Paper short abstract:

This paper examines one phantasmagoria in a century old Chinese cemetery called Bukit Brown Cemetery located in central Singapore by discussing the interactions between the living and the dead here.

Paper long abstract:

Phantasmagorias refer to the exhibition or assemblage of optical effects or illusions that are observed that may not be easily comprehensible at the first instance. Singapore has been described as a city brimming with phantasmagorias: a ‘ghostly city’ that is inhabited by ghosts from the Japanese Occupation during World War II (Gordon, 1997) and a ‘vampiric city’ that contains female vampires, colloquially referred to as the ‘pontianaks’ (Pile, 2005) whose female monstrosity is played out in the local cinema (Tan, 2010). These netherworld beings create ‘ghostly topographies’ in Singapore, or ‘sacred realms that are beyond the administrative authority of the ruling party (Comaroff, 2007). Using data collected for my PhD research, this paper examines one phantasmagoria in a century old Chinese cemetery called Bukit Brown Cemetery located in central Singapore by discussing the interactions between the living and the dead here. I argue that the dead are undead because they are metaphorically revived by (1) their social histories that have been actively shared by individuals from community interest groups, (2) their social roles as ancestors and elders in the family genealogy, (3) their antithetical role as netherworld beings that co-exist with their mortal world counterparts, and (4) their informative role as gatekeepers of heritage, history, culture, morality, and justice.