Anthropological Forum, VoL. 13, No. 2, 2003 Carfax Publishing The supernatural in Hong Kong young peoples ghost stories JOSEPH BOSCO% Students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong typically tell ghost stories during orientation camps run in August, before the start of the semester. One night, while students talk in small groups under the stars, older students te the freshmen ghost stories to scare them. Most students know at least two or three of the more famous stories. Ghosts are commonly said to haunt primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the older the school, the more the ghosts. Female students often fear going to the school toilet alone, and avoid the end stall, for fear of ghosts. Though ghost stories have long been told by adults to children, thes people-are a relatively new phenomenon. They show the emergence of an th cultu Many students believe there is some truth behind the ghost stories( that is that a person really did die), even if the stories told on campus are just rumours and elaborations. Belief in ghosts is more important in Hong Kong than in the USA in that many people will readily admit they are very much afraid of ghosts Most students believe that ghosts really do exist. Questionnaires show students believe more strongly in ghosts than in fengshui and qigong Still, the ghost stories are not a frequent topic of conversation, and my focus on them should not exaggerate their importance. Since most students know many of the stories, however, and since the stories are told and passed on and thus relevant to students'lives, they are a good example of modern ghost stories and tales of the supernatural An example: Oxtail soup A male and female student lived in Bethlehem Hall in United College. By coincidence, she lived in the room one floor above the boy's. The girl often cooked soup for the boy. One day they agreed that they would not see each other during the exam period, but the girl continued to cook soup land lowered it by string outside his window]. Later, the boy found out that the girl had died, but every evening the soup was still lowered to him Joseph Bosco, Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ISSN00664677 print/IsSN14692902 online/03/02014109Do:10.1080/0066467032000129806 a2003 Discipline of Anthropology and Sociology, The University of Western AustraliaAnthropological Forum, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2003 The supernatural in Hong Kong young people’s ghost stories1 JOSEPH BOSCO* Students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong typically tell ghost stories during orientation camps run in August, before the start of the semester. One night, while students talk in small groups under the stars, older students tell the freshmen ghost stories to scare them. Most students know at least two or three of the more famous stories. Ghosts are commonly said to haunt primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the older the school, the more the ghosts. Female students often fear going to the school toilet alone, and avoid the end stall, for fear of ghosts. Though ghost stories have long been told by adults to children, these stories told among young people—and for young people—are a relatively new phenomenon. They show the emergence of an autonomous youth culture. Many students believe there is some truth behind the ghost stories (that is, that a person really did die), even if the stories told on campus are just rumours and elaborations. Belief in ghosts is more important in Hong Kong than in the USA in that many people will readily admit they are very much afraid of ghosts. Most students believe that ghosts really do exist. Questionnaires show students believe more strongly in ghosts than in fengshui and qigong. Still, the ghost stories are not a frequent topic of conversation, and my focus on them should not exaggerate their importance. Since most students know many of the stories, however, and since the stories are told and passed on and thus relevant to students’ lives, they are a good example of modern ghost stories and tales of the supernatural. An example: Oxtail soup A male and female student lived in Bethlehem Hall in United College. By coincidence, she lived in the room one floor above the boy’s. The girl often cooked soup for the boy. One day they agreed that they would not see each other during the exam period, but the girl continued to cook soup [and lowered it by string outside his window]. Later, the boy found out that the girl had died, but every evening the soup was still lowered to him. *Joseph Bosco, Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. ISSN 0066-4677 print/ISSN 1469-2902 online/03/020141-09 DOI: 10.1080/0066467032000129806 © 2003 Discipline of Anthropology and Sociology, The University of Western Australia