Fear of Ghosts Haunts Tsunami Survivors

[Sequoia]

PHUKET, Thailand (AP) -- Since the tsunami, taxi driver Wiwat Sakuldee is afraid of the dark and won't go near the beach. Like a lot of Thais on this resort island, he believes many of the disaster's victims have become restless spirits who haunt the streets after sunset.

Traditional beliefs and spooky gossip are fueling ghost stories along the Asian coastlines where thousands were swept away. In Indonesia, a student saw a shadowy human shape enter a house, only to find the door locked and no one around. Villagers in Sri Lanka hear cries for help from the ocean.

Ghost sightings are the talk of the town in the beach resorts of southern Thailand, where some 5,300 people are listed as dead -- a third of them foreigners -- and 3,144 others are missing.

In Phuket, Wiwat said he dreads working at night now, and he keeps away from the beaches.

Wiwat shudders in retelling a story making the rounds about a Phuket driver who recently picked up Western tourists in his tuk-tuk, one of Thailand's trademark three-wheeled, open-air taxis.

"Ten of them got in when the ride started, but there were only two left when it ended at Kata Beach," Wiwat said. "The driver was so scared he ran away. If any Westerners ask me for a ride to the beaches, or even one of the streets that run near it, I won't go."

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http://www.kron.com/Global/story.asp?S=2819353

[HEyHEY]

1. Why do people always assume ghosts are bad?

[paula777]

2. I heared they also won't eat the fish anymore, because the fish are eating

all the corpses.... with all the disease, etc that brings as well as just not wanting to maybe eat thier relatives.

[HeyManThatsCool]

4. Makes sense not to eat the fish

But since it is such a major thing for them I wonder how long that will last

[Stuckinthebush]

3. I was wondering about that the other day

I am fascinated by ghost stories, and I imagine that there will be many from the affected areas.