Haunted House of WanChai and Nam Koo Terrace – Unexplained Mysteries

Nam Koo Terrace, known as the Wan Chai Haunted House, has stood abandoned for the past twenty years. It is known for being one of Hong Kong’s most haunted locations. Its reputation went national after several students fled the building, with three needing psychiatric treatment. Colloquially referred to as a ‘Haunted House‘, the mansion has been attached with a certain conjectural element of mystery and esoteric connotation.

The ‘ghosts‘ of women, who are said to have died in the time Nam Koo Terrace allegedly served as a Japanese military brothel; are claimed to have been witnessed at several different points in the building. Accounts of hearing cries and screams from these said comfort women, have long been circulated by the supernatural rumour mill and have subsequently furthered Nam Koo Terrace’s reputation for being a place of paranormal interest.

The two-storey red brick building was built in c.1915-1921 and owned by a wealthy Shanghai merchant family by the name of To . Prominent Hong Kong businessman To Chun-man first leased the land lot where the building now stands in 1915. At this stage To Chun-man held the position of Chief Chinese Silks Salesman for Wing On Company Limited , although he was later promoted to Assistant Manager .

He also held several posts in various community committees including that of Secretary for the Commercial Chamber of The Heung Shan District , and was a member of The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.

However, To Chun-man was forced to evacuate the mansion at the onset of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, and he died soon after his return. It is said that during the occupation, Nam Koo Terrace was used as a military brothel or “comfort house ” for the Japanese soldiers from 1941 to 1945. Many other properties within the Wan Chai area were also used as brothels by the Japanese military during this period, including St. Luke’s College and neighbouring Tung Chi College.

Nam Koo Terrace continued to remain under the ownership of the To family until 1988, when the property was sold to YUBA Co. Ltd.

Hopewell Holdings took over ownership of the building in 1993, which was initially acquired to be demolished in order to make way for their Mega Tower hotel project . However, the site has stood vacant since then; despite the fact that the company’s development proposal gained Government approval in 1994. While Hopewell Holdings remains the current proprietor of Nam Koo Terrace; recent public announcements indicate that their intentions have now shifted to the preservation of this historical site but does not have any concrete plans announced since 2008

People have also reported seeing “ghostly flames” in the house. However, as Nam Koo Terrace was frequented often by Hong Kong’s squatting community, these apparitions were most likely the result of actual fires lit by local vagrants using the site for shelter. On the 30th of November 2003, Oriental Daily, as well as many other local Hong Kong newspapers; covered a story about a group of eight middle school students who attempted to stay overnight on the Nam Koo Terrace property. It was said the students wanted to catch a glimpse of the supernatural ‘ghosts’ that have long been rumoured to reside in the historical building.

According to the report, three of the female students were seen to have become emotionally unstable, claiming to have been assailed by a ghostly visitant. Later, police sent the three girls to hospital to receive psychiatric treatment. In the days following, local people in Hong Kong thronged to Nam Koo Terrace en masse and the house continued to dominate the headlines of daily newspapers for some time.“

November 2003, a group of eight middle school students decided to visit the local areas haunted location. Their plan was to stay the night, in the hopes of getting a glimpse of one of the resident spirits.

Their hopes high for a night of mystery and intrigue, in a few steps undoubtedly turned to uncertainty, as they crossed the threshold into Nam Koo Terrace. It is said a feeling of appalling loneliness that is also confusingly felt alongside the feeling of a crowded space, hits those who enter the property.

This abandoned house is also known locally as the Wan Chai Haunted House, and its legends no doubt grew to infamy as verbal recounts of what happened this night passed from neighbour to neighbour, through the students of the local schools, and child to child in the playground located close by.

That night the students set up their small camp in one of the empty rooms, and decided to attempt to contact the spirits through their version of a ouija board. It was during this session that three of the girls in the group became agitated, their minds filling with terrible images.

One of the girls then completely flipped and became psychotic

The students fled the building, but as they made it to the gate, the girl who had been most affected took on a strange persona and would not step off the property. It was at this stage the other two girls affected during the ouija session heard a male voice calling them to the second floor.

The police were called, and when they tried to forcefully remove the girl, she snapped and attacked them. It took both police officers to remove the girl and she was sent off to a hospital for psychiatric assessment and treatment, along with two of the other students who were emotionally affected by the night’s activities.

The Oriental Daily newspaper ran the story, and soon many other papers and media outlets followed suit. The legend of Nam Koo Terrace was now fully lodged in everyone’s psyche, but the legends of ghosts and hauntings of this location go back quite a time. n the 1940’s, the Japanese invaded and occupied Hong Kong. During this period the Japanese military turned Nam Koo Terrace, along with many other buildings in the district, into a military brothel. It remained as a brothel for four years until 1945.

It was during this period that the legends began starting with tales of local women being taken to the ‘comfort house’ to be repeatedly raped by the Japanese soldiers, before being tortured and killed. Many of these women were said to have been decapitated by the soldiers, before being dumped, to be found by their friends and relatives.

Nam Koo Terrace is also known as a suicide house, a location where people come to end their own lives. As recently as 2010 bodies have been recovered from the rooms of the house, or cut down from the branches of the gardens trees. It is not known how many people have ended their lives in the house, but estimates put it at higher than 30.

Murder is also said to have taken place on the grounds several times.