Thursday, October 30, 2008

A Spooky Tale - The Murdered Man's Blood

SOME people have this ability to 'feel' things. Supernatural things. On one hand it is a blight because it evokes a sense of alarm and anxiety. On the other hand, it can be viewed as a blessing in disguise simply because it puts oneself on constant alert.

This instinctive inclination towards the unseen is something I have come to accept and live with. It is not something that can be breezily explained in simple terms. It's more like a hunch, an inkling, a sensation.

The earliest I could recall was in the early 1960s when I was in primary school in that iron mining station of Bukit Besi, some 22 miles inland from Dungun. I was probably eight or nine at the time.

There was a wooden bridge spanning a placid river right in the heart of Bukit Besi. Located about 1,000 metres away from my house in Kampung Baru, the bridge was the scene of a 'fight-to-the-death' between two Malay men. I no longer remember who and why.

All I could recall was it happened in the late afternoon, and that my grandfather, who had just returned home from work, hurried to the scene, joining the throng of horrified spectators already gathering there.

No one dared go near to pull apart the combating duo, for both were armed. They grappled and fought like men possessed, and eventually one perished on the spot from multiple stab wounds as Maghrib neared.

I can't remember what happened to the other. He must have been arrested by the police; Bukit Besi then had a minuscule police presence, maybe a two-man team.

As the shocked onlookers cleared the erstwhile battleground, for some strange reason, Grandpa joined some brave (maybe foolish?) souls to scoop up the bloodied earth to take home.

To this day I don't know why. He wasn't a bomoh (shaman) or anything; in fact, he was a very warak (pious), God-fearing man, to whom the nearby surau (mini-mosque) was a second home.

The blood-caked earth was then lodged high up on a shelf in the bathroom, and it was in the wee hours of the morning when I was awakened by an almighty din, crushing the stillness of the night to smithereens.

From the bathroom emitted a series of chilling howls and shrieks and screeches in terrifying crescendo, shaking the house to its foundation. The sounds were guttural and piercing, unearthly shrills enough to wake the dead.

And I was the sole beneficiary of this unwelcome racket, while others slumbered on peacefully. Quaking with fear, hardly able to stand and to contain myself (literally too!), I wobbled over, bawling, to my grandparents' bedroom.

Suffice to say Grandpa had enough sense (and courage) to pluck the packet from its perch and place it outside the house that very same morning.

I don't recall what he did with it eventually. He must have buried it high up in the lush hills somewhere, as they were wont to do with such 'unsavoury' baggage those days.

19 comments:

Typhoon Sue said...

he took the murdered man's blood? whatever the hell for lah?

i remember once back in law school, we attended an autopsy for forensic science class. While watching the autopsy, a classmate of mine who had a morbid fascination with death and everything death-related, plucked a few strands of hair from the deceased when no one was looking(luckily it wasn't murder or any criminal case, o/wise that stupid monkey wd've tampered with evidence and jeopardised the whole case). He brought the hairs home and had many many sleepless nights being harassed left right and centre. Padan muka.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Hehehe sue, i wish I know the answer. maybe nak tunjuk macho kot..LOL

Pi Bani said...

Hmmm.. boleh buat script untuk cerita seram ni... (cuma I tak paham apasal la gi bawak balik darah orang mati tu!)

JLKM Page said...

The murdered man was definitely a brave one or else he would not had put up a fight. He could had been trying to defend his/family honour. The moral of the story : MaCage memang penakut bab hantu hantu nih! :-)

Bergen said...

Ma'am, orang ggochoh atah geretok ggarik2 hari ini ada banyok sebab. Kalau kat panggung happy sebab berebuk tiket, atau sajer nok tunjuk gong pasal ramai anok dara. Tapi kesian kat dia, ajal di ambang senja, sa'at pertukaran dari siang ke malam. Tok saya selalu kejor saya bila saya mmain ggarik2 hari sebab kata dia setang banyok berkeliaran. Sapa leni saya ccaya lagi cakap tok saya tu.

mamasita said...

Hooooooo..scarynya!You ni ingat betul kisah2 lama.You have a very powerful memory.As a result of your cerita ni,any readers yang penakut sikit tidur bukak lampulah malam ni!

Pak Azmi said...

I remember when I was in form 5 way back in the 70's, I used to get involved in this kind of " silat menurun'. May be can refer to my blog. http://pakazmi.blogspot.com

Pak Azmi said...

I remember when I was in form 5 in the 70's, I used to get involved in this spiritual silat or silat menurun.
Well, can have a look at my blog ;
http://pakazmi.blogspot.com

Queen Of The House said...

Oooo that is scary!

I recall hearing stories that if you go and squeeze the juice of 'limau nipis' (lime) at the site of a bloodied death, you may see or hear something. I'm not about to try!

MrsNordin said...

No wonder you live beside a cemetary. Is that by choice or coincidence? :)

I don't want to have your superpower, girl...

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pi - tu la pasal. entah2 he had something on hbis mind, nak try ka, apa ka..

JLKM - i am penakut pun otherwise, but sometimes, bab bab 'rasa' ni, i am quite ok.. as long as my 'feeling' isn't bad.

bergen - ggarek I didnt go out, banyak syaitan berkeliaran.. sampai la ni the habit endures.

mamasita - la ni dah tua can recall a lot of things. dulu banyak debris dlm otak; cari makan, bring up kids, apapun tak ingat. now debris dah cleared..

pak azmi - tq for visiting - seronok baca abt yr harimau berantai..

QOTH - that was what i heard too.. dont worry, i pun takmau cuba..LOL

Mrs N - come to think of it, ha'ah..,mungkin my decision to stay here in full view of tanah perkuburan ada sangkut sikit sebanyak with whatever that I hv..hehehe.. but the truth is hari2 tengok, ingat our own mortality..dunia ni hanya sementara..

Kak Teh said...

hmmm, cerita yang tak akan membolehkan saya tidur dengan tenang.

Anonymous said...

31 Okt sure hantu banyak keluar sebab Halloween day esok ..:)

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Kak Teh - don't worry, I'll try my level best toscare the socks off you these next few days with eerie tales..hehehe

CN - cikgu, that's the idea la..cerita seram in the next few postings..:P

Anonymous said...

Still..mata I terkebil-kebil dok tengok sawang dalam bilik tido ni... sahhh nak tido balik payahh dahh..anjing dok teriak kat luar..

psst lampu I pasang terang benderang laa ni.. naya sungguh aii..8.30 tadi I dok memainkan you, padan muka I, now I dah tak leh tido...:

dahsyat sungguh penangan cerita dia ni .. hehehehe !!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

CN - ni, dari jauh I hembuih you.. pi tidoq, pi tidoq..sat lagi ok la tu..cuba bayangkan Shahrukh Khan tengah terima pingat Datuk kat Melaka.. sah buleh lena..

Kamarulzaman said...

Ler...!! Cerita seram ker? Adeh!! Ini la akibatnya biler tak ghreti bahasa omputih ... dulu arwah ayah soh masuk sekolah english medium tanak!!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Moon - jangan bohong, berdosa. kamu speaking mengalahkan omputih, lengkap dengan idghramnyer sekali, teman tau ler..

Kamarulzaman said...

Akak, nanti kite gi minum lagi yer!! ... After magrib better.. Boleh nyembang lelamer skit!