Spirits and Ghosts in Thailand

Elaborate Version of a Spirit House in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Anyone who has traveled in Thailand has probably noticed a little “toy house” near most buildings. Those are spirit houses. Thailand is a Buddhist country, but the Thais have retained quite a few of their animistic beliefs that stem from pre-Buddhist times. So Thai Buddhism is mixed with a spirit based religion.
The Thais hardly ever talk about their spirit beliefs with foreigners. It is almost like a well kept secret, and the only obvious evidence is the omni-present spirit house. The idea is that there are spirits everywhere, and some like to cause trouble for the humans. Therefore they have to be appeased so that they leave the humans alone. One way of doing that is to build them a separate little miniature home which is just for them only. Read the rest of this entry
