We Chatted With A 'Ghost' And This Is What He Told Us About The Hungry Ghost Festival
Casper, who?
There’s a new friendly ghost in town.
And his name isn’t Casper. Meet Mr Woo — he answers all your, er, burning questions about the Hungry Ghost Festival (Aug 11 to Sep 9) on Facebook Messenger. Of course, Mr Woo isn’t real. He only exists in another realm — on social media.
Who is Mr Woo?
Launched by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), Mr Woo (full name Mr WoOoO) is the ministry’s first digital foray to, ahem, woo Singaporeans to a “greater understanding and appreciation of Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage”. Wait, so Mr Woo is (was?) a civil servant? He prefers to be known as “a free-spirited ghost on [his] yearly trip in search of good food, exciting concerts and intriguing ceremonies”.
He’ll tell you all about the origins of the festival.
What do the Buddhists and the Taoists believe – and what’s purely Chinese tradition?
And he’ll even shed light on various practices.
Don’t be surprised if he surprises you with a pop quiz or two. But fret not — they’re just multiple choice questions.
He’s like a living, breathing getai directory.
Except he’s neither living nor breathing — but he will tell you where the nearest getais are, based on your location. And you can always count on the good-humoured Mr Woo to be in, ahem, good spirits.
He doesn’t like difficult questions.
Mr Woo side-steps some questions — we asked if he gets angry if our dog accidentally eats the food offerings left on the street, among others (pictured) — like a fiercely private celebrity. Or like a chatbot who doesn’t bother with your non-approved queries. At least he's polite about it.
Ghouuuuul!
This is what ghosts do in their spare time, according to Mr Woo.
You have until Sep 9 to chat with Mr Woo at https://www.facebook.com/Mr.WooOoOoOOo/.
Photos: Mr Woo’s Facebook
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