Every night, tens of thousands of Thais listen to this show about alleged experiences with ghosts, spirits and other beings from the afterlife.
Belief in the supernatural is so ingrained in the popular culture of this Southeast Asian country that many believe in the legend of Mae Nak, a pregnant woman who was murdered by her husband and turned into a murderous ghost.
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These stories are still shared today on other platforms and social networks via YouTube or TikTok.
“In her dream, a man dressed in white appeared to her, telling her that it was time and that she should follow,” someone in the audience shakily explains.
“But when he turned around, he saw his own body lying on the bed,” the audience added, while the show’s host Watcharapol Fukjaidee ghost radioShe asks him more questions to learn more details about his story.
The program, which has two million subscribers on YouTube, airs twice a week between 11 p.m. and midnight local time.
Fukjaidee has been working on this kind of esoteric show for 20 years. He first started as an assistant to the Thai “Father of Ghosts” Kapol Thongplub, whose show was very popular with taxi drivers.
Speaking to AFP, Fukjaidee said the new technology “has increased the chance of seeing ghosts”.
“Ghosts communicate through apps, phone calls or phone calls. Technology becomes a conduit for people to connect,” explains 46-year-old Fukjaidee.
The presenter recalls the testimony of a listener who explained that he received a call from a friend who suggested meeting at a temple.
When he got there, he said he saw a horrifying sight: “His friend was dead and his phone was on his coffin.”
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“Popular beliefs are incredibly adaptable to changes in society,” explains anthropologist Andrew Alan Johnson, an expert on the role of the supernatural in Thai society.
According to Alan Johnson, ghost stories serve to preserve the memory of places and convey a sense of uprooting that is particularly present in Bangkok, a megalopolis that has undergone major transformation in recent years.
Khemjira, one of the show’s writers, devoted himself to choosing from dozens of stories broadcast by the public, skipping the talk of politics or the monarchy, an institution almost inviolable in Thailand.
“The influence of Twitter and TikTok continues to rejuvenate us,” explains Khemjira. “I think people often see ghosts. They hardly ever tell us the same story,” he adds.
On the ground floor of the building where the show is taped is Ghost Radio Café, which is set in the ghost universe and is one of the show’s sponsors.
While eating cake at the time, one of his regulars, 25-year-old police officer Chalwat Thungood, recalls a supernatural experience he had during a police operation.
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They called him to a house, and when he got there, the shadow of a very fat man passed in front of the bathroom. A minute later he opened the door and saw an obese man who had been dead for at least five hours.
“I 100% believe that ghosts exist,” says Thungwood.
According to Fukjaidee, her show is so successful because people “can’t talk to their families about their creepy experience.”
“While we’re on air, none other than our listeners can prove that these are real experiences,” the presenter adds with a smile.
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
