Encounter ghost
My friend and I had an eerie encounter, and he is now in the hospital. The incident occurred after my mother's funeral.
Most of the relatives had left after we finished the arrangements for the funeral. I made plans with a friend to return to our hometown to sort out some things.
Due to work, I live alone in the city, while my hometown is several hundred kilometers away in another county, where I only go during holidays. This time, upon receiving news of my mother's unexpected death, I took leave and asked a friend to accompany me back home.
My mother’s body was discovered by a neighbor; she wasn't in good health, but she never mentioned any specific illnesses when we spoke on the phone. The neighbor found her three days after she had passed away, and since there was no one else around, they contacted me and also called the police.
The forensic examination concluded that she died from a heart attack, and after that, there was no further news. According to local customs, after the funeral, there were no other formalities.
On the day of the funeral, I cried bitterly, deeply regretting not spending more time with her. But now, it was too late. My friend, Lin Tian, kept consoling me with words like "stay strong."
The day after the seventh day of mourning, I tidied up the house, packed some essentials, and returned to the city with Lin Tian. From my hometown to my city, there was no expressway, only an old road.
This winding mountain road, known locally as the "back mountain," was full of sharp turns, twisting like a giant snake through the mountains. Lin Tian drove, and I sat in the passenger seat. Due to exhaustion from the past few days, I fell asleep almost immediately after getting into the car.
When I woke up, it was already dark, and all I could see outside was a dense black forest. Not far ahead, I saw someone standing by the roadside, looking stranded and pitiful.
Lin Tian also noticed the person, but for some reason, he cursed under his breath, saying that we had encountered seven or eight hitchhikers along the ten or so turns on this road. I thought it wasn’t unusual for people to be trying to hitch rides on such a remote road, maybe their cars broke down and they couldn’t wait any longer.
Perhaps because my mother had just passed away and I felt guilty, I suggested to Lin Tian that we should stop and offer help, as a good deed. Lin Tian gave me a look but didn’t argue.
We slowed down and stopped next to the person. As it was dark, we couldn’t clearly see their face. We asked where they were going, but the person only gestured with their hands. Lin Tian, impatient, told them to get in quickly if they wanted a ride, and to let us know when they needed to get out.
The person nodded and got into the back seat. The person’s face was very pale, with dark eye sockets, and they were dressed in gaudy clothes. Although I had heard stories of people robbing others under the guise of hitchhiking, this person looked weak, and with both Lin Tian and me, we weren’t worried.
As we continued driving, I was wide awake and chatted with Lin Tian. Before we knew it, we had left the mountain road behind, yet we hadn’t heard anything from the silent passenger.
After a while, Lin Tian asked if I felt cold. I did feel a chill despite the warm weather. I thought it might be due to being in the car for too long and the night air. However, soon, I could see my breath condensing into mist. Just as I was about to comment on how unusually cold it was, Lin Tian glanced at the rearview mirror and screamed, asking what the hell was sitting behind us!
I was startled and turned around. What I saw nearly made me faint!
The hitchhiker was gone, and in their place was a paper figure used for funerals, dressed in red and green paper clothes, with a white face and black paper for eyes.
Seeing something like this in the middle of the night, I panicked and started sweating. I asked Lin Tian where the hitchhiker was. Lin Tian was also frightened and tried to brake, but nothing happened. His face went pale, and I was likely in a similar state.
As we were panicking, we suddenly heard a strange sound from behind. Pale hands reached over from the backseat and grabbed our shoulders. The hitchhiker had reappeared and was leaning forward towards us!
Then, I heard Lin Tian scream. He lost control of the car, which hit the guardrail by the side of the road, and everything went black.
When I came to, I was in the hospital. The nurse told me that neither Lin Tian nor I were seriously injured and would be able to leave the hospital in a few days. Lin Tian’s family had taken him away early. I stayed in the hospital for three days, and the police frequently came to ask questions. We were still considered responsible for the accident, but we didn’t mention the paper figure. I knew that if I did, they would think I was crazy. So, I insisted that the brakes had failed, and thankfully, Lin Tian corroborated my story.
Three days later, I was discharged from the hospital. The first thing I did was to try to contact Lin Tian. I called him several times, but his phone was always off, so I called his sister.
She told me that Lin Tian was more seriously injured than I was and that his family had transferred him to another hospital while I was unconscious. They believed that Lin Tian had accompanied me back home because of my mother’s passing and that this led to the accident. When Lin Tian woke up, he kept talking about that night, and his parents thought it was bad luck, so they rushed to transfer him to keep him away from me.
His sister explained the situation on the phone, mentioning that his parents considered the whole thing unlucky and didn’t want Lin Tian and me to meet. However, as modern, materialistic young people, we didn’t believe in supernatural phenomena, so she didn’t take these superstitions seriously. She told me where Lin Tian was hospitalized and when his parents wouldn’t be there. At the end of the conversation, she asked, "Brother Tan, did you guys really encounter a ghost?"
I was silent for a moment before answering. She was surprised and asked if it was true. I quickly covered it up, saying that it must have been a problem with the car.
I wondered if it was because my mother had just passed away and I was upset, leading to a misinterpretation due to the darkness. But even if that were the case, it shouldn’t have affected Lin Tian. After much consideration, I decided to visit him.
I arrived at the hospital in the afternoon, when Lin Tian’s parents weren’t there. His room number was 603. I went up in the elevator and headed straight there.
Upon entering the room, I quietly called his name. Seeing me, Lin Tian almost started crying. I asked him what was wrong, and he held my hand tightly, telling me that he thought I had died. No one would tell him anything about me.
Hearing this, I felt sad, as if I were the last person in the world. I understood why Lin Tian’s parents acted this way; in their eyes, I might be a symbol of misfortune. Older generations can be superstitious, and if Lin Tian were my son, I probably wouldn’t let him continue to associate with someone who caused him to be hospitalized.
Just as I was about to comfort him, an elderly man entered the room. Lin Tian’s room was shared by two people. The man looked at the bed beside Lin Tian’s and said, “Young man, you’re in the wrong room. This is my bed.”
I stared at him, confused. The man looked weak and tired, as if he had been ill for a long time.
Before Lin Tian could respond, I interjected, saying that my friend had been in this bed for several days and that the man must have gotten the room number wrong. However, the man insisted that this was his bed.
Bored with the argument, I stood up and pointed to the card on the bed, which had the patient’s information. The man looked at it and said, “Yes, this is my bed!”
Stunned, I looked at the card again. In the name field, it read: Chen Dongsheng!
He pointed to the name and said, “See! I’m right. This is my bed!”
Not knowing what to say, I looked at Lin Tian, who also wore a look of disbelief. Knowing that Lin Tian, as a patient who had been here for days, wouldn’t have mistaken the room, I told the man, “Sir, please sit down. Let me check with the nurses. There must have been a mistake.”
Fortunately, the man was reasonable and simply grunted without causing further trouble.
