Recap | Quirky tales from old Hong Kong: ghosts are exorcised, a woman wakes from the dead, and nudists spark debate
Explore quirky stories from PostMag’s archives, featuring a woman waking up at her own funeral and a bank’s very costly blunder, to supernatural goings-on and naturists letting it all hang out
Fascinating tales unearthed from the archives of the South China Morning Post reveal a little about the more colourful and quirkier side of bygone Hong Kong.
They include the story of a woman who woke up during her funeral, a bank’s catastrophic mistake when it crushed safe deposit boxes full of valuables, a three-day panic buying spree at a cake shop and the controversial launch of a nudist club.
1. Hong Kong woman ‘wakes from the dead’ during funeral, terrifies monks and friends offering prayers
In 1964, 91-year-old Mrs Li Kit, presumed dead for 24 hours, shocked mourners by waking up during her funeral in a Hong Kong nunnery. Her miraculous revival hit the South China Morning Post headlines and attracted donations from well-wishers.
2. When a Hong Kong bank accidentally scrapped 83 safe deposit boxes losing millions in customers’ cash and jewels
In 2004, DBS Bank was renovating one of its branches and mistakenly sent 83 safe deposit boxes containing cash, jewels and other personal valuables to an industrial crusher. The bank faced a public-relations nightmare as horrified customers lost irreplaceable possessions and the bank vowed to compensate affected people if it could not salvage the confidential contents.
3. Panic buying leads to 3-day run on cakes at Hong Kong’s Maria’s bakery amid closure rumours
Thousands rushed to redeem cake vouchers in 1984 after a rumour spread about the possible closure of the Maria’s cake shop chain in Hong Kong. Around 400 bakers had to be drafted in to cope with the three-day panic buying spree.
4. When exorcists were called in amid ghostly goings-on at Hong Kong’s Murray House and HMS Tamar
Revisit the eerie history of Hong Kong’s Murray House and HMS Tamar, where supernatural occurrences, unexplained noises, shadows and equipment malfunctions plagued the buildings in the 1960s. The strange occurrences were reported by government employees and did not stop until the spirits were appeased by a Buddhist exorcism.
5. Nudists arouse passions of correspondents after setting up Hong Kong club in 1932, and almost cause a breach of the peace
Hong Kong’s early naturists sparked a lively debate with the formation of the Culture of the Nude Association in 1932. Letters flooded in to the South China Morning Post and there were reports of one couple being shocked to discover a nudist in his birthday suit on a stroll in Shatin Valley.
Part of this article was produced with the assistance of generative AI
