17 Hungry Ghost Festival taboos and things to avoid doing

Don’t leave it outside on the balcony or out the window. The shapes of clothing is said to attract visiting spirits, who will gladly come over to ‘borrow’ your garments for the night. Apparitions may also leave behind their misfortune-inducing aura on your clothes. Yeah, no thanks. As if doing the laundry wasn’t enough of a chore already, now we have to worry about ghosts possessing our favourite pair of jeans too.

This has always been a cultural taboo for Chinese people anyway, but even more so during the Hungry Ghost month. Chopsticks sticking upright resemble offerings of incense, so unless you want a wandering spirit to think you’re inviting them to your meal, put your eating utensils down like a normal person.

When it comes to posing for the ‘gram, you can never go wrong with leaning up against a cool-looking wall or having it as a clean background to show off your #OOTD. Well, you might want to hold off doing that during the Hungry Ghost Festival. According to Chinese folklore, walls naturally give off a cold yin energy, making them major hotspots for ghostly gatherings. It’s also best to avoid narrow alleyways – no matter how ‘grammable they might seem.

Wandering ghosts are believed to seek shelter under the shade of trees and – you guessed it – umbrellas, so it’s considered unlucky to open them at home. While we’re on the topic of umbrellas, don’t pick up stray umbrellas that you find outside. Accidentally adopting a ghost is not worth the $30 it takes to buy a new brolly.

Feeling neglected when the last bus departs and there’s no one else on board? Don’t worry – you’re most likely not exactly alone. The last shift on public transport is often believed to be brimming with invisible customers, who are probably just waiting to pounce on the first vulnerable mortal they can find. So, be sure to avoid the last round of transport. You simply don’t know who you might end up sitting on.

Apparently, water spirits tend to be mischievous and vengeful, and are more likely to drown unsuspecting folk to try and get reincarnated into their bodies. Getting dragged into a watery grave would really be a downer, so if you must swim, do it during the day – and even then, not in the sea.

It wouldn’t truly be the festival of ghosts if you were safe in your own home. Rumour has it that slippers act as compasses for victim-seeking phantoms, so pointing them towards your bed is like handing out the spiritual keys to your cosy abode. Of course, you could just circumvent this by not wearing slippers, but then you’d have to deal with an even scarier phenomenon – dirty feet.

Traditionally, Chinese people live by the almanac, and the entire month of Hungry Ghost is considered to be an inauspicious one due to its ties to death and the supernatural. You don’t want to doom any major life occurrences right from the start, so this is why it’s best not to move houses, set up a new business, get married, or the like during this time.

If horror films like Shutter and Paranormal Activity have taught us anything at all, it’s that cameras and ghosts don’t mix. Thrill-seekers who dare to expose their lens at ungodly hours will run the risk of capturing ghosts in action, and could even end up trapping vengeful spirits in their cameras and phones. Unless you’re looking to be haunted by terrible misfortune and bad lighting, you should probably save that selfie for the daytime.

According to Chinese beliefs, there’s a strong yang life force that emanates from the forehead. Covering up this source of energy may make you more susceptible to ghostly disturbances. And let’s be real – it’s still too hot for bangs anyway.

We all know the thrill of spotting a fat $5 coin on the floor, but you’d do well to leave stray money on the streets alone. Apparently, sometimes these can be offerings left out for the guardians of hell – known as Ox Head and Horse Face – and they are two characters you don’t want to rob. If you simply can’t resist the allure of a shiny coin, then at least spend it so you don’t bring it home.

Apparently, the consequences of leg hair removal stretch far beyond irritated skin and nasty cuts. There’s an old saying in Chinese that believes each strand of leg hair can scare away three ghosts, so removing these personal bodyguards is tantamount to sending out invitations to a personal ghost party. Guess beauty does come with a price.

Don’t step on, touch, kick over, insult, or otherwise disturb the little piles of fruits or burning paper that tend to line Hong Kong’s streets during this month. If you do accidentally do so, apologise out loud to appease spirits nearby.

Avoid whistling at night, regardless of how bored you might be. Whistling or singing is said to attract roaming ghosts just waiting for someone to point them in the direction of a spooky encounter. It is also widely believed that those who interrupt the peace of the night must pay a penalty, so it’s probably best to just keep quiet come sundown. 

The Hungry Ghost Festival involves makeshift stages being erected around the city’s neighbourhoods for Chinese opera performances. While the public are of course welcome to attend and support, these performances are mainly for entertaining wandering ghosts on their yearly sojourn to the realm of the living. The front row is therefore usually left vacant for unseen guests.

According to Chinese folklore, the living have invisible flames on each shoulder and the forehead that protects them, but when you look over a shoulder, they get snuffed out one by one and makes you more vulnerable to things like possession. Guess that’s why in horror movies there’s always something awful lurking after a slow panning shot of a character who looks over their shoulder! The solution here is to turn your body fully around if you absolutely need to. In order not to sabotage anyone else, don’t tap people on the shoulder either.

If you’re a naturally dramatic person, this may prove difficult, but do try to rein in your reactions for just a month. During the Hungry Ghost period, if you feel a random chill, ignore it. If you suddenly smell something that doesn’t match your surroundings, don’t comment on it. If you see something odd or out of place, ignore it. If you feel a tap on your shoulder or hear someone calling out to you, for god’s sake, don’t freak out, scream, or start babbling prayers. Just IGNORE IT.