The Month the Gates Open
Once a year, Chinese tradition says the gates of the underworld open and the dead walk among the living. At outdoor shows, the front row is left empty for them.
What was reported
In the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the gates of the underworld are said to open, and the spirits of the dead, especially those with no family to care for them, wander the world of the living. The fifteenth night is the Ghost Festival.
Families burn incense and paper offerings by the roadside and leave food out. In Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, there are outdoor operas and concerts for the spirits, with the front row of seats left empty. Many people avoid swimming, moving house or going out late during the month.
Explanations offered
The festival mixes Buddhist and Taoist traditions about caring for the dead. It's a living religious practice, shared across China and its diaspora, and still widely observed.
- When
- Every seventh lunar month
- Where
- Hong Kong, China
- Witnesses
- Families across China and South-East Asia
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.