Penang War Museum - The Horrors on Ghost Hill

Exploration Date : 7 Dec 2013

No longer satisfied with encountering the paranormal behind the safety of a big screen or LCD monitor, I made that reel-to-real crossover recently in a visit to the supposedly haunted Penang War Museum. The historical Malaysian site was featured in an episode of National Geographic's "I Wouldn't Go In There" edutainment series which investigates some of the most haunted places in Asia.

I don't possess the power of clairvoyance. Neither do I aspire to be a ghostbuster. I just find the prospect of entering a possible metaphysical realm seductive as a means to affirm the existence of God. If ghosts / evil spirits exist, surely angels, and therefore God, must too be true. Well, I'm digressing. I'm really here to spook myself with a real-life haunted house. And learning that the truly scary thing is the horrors of war along the way.

Built in 1930 by the British as a fortress against Japanese maritime attacks, the site was overtaken by Jap forces during World War II when they surprised the Brits with inland invasion rather than the sea. While historical hand-me-down accounts vary, it is believed that the Japanese garrison is a butcher house for civilians and prisoners-of-war.

The location of Penang War Museum is enough to set goose pimples running amok. It sits on Bukit Hantu, which means 'Ghost Hill' because local folklore is apparently rife with ghostly sightings and encounters in the vicinity. It could also be the result of active imagination due to the fort's dark past as a purported Jap torture camp during World War II that the hill got its name.

Penang War Museum sits on a hill and is far from the usual Penang tourist staple of Georgetown heritage attractions, Ernest Zacharevic's wall art and famous hawker fare.

Getting Here

As Penang War Museum is located near the airport and away from the island's city center, I paid a visit the moment I disembarked from the plane before checking into my hotel in Georgetown.

If you are going to the museum from Georgetown, you can take Rapid Penang bus numbers U302, U305 and U307 from the bus terminal located next to KOMTAR, the tallest building in Penang. The journey will take about 1.5 hours and the bus doesn't stop right outside the museum. They stop at a bus-stop at the foot of a hill so get the bus driver to tell you when to alight. After getting off, look out for signs that point to a winding path that leads up a hill to the museum. It's quite a long walk uphill so wear comfortable shoes. Penang War Museum isn't exactly easy to get to.

I took a cab from the airport to the museum and it was less than 15 minutes to get there but the fare was a pocket burning RM31.40. So if you plan to visit, I would suggest coming here directly from the airport upon arrival or en route to the airport before departure.

However, do note that not all cab drivers know the location of Penang War Museum but if you mention Batu Muang, most of them would know. Driving along the main road leading to Batu Muang from the airport, look out for signboards pointing the way to the museum when you get close.

As cabs seldom come uphill to pick passengers, you can seek the help of the museum's reception to call for a taxi after your visit. My flat-rate cab fare from Penang War Museum to Georgetown was RM50.00 and the ride took approximately 40 minutes.

Hauntings From the Past

Penang War Museum is a privately-owned preservation site that receives negligible funding from the local tourism ministry. Due to the lack of financial support to develop it into a polished tourist attraction, much of the open-air museum retained the mortar and relics in their original state, in which lies the authenticity of an unadulterated battle station.

Entrance to the War Museum.

Foreigners visiting the museum have to pay a fee of RM35.00 with an additional RM2.00 levied for photographic gadgets be it a compact cam or DSLR. (Right) The staff were very friendly and helpful by pointing out a costume photo op at the mouth of the fort where you can pretend to be a yesteryear infantry soldier.

Pathways with huge arrows points the direction to explore the museum set within a forest. Miniature replicas of traditional Malay architecture accompany a section of the cement pavement leading into the historic site.

A tight passage that lead to an artillery shelter within the hill.

Inside the womb of destruction where bombshells and ammos were stored and delivered.

An anti-aircraft shaft that serves as a tunnel through time.

The ecology of a military strike was preserved in a bomb transport system, gun firing bay and deployment shelters. These are among other trenches, sheds and pill boxes found around the fortress.

Smothering cannons gave way to cigarette smoke as a caretaker cleared the grounds of fallen leaves. Dead foliage is like the human lives that this gunnery may have claimed.

No mercy on these grounds.

Bullet cavities on the wall in this room marked the executions of rebels by Japanese forces from 1941 to 1943.

Left : Soldiers rest in the ground they defended. Right : It is not a yeti who missed his manicure appointment but one of the few monsters reportedly seen by locals.

A segment of Penang War Museum is dedicated to the immortalisation of ghouls and supernatural beings that were encountered in the hill. Dare you stay the night to verify their existence?

According to a write-up next to the tree, this is supposedly the site of numerous beheadings carried out by Colonel Suzuki. I wondered if the tree grew up feeding on blood.

Staying alive is an art in this hill filled with many ways to die.

Visage of one of the few barracks used as offices and lodging units.

The beds are missing but remnant furniture provided a peek into the lives of its occupants.

Reflections of a turbulent past where I found the British soldier in a loin cloth to be rather peculiar.

Much of the tales of haunting spotlight the restless spirit of Colonel Suzuki, a fearsome and bloodthirsty executioner of the masses who is believed to be still roaming the museum grounds looking for victims. The colonel can be seen in various photos in a bunk. Another alleged ruthless character in the region's WWII history is General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

An empty shell remains of what so many men had fought vehemently for.

No room for the living. Some of the bunkers were converted to prisons and mortuaries during the military contest.

This barrack was inhabited by Malay soldiers when the fort was operational. Before I began my self exploration of the museum grounds, I chatted with one of the cleaners and asked if he encountered anything unusual. He told me that he'd heard voices coming from the Malay barrack but when he checked, there was no one there. Unlike the other bunkers I saw earlier that were bright, the interior of this one was dark and ominous. *Creepy!*

Can you imagine seeing a Japanese soldier wielding a samurai sword and rifle with bayonet standing on the rooftop waving to you to go over? According to NatGeo's haunted Penang episode, that's what a night watchman saw during his patrol.

Curious, he walked towards the figure but when he climbed up the observation post, you guessed it, there's not a single soul in sight... Or is there? *Goosebumps overdrive!*

It's nice to see life bloods again after exploring this mostly deserted war relic alone. Before leaving, I took a photo with the museum's manageress who maintains a very neutral stance on reported paranormal sightings here.

In all her years working there, she hadn't witnessed anything otherworldly but a couple of tourists did asked her about a lady in red loitering around one of the bunkers near the beach. As ground-keepers wore dull coloured uniform t-shirts, she had no idea who the lady could be. But she pointed out that bullet holes on the bunker's outer wall facing the beach suggest that the area may have been a rifle execution site. Was the lady a victim caught in an eternal search for her killer?

I spent almost 2 hours at Penang War Museum and although I didn't encounter any supernatural occurrences, the excursion back in time to where WWII left its ugly scars reignited my appreciation of peace. It is not ghosts that haunt this place. It is its horrific past.

Address : Lot 1350, Mukim 12, Daerah Barat Daya, Batu Maung 11960, Penang, Malaysia
Tel : +6 016-421 3606 / +6 04-626 5142

Opening Hours : 9am to 6pm daily
Night Tour : 7 - 11pm daily
Entrance Fees : RM35 (Foreigners), RM20 (Malaysians). Children pay half price.

Bangkok - Mansion 7 at Huai Khwang District

Date of Exploration : 13 Apr 2013

With the shopping gene missing from my tourist DNA, I rarely plan mall visits into my travel itineraries except when I'm in Bangkok. The Thai capital is ever brimming with creative products, fashion designers and concept malls that are as fascinating as the merchandise they retail so I make it a point to sniff out new shopping joints on each visit.

This my umpteenth trip to Bangkok, I paid legwork to Mansion 7, a horror themed mall-cum-entertainment outfit replete with a haunted house and promises to make the night come alive!

Don't I look like a suitable prop?

Making customers change their underpants since November 2010, I can't believe it took me almost 3 years to learn of Mansion 7's existence. My delayed discovery of this place is kinda unforgiveable because my obsession with horror movies is as legendary as my penchant for tom yum goong so it came as a surprise that this mall of terrors escaped my travel radar.

If you are up for something unusual to check out in Bangkok and brought extra inner wear, read on...

Getting There

Mansion 7 is located in the nightlife district of Huai Khwang. As it is just a few MRT stops from Chatuchak Weekend Market, a possible itinerary could be to visit the market in the afternoon and then dropping in at Mansion 7 in the evening. Mansion 7 is open from 6pm onwards.



To get to Mansion 7, take the MRT to Huai Khwang (also spelt Huay Kwang) station and take Exit 1.

Turn right upon coming out from Exit 1 and walk in the direction of Sutthisan Police Area. The main road in this photo is Ratchadapisek Road which Mansion 7 is located on.

The walk from Huai Khwang MRT station to Mansion 7 is under 5 minutes.

After a short walk, the shock of purple marks the spot.

The Trouble with Purple

The first thought that ran through my head when we reached Mansion 7 was that it has gone out of business. The façade looked rather rundown in daylight and I wasn't sure if the venue was in the process of being taken apart or already abandoned.

Even the official website of this amusement mall seemed uncompleted and severely starved of details to entice a visit. And other links I consulted were dated mostly in 2010 so I wasn't sure if the mall is still around. But despite the operational ambiguity of Mansion 7, Juliana and I decided to try our luck and drop by anyway. We heaved a sigh of relief when we confirmed that Mansion 7 is still open for business. Phew!

Mansion 7 extends a hand of welcome at its entrance with ghoulish digits ready to claw visitors in. 

View of Ratchadapisek Road from under the massive zombie hand. 

We arrived at 5:15pm so Mansion 7 was still asleep. The amusement mall wakes up for business from 6pm onwards but the retail section was in permanent coma. All the shops, except for the Mansion 7 gift shop, were hoarded up and closed for business.

Mansion 7 in daylight. To the right are the shops; ahead is the Haunted Hotel flanked by a cocktail bar (right) and beer bar (left). The extreme left houses a wine bar and what looks like a F&B outlet but they were closed.

With the shops closed indefinitely, the main draw at Mansion 7 would be its Haunted Hotel. The elaborate staging was intriguing and looked creepy good, which gave the feel of a movie set rather than an entertainment haunt. It's Halloween here everyday!

The Haunted Hotel is built around a fictitious legend of an unscrupulous owner who erected the hotel for profit despite paranormal warnings. As a result, many people died and the hotel became home to restless souls waiting to claim their next victim.

An assortment of sitting huddles, pool tables and arcade games sparsely littered Mansion 7's huge hall space. It felt rather empty and a whole lot of nothing if not for the club music that filled the void.

Storefront of Mansion 7's Gift Shop. Love the dilapidated visage that forebode of eerie endeavours.

Having a child ghost beneath the table was a nice touch!



We had fun posing with this Toshio lookalike from the Ju-On horror trilogy.

The gift shop sold an artistic collection of knick-knacks and Mansion 7 branded merchandise.

Beer Mansion is a beer retailer that serves brews from all over the world. Wanted to check it out but it was locked.

The other drinking hole at Mansion 7 is Cocktail which serves up, according to its namesake, a wide selection of cocktails. Happy hour is 1-for-1 from 6 - 9pm.

The interior of Cocktail sports an underground industrial chic lined with as many gnomes as there are booze.

Upper deck of Cocktail bar.

The staff were friendly and the bartender had some really smooth moves in mixing our cocktails. He was really entertaining to watch.

I ordered Creepy that tasted like Mojito with beer and Juliana got Shy (beer with Crème de Cacao White and strawberry concentrate). Price of each drink was 280bht (S$11.50) but since it was Happy Hour, we got both drinks for the price of one. The cocktails were pretty good.

The bartender introduced us to a small list of cocktails in their Halloween menu and we decided to try out this drink called Suicide. Each shot costs 250bht (S$10.50). I ordered one but we were served 3 and cost 750bht.

Suicide was basically a strong Vodka concoction served in a water pistol. Juliana and I turned frenemies trying to knock each other out with the stiff shots.

It was fun for the novelty but a tad too pricey.

After loosening our nerves with a few drinks at Cocktail, it was time to test our lungs at the Haunted Hotel. An entry fee of 320bht (S$13.50) applies and tickets can be bought at the car-shaped counter.

No retail therapy so we checked ourselves in for some shock therapy.

I wasn't expecting much but the haunted house set-up was pretty good. No photography is allowed inside the Haunted Mansion but shots were taken at designated spots and sold as souvenir photos (270bht for 2 shots) at the end of the walk.

I shan't divulge too my much about what to expect so as not to spoil the suspense but I would say that the experience was pretty good. We were told the walk lasts 20 minutes but I think we completed it in 10 minutes.

Mansion 7 looked so much better at night when the lights came on but pity that patronage was low. With the music and huge space, this place has the potential to be a great chill-out club. Perhaps adding more horror sculptures for photo opportunities, face-painting services, horror-themed food menus, staff in costumes and bringing down the prices could draw in more local crowd and tourists.

I came face-to-face with fear and it ran away! Tee hee...

In retrospect of my Mansion 7 experience, I felt the amusement mall had an interesting theme but the horror concept remained only on its purple surface and didn't burrow deep enough to milk the horror genre for all that it's worth. And since the mall component of Mansion 7 is missing, the venue has relegated to a mere haunted house attraction with a couple of drinking holes. No puns intended but the place felt rather dead.

However, I think Mansion 7 is still worth checking out for some scares and the great tasting cocktails during Happy Hour. Perhaps Mansion 7's developers can consider morphing it into a horror museum since the Thais has a rich subculture of the paranormal and occult. Or perhaps even organizing a horror convention for fans of the genre to meat and grit!

Address : 244/7 Ratchadapisek Soi 14, Ratchadapisek Rd., Huai Khwang, 02-692-631

Opening Hours : 6pm - 2am daily