Are you the kind whose mind immediately thinks of the supernatural when you see or smell something unusual?
A Xiaohongshu user recently wrote in a post: “Every night, when I jog past Queenstown park connector at around 7-8pm and I enter certain areas with dense vegetation, a sort of unpleasant, decaying odour will fill the air.”
He innocently asked: “Does anyone know what that smell is?”
Judging by his hashtags, the OP is an overseas student based in Singapore. Which also explains why they might not be clued in on local superstitions.
As locals, the first thought that springs to mind would be: ghosts.
A majority of netizens told him that he had probably encountered a ghost, or more specifically, a Pontianak.
The belief is that when one encounters the female spirit, they will first be greeted by a floral fragrance, followed by a stench that smells like a decaying corpse.
He was told to refrain from cursing the smell or acknowledging the presence of the spirit, and was also warned against turning around.
A few also shared similar encounters on their jogs.
The OP was instantly alarmed by the comments he received, revealing that he “no longer dares to go jogging at night”.
However, there were also a bunch of people who provided logical explanations for the smell.
Some said he probably noticed the smell of fertiliser, while others attributed the odour to “decomposing corpses of rats” and “rotting wood”.
So do you think it’s ghost or no ghost?
Photos: momomo/ Xiaohongshu, Park Connector Network