‘Fire from heaven’ guts ghost house.
A large attap and plank house in Kampong Ladang, Pulau Tekong Besar, haunted for months by a poltergeist, was burnt down last Thursday by “fire from heaven.” The head of the family, Inche Yunos bin Ali, and other men in the family were away at work in Changi at the time of the fire.
The two daughters of Inche Yunos were the only people in the house when the fire started. The girls had just finished their afternoon cooking, when, they said, they saw “balls of fire hopping about” the attap roofing. The roof was immediately set ablaze and the hut was destroyed in 30 minutes.
Inche Yunos said the poltergeist had been troubling the family for rsome time. Invariably half the family’s food used to disappear every day. On the advice of a friend, Inche Yunos sent his two daughters to Sedili, Johore. While the girls were away, there were no disturbances. But the poltergeist renewed his pranks as soon as the girls returned to the island. Superstitious people on the island believed the poltergeist was fond of visiting homes where there were young girls.
The Straits Times, 6th August 1951.