Hungry Ghosts
On Thailand's southwestern coast more than 5,300 people died and 2,900 more went missing when the tsunami swept ashore. Half of the victims were foreign tourists.
Since the disaster, tales of ghost sightings have become endemic. Foreign ghosts seem to be particularly common, and many of the accounts are being covered in local newspapers.
One Phuket taxi driver reportedly said he was hailed by four western tourists who asked to go to the airport. The driver chatted as he drove, but when he pulled up at the airport to let the passengers out there was no one there.
"Belief in ghosts and spirits is widespread and all-important in Asian religious and cultural traditions," said Steven Heine, a religious studies professor at the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida International University in Miami.
As Buddhism gradually spread from India to Asia it was molded by various folk religions. Most of these belief systems have a strong element of ancestor worship.
For example, many Chinese people believe that the spirits of the dead endure after death and must be kept happy with offerings and other gestures of honor.
Spirits that are not kept happy, perhaps because they had a bad death or an improper burial, can become aggressive toward the living.
"According to Buddhist hell lore, the beings suffering in hell cannot eat, because whenever they bring food to their mouths the food immediately turns into burning hot coals," said Alvin Cohen, a professor of Chinese language and culture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"These suffering beings are commonly called e gui, meaning hungry ghost,'" Cohen said.
Hungry ghosts may attack human beings to prompt them to meet the ghosts' needs, according to Asian folklore.
"Where someone dies prematurely … it is commonly believed that the ghosts will hang around the accident area and harass the living who come near," Cohen said.
Cleansing Rituals
In Thailand tourist arrivals to Bangkok dropped by 27 percent between January 2004 and January 2005.
Korean and Japanese travel agencies have reportedly seen a massive drop-off in the number of bookings to Thai coastal resorts. Business is so bad that many Asian airlines have cut their direct flights to Phuket.
"Asian tourists are scared of ghosts … and these are factors that have made our tourist arrivals drop short of our goal," Thai tourism minister Somsak Thepsuthin told a local radio show.
The Thai government has given private companies grants equal to millions of U.S. dollars for marketing and advertising campaigns to help Asian tourists overcome their fears.
Meanwhile, Buddhist monks have been presiding over cleansing ceremonies at resorts that were destroyed by the tsunami.
According to Buddhist teachings, the spirits of those who suffer a violent death will roam the land until they are calmed and blessed.
Days after the tsunami struck, monks in flowing orange robes could be seen walking along the beaches sprinkling holy water.
But for Sopaporn and other small business owners, who generally don't own the land on which their businesses once stood, the decision to leave is final.
"I lost everything," Sopaporn said. "I don't want to go back. There are too many dead people there."
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