Strange Tales of the Human World: A Hundred Ghost Stories by Night

Why is blood seeping from a wardrobe in the dead of night? What exactly is the “water monkey” that drags people to their deaths in an abandoned reservoir? Why is the last bus carrying a full load of dead souls toward the Yellow Springs? In a cheap rental in the old district, a family of three is plunged into a nightmare by a century-old wardrobe. Scratching, sighs, and the bloody words “Let me out” combine into a vengeful spirit’s accusation. A young man from a mountain village refuses to believe in the supernatural and angers the Dark Dragon Pool, only to stumble upon the grisly truth: the “water monkey” uses the living as substitutes. A night jogger is chased to the brink of madness by a red-robed ghost, while security cameras capture a faceless shadow on a rainy night... Each tale springs from eerie rumors whispered in the streets and alleys, steeped in the scent of decaying sandalwood and lingering obsessions. From the life-or-death questions posed by a fox spirit seeking a title, to a woman in a mirror who has been staring across a century; from a haunted-house tester exposing a sinister formation to embroidered shoes that force the living to reenact a tragic lovers’ suicide, this book depicts humanity’s struggle against fear in stark, chilling prose. Paper effigies carrying a coffin, yin-yang roof tiles communicating with the underworld, and ghosts trapping the living in endless circles: folk taboos and supernatural forces intertwine, and the truth is often more terrifying than the legends.