Many Thai people legitimately believe in ghosts

I think that for most of the western world that ghosts are just something that we see in movies and then never really think about it again. For a lot of Thai people though this belief system is very real and widespread.

Recently, a couple of friends in Khon Kaen were drinking Lao Khao or rice wine, when after a day of shooting the dangerous stuff, one of the friends accused his drinking buddy of being a rather famous type of ghost that floats around the jungle and is a cannibal that enjoys eating humans. I had heard of this kind of ghost but only just now learned that it is called a "Phi Pop."

The Phi part of that word just means ghost and I have no idea what the "pop" part of it is . For those of us that didn't grow up in Thai culture, these folklore stories are easy to ignore, but for some people they are very real. IT is so real in fact that the outcome of the story of the two friends in the Khon Kaen resulted in the one friend beating his friend to death with a hammer.

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Despite the obvious tragic nature of this rather crazy murder, the police never miss out on a photo opportunity complete with backdrop. It's just the way that it is here.

When police turned up at the jungle area the accused (the definitely guilty, let's be honest) a 59 year old named Wichan, made no attempt to flee and was honest with the officers. If delusional can be considered "honest" that is exactly what was going on there.

Here is where things get a bit strange from a western perspective. This man will likely get a reduced sentence because of his claims of believing that his friend was genuinely a ghost because believing in ghosts is a regular part of Thai society. There may actually be some members of the society or even part of the legal process that might believe that he and his friend were tricked by a real Phi Pop into committing the act.

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Almost anywhere that you go in Thailand you will see spirit houses or ghost houses which are small and ornate houses that are filled with snacks and drinks that are meant to entice the ghosts of the area to take up residence inside of these instead of inside the real houses nearby. These houses appear at government areas as well as municipal ones such as the one that appears above.

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These things become even more abundant once you get to rural areas as every single residence would consider this a rather important part of their lives. The snacks must be constantly updated and maintained even though to me it just seems like a wonderful place for ant and other insects to get some sugar.

Already, Wichan is not being charged with murder but instead he is being charged with "assault causing death" which is a much lower charge. With his defense of believing his friend was a ghost, he may actually manage to avoid jail - which to me just seems crazy. Wichan might be crazy and yet, he will likely return to his life in the jungle. I hope that the neighbors know that he is not a good drinking buddy at least.

I'm not going to knock anyone's culture. Do whatever you want but just don't hurt other people. Once you start hurting other people and them blaming it on a belief in ghosts, I think we are moving over into a mental health territory rather than a superstitious one. Hitting your friend that you have known for a while with a hammer 20 times because he turned into a ghost? That's crazy talk in my mind.

This story will not get a news resolution though. Like a lot of what happens in the press here this story will not be allowed to reflect negatively on the Thai government and if and when Wichan goes free it will be forbidden for the press to report on it. Even now the article that I read about this doesn't paint it as a mental health issue but rather, paints the police as diligent and the man as perhaps being correct about his presumptions of poltergeists.

Strange huh?