Taiwan ghost stories: Xinhai tunnel

--By Darren Hassan Translated by Kiki Wu

Most of us are suckers for a good ghost yarn so I decided to take a look at some haunted places here on our beloved island. Firstly, the XinHai tunnel (Taipei to Muzha), which is built on top of a hill, also serves conveniently as a cemetery. Apparently, drivers who drive through this tunnel experience phenomena in which they are trapped in a place and cannot get out of it. For example, you are lost in a maze and keep on coming back to the same point (or busting for a pee whilst in a cab and sooo far away from your destination). In the case of the XinHai tunnel, drivers can see the end of the tunnel but, for some reason, no matter how fast they drive, they can never reach it. Scary stuff!

Another strange occurrence is that of an old woman who reportedly cleans the road right in the middle of the tunnel. No matter how many times the drivers honk for her to get out of the way, the woman will just keep on sweeping. When the car is only a few feet from her, the old woman will suddenly disappear into thin air. Creepy!
So, I decided to take a tour through the tunnel to see if I had any similar, weird ectoplasmic experiences.

The outcome? After a few near-death experiences with the taxi driver and other cars, and an out-of-body experience due to the amount of beer the night before, I can confidently tell you that I'm still driving through after three days with the end in sight. I have also managed to bargain the old ghost woman into cleaning my apartment for a few bucks!