Following popular responses to an online vote it held last year for the “Ghost King,” a “Ghost Queen” was elected yesterday in a competition by the E-Da World theme complex in Kaohsiung ahead of the opening of the “ghost gate” today, the first day of the Ghost Month.
The seventh month of the lunar calendar is traditionally known as Ghost Month and the gate between the living world and the afterlife opens on the first day of Ghost Month to allow the spirits to visit the mortal realm. The living also give offerings to the dead.
Lin Ya-chi (林雅琪), 32, won the contest yesterday with her vampire makeup entry, and if she acts the part of a “ghost” for the next month, she will receive NT$100,000 in prize money and tickets for a six-day trip to Los Angeles, according to contest organizers.
Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Taipei
A graduate of Tunghai University’s Department of Chinese Literature, Lin, a self-declared scaredy-cat in her youth, said she does not dare watch scary movies or even visit haunted house attractions at theme parks. Lin said she was going “all in” for the prize money and the chance to go abroad.
Going from scaredy-cat to trying to scare others, Lin said she felt she became braver and felt a sense of accomplishment at being able to scare someone.
Lin’s mother was against the idea, saying that dressing as a ghost during Ghost Month was very unlucky, but after insisting on attending the competition, her mother gave her a pair of jade bracelets to keep the evil spirits at bay.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
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