Othman Wok's Ghost Stories Anthology Revives 1950s Singaporean Horror Tales

A new anthology, 'A Mosque in the Jungle: Classic Ghost Stories,' collects eerie tales by Othman Wok, originally penned in the 1950s and 1980s. Edited by Ng Yi-Sheng and published by Epigram Books, the volume features stories ranging from severed feet hopping off mortician tables to avenging Dayak warrior-corpses. Othman Wok, a former reporter for Malay newspapers and Singapore's first minister for social affairs, gained fame through weekly horror stories before his political career paused his writing. His works were translated into English in the 1990s and 2000s, broadening their reach. The tales vividly depict 1950s and 1960s Singapore, where modernity clashed with spiritual beliefs, set in kampungs, plantations, and trishaws. In 'The Golden Lantern,' shaman Pawang Kassim curses three brothers for destroying his talisman business. Ng Yi-Sheng notes the irony that these stories, once dismissed by Malay literati, have endured. The paperback is priced at S$18.90 and appeared in the Autumn 2021 issue of ArtReview Asia.