UrbanWire

Remember the times when you and your friends gathered around the campfire and regaled each other with those ghostly tales of the old Changi hospital and Pulau Tekong? Channel 5 takes it to a whole new level with a visceral experience on screen. Hosted by MTV VJ Utt , Incredible Tales is the latest paranormal show based on Singapore’s urban legends.

In the half-hour programme, Singaporeans recount their frightening experiences, with re-enactments of the spooky scenes. The ghostly encounters in the show are based on real-life testimonials from viewers and stories from Russell Lee, the famous and late author of the True Singapore Ghost Story series.

The debut episode centres on a young couple with a boy and an unborn daughter who have moved into their Pasir Ris home. The pregnant wife feels some eerie vibes during her first few months in the new residence and twice senses the presence of a Malay lady ghost in their home.

Her newborn begins experiencing some disturbances causing it to cry endlessly at night. And this time around, her son starts talking to an imaginary friend, suspected to be a child ghost related to the lady ghost. Her father who stayed over has sensed a similar presence of the ghost while he’s asleep.

Unfortunately, her husband Mark thinks that there isn’t anything strange in the house. He doubted the strange accounts until poltergeist activities like the moving of chairs onto the dinner table take place. The couple instantly moved and never returned to the flat again.

Although the re-enactments will raise a few hairs, there are many questions unanswered like: What was the history behind the haunted unit, who were the lady and child ghosts, what happened to the flat and could there be an expert’s prognosis on what the ghosts wanted to convey through their activities?

Surely viewers would love to know more about the urban legend instead of sitting through half an hour of scary action without any substantial explanation. This is a major flaw the producers failed to address.

Nevertheless, kudos to Incredible Tales for having its own website, where active contributors write in their real life spooky accounts. It’s definitely a site for those intrigued and uninspired scriptwriters who need some refreshing stories for a possible 2nd season.

Sure, the show can be scary at times but if you’re looking for more in-depth explanation of the unexplained urban legends, try your nearest campfire instead of Incredible Tales. At least your friends can come up with some interesting explanations.