An Unforgettable Night On Maxwell Hill

Maxwell Hill is situated in Taiping, a district in the state of Perak. It is said that during Colonial time, the British planted some coffee plants on the slopes of Maxwell Hill, so local Chinese calls it ‘kopi sua’ (咖啡山) or literarily ‘coffee hill’. This name is still prevalent amongst the Chinese until today.

 

Other than the above historical background, Maxwell Hill is also famous as a recreational area. Taiping folks like to exercise a lot; we can see people hiking Maxwell Hill early in the morning and during late afternoon. Since it has a cooler climate, Maxwell Hill is also a place to escape tropical heat. There is a resthouse about 7.5 miles from the base and more bungalows further up for those who prefer to spend some time on top of the hill.

 

Besides Maxwell Hill is known as a tourist spot, it is also renowned as a pretty haunted hill. There is a particularly haunted bungalow half a mile away from the mentioned resthouse. This is the story of that bungalow:

 

Mr. Wong who has settled in USA returned to his hometown, Taiping for visiting his parents and relatives. His relatives booked the said bungalow for the family reunion as they thought Mr. Wong wouldn’t be able to withstand the extremely high local temperature that may reach a height of 95^oF in the afternoon.

 

After a whole day’s fanfare, everyone was tired and retired to their rooms to rest leaving Mr. Wong who was still sitting in a sofa in the living room thinking of next day’s activities… He just wanted to make the most of his visit this time. Perhaps it was due to his excitement; Mr. Wong just couldn’t sleep so he just closed his eyes and rested in the sofa. Suddenly footstep sounds was heard from the outside corridor. It was ‘thub, thub, thub…’ at first from afar and gradually the sound reached the front door.

 

“Who could that be at the dead of the night?” Mr. Wong thought.

 

Without giving much thought, he opened the door to investigate as he worried that someone may have urgent issues ore needed help. To Mr. Wong’s surprised; he couldn’t find a single soul along the corridor. Indeed, not a single sound except his own breathing would be too loud comparatively speaking.

 

Finally Mr. Wong decided that it was his own mind that was playing the trick on him. So he closed the door and went back to his sofa for a rest. As when he thought everything was over, the sound ‘thub, thub, thub…’ repeated.

 

Again, Mr. Wong found himself opening up the door more due to curiosity this time but didn’t give it too much thought. Well, again, there was nothing there and it was dead silent.

 

Suddenly Mr. Wong felt a chill came up from his spine and shivered. It was as if he was stripped off all clothing at once. As recalled by Mr. Wong, the feeling was as if he was dipped into icy cold water.

 

“I felt a gust of cold air approached me inch by inch. I had goose bumps all over my body and as if even my hairs had stood up like a porcupine! I was frozen with fright and couldn’t move.”

 

Now the familiar sound ‘thub, thub, thub…’ was heard approaching Mr. Wong until his intuition told him that ‘something’ was at his back and a whisper was heard: “Jump down from the balcony and all your worries end there…”

 

“I was at a dilemma as whether to turn my back and find myself face to face with an ugly demonic face, or to follow the voice by jumping down the balcony which was about 50ft high. Well, though it was cold, sweat started to flow down from my forehead to my eyes and cheeks; and you wouldn’t believe that it took me quite an effort just to turn my back finally.

 

It was indeed to my surprised… there was nothing there! Even the chillness and the pressure were gone.”

 

After the ordeal, Mr. Wong half walk and half drag his body to his room. As when he was about to shut the door, he heard the familiar sound of ‘thub, thub, thub…’ reverberated along the corridor accompanied by the shrieking laughter of a young girl. It was more like a cry and far from joyous.

 

In Mr. Wong’s own words:

 

“I can never forget that shriek, it was more like the howling of a dog; that was the most awful and yet paralyzing laugh I have ever heard. I thought I was hallucinating due to too excited or I have mistaken the wind as the laughter…

 

Next day, my wife asked me in the morning if I have heard some sort of Banshee laughter at night; I just kept silent but hasten her to pack up to leave the bungalow as soon as possible.”

 

 So, next time when you want to spend a night on Maxwell Hill, remember to get a company and please don’t wonder outside alone after night. I am not sure if you would be so lucky to get the same bungalow as the above, but no harm of being careful.