if clothes could speak

every piece of garment tells a story.

halloween, like many other festivals, that we celebrate turned into big business events over the years. while here on the online edition, i do care a lot about the commercial aspects of the fashion and makeup. i also would like to take a little time off to share with you the background story of some asian 'ghastly' friends and spirits. think of it as a mood board for halloween.

the 'jiang shi' (vampire)

image from Jimbo Jones

they are reanimated corpses that hop around, killing living creatures to absorb life essence from their victims. these vampires are said to be created when a person's soul fails to leave the deceased's body. jiang shi, as compared to vampires, are mindless creatures with no independent thought. one unusual feature is its greenish-white furry skin, perhaps derived from fungus or mould growing on corpses.

the pontianak

image from msn

in folklore, a pontianak usually announces its presence through baby cries. if the cry is soft, it means that the pontianak is close. if it is loud, then it must be far. some believe that if you hear a dog howling, that means that the pontianak is far away but if a dog is whining, that means the pontianak is nearby. its presence can sometimes be detected by a nice floral fragrance identifiable as that of the plumeria, followed by an awful stench afterward.

a pontianak kills its victims by digging into their stomachs with its sharp fingernails and devouring their organs. in some cases where the pontianak desires revenge against a male individual, it rips out the sex organs with its hands. it is said that if you have your eyes open when a pontianak is near, it will suck them out of your head. pontianak locate prey by sniffing out clothes left outside to dry. for this reason, some malays refuse to leave any article of clothing outside of their residences overnight.

the pontianank is associated with banana trees and its spirit is said to reside in them during the day.

casper the friendly ghost

graphic from cracked.com

i am too spooked to write further on other folklore. so i need something to lighten the mood. anyway, casper is like a dead child, forever haunting the earth, unable to rest. it's a tortured apparition who spends all of his time in a graveyard, hanging out behind his own gravestone. only difference, he's born to loving parents before he passed on. (i think that is the first time i used the word 'love' the entire week!)

so as you roam the streets this halloween and happen to come across the various costumes, take time to appreciate the fashion and more importantly, the stories behind them. after all, ghosts were people too!

fash'on... BAM!