Remember 6 taboos to avoid ghoulish guests staying in hotel rooms during Taiwan's Ghost Month

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/08/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — For those who happen to be traveling during Ghost Month (鬼月), which starts on Wednesday (Aug. 19), there are a number of do's and dont's to follow when staying in hotels to avoid uninvited ghoulish guests.

Taiwan's Ghost Month is observed in the seventh month of the lunar calendar and this year runs from Aug. 19 to Sept. 16. During this period, Taoists and Buddhists believe that the gates of hell are opened for "hungry ghosts" to roam the world of the living in search of food, money, entertainment, and possibly souls.

A "hungry ghost" is a being that has been sent to the underworld to suffer an eternal state of hunger for their misdeeds or because they were not given a proper burial. The terms "Good Brothers" (好兄弟) and "Good Sisters" (好姐妹) are considered the preferable terms to politely refer to lost souls, as opposed to "ghosts," to avoid offending them.

On Aug. 12, one week before the start of Ghost Month, well-known Taiwanese numerologist Eiffel (艾菲爾) on his Facebook page "Tarot Teacher Eiffel" (塔羅牌老師艾菲爾) posted six taboos to keep in mind to avoid random roommates when staying in hotels during this perilous period.    [FULL  STORY]