling me to remember who I am.
Nighttime rushes in rather early in Jiufen, and all businesses close by 8-9pm at the latest, so I leave my lovely hotel at 7:30pm. I’m looking to experience the town at nighttime while there’s still some tourist activity going on, and then completely deserted, when there’s a better chance of spotting the real Kaonashi (logically). Most visitors to the city arrive around midday and leave by nightfall, so the few stragglers I encounter likely elected to spend the night, much like me.
I know there’s no way Kaonashi is going to turn up with tourists around, so I stray from the small crowd and on to the deserted streets. Which in hindsight was not very prudent; if he tried to devour me rather than share travel tips I’d be screwed. I’ve been to public school, but I’m confident kicking a homicidal spirit in the crotch won’t work quite like it did on bullies.
The breeze helps cool the warm, humid air and caresses the lanterns and wind chimes hanging from the balconies overlooking the quiet streets. I’ve seen enough movies to know something is about to happen. Hopefully, because I need some cool shit to write about.
Walking the winding streets, arbitrarily making lefts and rights pretending to follow some imaginary force rather than my own complete lack of sense of direction, I come up on what resembles an igloo carved on the facade of a shop.
The shop is closed and I can’t make out what they sell during business hours. The man inside is oblivious to my presence, and I wonder whether this is a sign of my impending doom. In slasher movies the killer always strikes while potential witnesses stand a mere 30 feet away listening to 90s pop hits on their headphones and doing something meaningful like going through photographs of the Cambodian village they adopted online for fifty bucks.
Nope. No spirits yet.
Come on, dude. I mentally prod Kaonashi as I wander further into the darker streets. Show up already. I ain’t getting younger and I gotta get up early in the morning.
The town is completely deserted now and I’m likely the only lunatic wandering the streets and talking to ghosts he doesn’t even believe exist.
I start making my way back to the hotel, stopping at a convenience store (hopefully haunted? Yeah, at this point I’m scraping the bottom of the spirit barrel). After a quick browse I decide on two green tea Kit Kats.
They’re meant to be used as bait for Kaonashi, but – truth be told – they barely make it to the store’s exit. I hold out the wrappers all the way to my hotel room, but nothing bites. Maybe it’s on a cleanse?
My spirit hunting trip proves to be a total bust and the only things I’m able to hunt down are 400 empty calories and some nifty pictures of Jiufen at night. Could have been worse. Next time I’ll buy three Kit Kats.
Have you ever seen a ghost or experienced any supernatural phenomena without the help of boxed wine? Let me know how it went and where I should look next time!
ACCOMMODATION
I spent one night at colorful Corner Inn B&B and wished I had stayed longer. It was really clean and my bed and pillows were super comfy! I paid $51/night for a private room with private bath in May.
Loved reading this piece – I haven’t bumped into any ghosts but I did try Oujia board once which was a spooky feeling. I wandered on the streets of Jiufen at night too – there were few eerie lanes and living alone in a vintage looking wooden cottage was a thrill in itself.
I haven’t tried a Ouija board since I was 12! Well, and the one I used was homemade with a sheet of paper and markers, so it doesn’t count. Haha! I’d love to try one next time I visit an allegedly haunted town!