Thai ghost visit was actually a thief
A small tambon (ตำบล, a local governmental unit smaller than a district) in Lopburi is currently experiencing its very own ghost story – complete with plot twists and turns. Since mid-September 2023, a local story turned into an online frenzy when people discovered that a man had claimed to have been visited by a Thai ghost called a Krasue (กระสือ).
The story made headlines when on 17 October, a mask was found leading police to declare that it was simply a thief. Since then, the local government has mobilised officials for a sanctioned ghost hunt and a local resort owner even issued – but then rescinded – an bounty of ฿1m to catch the ghost.
Here’s the full story…so far.
A ghostly visit
Image credit: Thairath
In mid-September, a local 70-year-old man from a small tambon in Lopburi reported that he saw a krasue. The krasue is a female ghost that appears as a woman’s head attached to internal organs down to the intestines. What the man described fit all the classic descriptions of the krasue, including the will-o-wisps. He said it had the face of an old greying woman baring fangs at him.
But he was a fighting man, so he grabbed his farming shovel and chased the spirit away. He then told his story to his neighbours.
Neighbours found a mask, police find a conclusion
Image credit: Sathaporn Auyha via Facebook
We love our horror stories so the man’s story quickly became the talk of the town. Many locals became quite frightened. The man’s neighbour, however, went out for a jog the following morning and found a discarded mask nearby. This led the police to conclude, on 17 October, that it was simply a thief wearing a mask looking to steal the 70-year-old man’s chickens and valuables.
But that was not the end of it.
The ghost strikes back
Image credit: @pr_lopburi via Instagram
The 70-year-old man disputed the findings and shed light on more details on what happened that mid-September night. He said that the night after initially catching a glimpse of the ghost, he hung a duck outside his house as bait. He said that saw some flashing lights and afterwards, the duck was gone with the ghost seemingly taking it.
With lots of talk flaring up again regarding the ghost in Lopburi, locals started to panic. This led to the local government mobilising officials for a ghost hunt. The officials found nothing.
The 70-year-old man said that the officials didn’t find any ghosts simply because there were too many people looking for the ghost to show up. He added that he believes the official story being simply a thief wearing a mask was just told as a way to calm local nerves.
A local resort owner offers a massive bounty
Image credit: @pr_lopburi via Instagram
Interest spiked on 19 October when a TikTok posted by a local from neighbouring province Saraburi said he was assembling a team of ghost hunters to find the krasue. He said he was going after the big bounty posted by a local resort owner for one million baht.
In a move straight out of a movie, the local ghost hunter came prepared to hunt the ghost with a blade with Buddhist charms.
The bounty for catching the ghost was later rescinded by the resort owner when Lopburi locals called him. Due to the large reward, many teens and youth headed to the area which caused a lot of noise and chaos for the locals. So the owner took down the million-baht bounty in the interests of local peace in Lopburi.
The Thai ghost story in Lopburi continues
Unlike horror movies, real life ghost stories rarely have a satisfying conclusion. Likewise, this Thai ghost story in Lopburi is shaping up to be one where we never really get a conclusive answer to what really happened.
Whether or not you believed this was a real haunting, one thing’s for sure: what a way to kick off Halloween.
For more spooky stories from Thailand, check out our list of ghost hunting incidents, or this story about how a creepy ghost turned out to be a person, or a ghostly hitchhiker.
Cover image adapted from: Thairath and @pr_lopburi via Instagram