Today, Aug. 18, is the Hungry Ghost Festival, the midpoint of the Hungry Ghost Month when the wall between the world of the living and the realm of the dead is thinnest …
In the spirit of the festival, I thought I'd share an excerpt from my short story “Joss Paper,” about a young woman who is fascinated by the Chinese ritual of offering property and money to the dead during this month. The story is an homage to W.W. Jacobs’s iconic tale “The Monkey’s Paw.”
“Joss Paper” is in my collection of ghost stories, titled Joss Paper And Other Horror Stories. The stories are set in Southeast Asia and the U.S., and based on Asian folklore and beliefs. They have a Tales From the Crypt vibe ...
Please check the book out if you’d like a chill in your summer. The stories are also available to read for free on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.
BTW, I highly recommend “The Monkey’s Paw” if you haven’t read it. Masterful, atmospheric, and creepy as heck. The story is reproduced in many anthologies.
“Joss Paper” Excerpt
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Shawna was taking a shortcut through the woods when she saw her new roommate. Zhen Ning, or “Jenny,” as she liked to be called, was burning something under a gnarled oak tree.
“What are you doing?” Shawna asked curiously.
Jenny put a lit match to a bunch of brightly colored paper. As the paper flared and burned, she placed it in front of a group of slender joss sticks stuck in the loose dirt. Two large red candles with gold lettering stood on either side of the joss sticks.
“I'm burning joss paper for my ancestors,” Jenny said in her careful English. She was from Hong Kong, studying accounting at George Washington University. “It's for the Hungry Ghost Festival, which begins today, August 15. According to the Chinese calendar, it's the seventh month of the lunar year.”
“The Hungry Ghost Festival?” A shiver tickled Shawna’s spine. “What's that?”
“It's when the gates of Hell open and ghosts, including my forebears, ascend from the spirit world and roam the earth.” Jenny leaned back on her haunches. “The joss paper represents money. During the next four weeks, I'll make other offerings to appease my ancestors and other hungry spirits.”
“Let me get this right—when you burn this paper, your ancestors get money?”
Shawna felt a tinge of envy when Jenny nodded. She wished someone would burn her money. She wanted to discuss the festival but she had to get going or she would be late for work. It would take her at least 10 minutes to walk to the Metrorail station, and another 20 minutes to ride to her reporting job in Washington, D.C.
That night, Shawna came home to find a car, a flat-screen TV, cell phones and jewelry—all constructed from joss paper!—piled on the dining table of their two-bedroom, garden-style apartment in Arlington. Jenny sat at the table writing Chinese words on the colorful paper objects with a sharpie.
“Don't tell me,” Shawna said. “More stuff for your ancestors?”
Jenny nodded. “I bought them from a temple in Chinatown. They were offering the items at half-price because of the festival. I think my grandpa and grandma would like the gifts. I'm writing their names on the paper so there's no confusion.”
Shawna accompanied Jenny to where she had set up her makeshift altar in the woods. It was still light. Thick clouds overhead suggested that the sultry August heat might be broken by an overnight rainstorm.
As Shawna watched Jenny set fire to her latest offerings, an idea began to take root ...
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