Source: Jon Chiang
If you believe every army tale you’ve ever heard, every army boy who has gone through Pulau Tekong probably has what it takes to be cast in Paranormal Activity 2. Shaking beds, ghosts along the corridor, women’s voices in the toilet… BMT has become more than just a test of fitness.
Some have had first-hand encounters, while others have heard stories of their friend’s brother’s girlfriend’s boyfriend’s encounter, but one thing for sure – they are all terrifying. Next thing you know, smuggling an ordinary Maria into camp won’t be the only concern of our ah boys. This Maria better double up as a certified ghostbuster too!
Here are 10 scariest Tekong ghost stories that are guaranteed to make your hair stand on end. Thank goodness I’m not writing this at night.
Ever wondered why the army doesn’t conduct trainings on Thursday nights? Here’s why.
It was an ordinary Thursday night and the soldiers were having their scheduled training, marching through the forest. It was only when they had to do a head count when they suddenly realised one recruit was missing, for who knows how long. A search party was sent out immediately, and finally, the missing recruit was found.
His field pack items were neatly displayed on the mud, and his body hung limply from a tree. But that’s not all. His internal organs, intestines and all, were torn out forcefully and lined orderly beside the tree, in “stand-by-bed” manner. This gut wrenching tale is on the mind of everyone doing guard duty on a Thursday night.
Army boy or not, everyone would have heard this iconic story about a bunk on Pulau Tekong with a third door. Many recruits look out for it when they enlist, but few, if any, ever see it. Let’s just get it out there: this bunk exists. It’s hidden among the empty bunks that recruits pass on the way to field camp or on the way to Rocky Hill Camp.
So, back to the guy whose guts were removed. The story goes that his spirit became extremely bitter towards his bunkmates, especially his buddy for not looking out for him. Every night without fail, he would come back to the bunk and haunt everyone with the usual rattling of cupboards and scratching of nails on the walls.
It wasn’t long before the higher-ups in BMT finally engaged a Taoist priest to perform some rituals to get rid of the spirit. The priest suggested adding a third door to the existing two, in order to make the spirit leave. The third door was constructed and padlocked, preventing the spirit from escaping. Till today, that bunk is the only one with three doors – every other bunk in Tekong has only two.
It is rumoured that on certain nights, a young girl and her grandmother strolls among the bunks, counting the number of sleeping recruits. Maybe this is how the ghost community teaches their children basic Maths. Counting slowly, the voice of the girl becomes increasingly loud as she nears your bed.
Never peep. The temptation is real but remember: curiosity killed the cat, and curiosity will kill the recruit too.
Many believe this is a story sergeants made up to get recruits to go to bed on time. But some have witnessed the eerie counting, telling of a shadow over their faces when they attempt to open their eyes…
Grandma doesn’t like to show favouritism, so she brings her grandson out on other nights too. This little boy has a basketball in one hand, and his grandmother’s hand in the other. He’s looking for a playmate, but his grandmother is telling him not to wake up the tired recruits. Don’t let him catch you awake, or he’ll ask his grandma “why this kor kor not sleeping?”
The basketball drops, and your heart beats as loudly as the thuds of the basketball. You open your eyes and he’s inches from your face.
No one has lived to tell how much fun being his playmate was.
This is one of those typical stories that happened to your friend’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin. In the middle of a night, a recruit’s – let’s call him Thomas – buddy woke him up to go to the toilet. Grumpy and half-awake, the recruit followed his buddy to the cubicles and waited outside. 10 minutes passed, then 30, then an hour. Finally, there was a flushing sound. The recruit looked into the toilet, all ready to give his buddy a piece of his mind for taking so long, only to be greeted with the sight of 10 empty cubicles.
Then, it hit him. His buddy was on MC.
It is said that every batch, one Bed 12 recruit of the Jaguar Company will be “gifted” with the ability to see “things”. Many people scoff at this rumour, until they are the ones assigned to Bed 12. The spirit of a young boy will be seen on the top of the opposite bunk, playing with a towel and grinning evilly at the Bed 12 recruit.
If you’re the one ‘lucky’ enough to be put in Bed 12, good luck bro.
This story starts with the recruits noticing an unoccupied bed in their dorm. Then, they find notes in their cupboards, warning them not to open the cupboard beside the empty bed. Nothing much happened otherwise… until nightfall.
It was dark, it was quiet, it was cold. Everyone was sleeping soundly when suddenly, the cupboard beside the empty bed shook violently, and terrified screams can be heard from within. All the recruits jumped up in fear, everyone huddling together and backing away into a corner. Frantic scratching sounds are heard from inside the cupboard. Someone, or something, was trying to get out.
After a long moment of trying not to pee in their pants, the recruits decided to suck it up and get back to bed. They have already been warned that Tekong wasn’t the “cleanest” place. But every night, without fail, the cupboard shakes and screams will be heard. Generations of men have passed, but not a single man has tried to unlock the cupboard’s secret.
Think you have more space to yourself when there are unoccupied bunk beds? Think again. Clearly, those beds aren’t occupied by human beings, but we all know they aren’t really unoccupied. Bella loves it when Edward watches her sleeping, so yay for you if you like that sort of thing because someone’s going to be watching you, all night, from that unoccupied bed.
Many will believe it’s a hallucination – the woman with long black hair, red lipstick, pale face and bloodshot eyes. Who would blame them though, that’s the typical description of any mainstream female ghost. But when they find the strands of long hair during area cleaning and red lipstick on their pillows, they’ll know it wasn’t just a dream…
Night walks are all romantic and cute, until you have it in Tekong. Any boy assigned to night time Guard Duty better have all his good luck charms ready, because he’s gonna need them. There are many different ghost stories regarding night patrol, and this is one I heard: Two recruits were patrolling the area when they decided to venture into the forest. Asking for it, I know.
Soon, they came across an abandoned playground neither of them has seen before. The air was still, the night was cold, and the only sounds heard were the crunching of leaves beneath their every step. Then there was a creaking sound. The roundabout started to turn, faster and faster. Without a second glance back, the two men ran for their lives back the way they came. When they retraced their footsteps the next morning, the playground was nowhere to be seen.
The ultimate scary story of all time. Extra Confinement. All alone in Tekong.
‘Nuff said.
These are a collection of the 10 scariest Tekong stories we heard. Think about it the next time you see a NSF and cut your guy friends some slack. It’s not nice being away from home, and then they have to stay in the natural habitats of these less-than-human beings. Goodness knows what else they do to our boys at Tekong.
Believe it or not, it’s up to you. But never be one to mock or question their existence – they might just prove it to you.
On a ligther note, here’s an army video we filmed recently!
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