31 Days of Halloween | Day 28: The Hungry Ghost Festival - China's Hopping Dead

In August 1872, the Chinese community of Los Angeles gathered on a street where, just ten months earlier, a violent mob had murdered approximately eighteen Chinese men and boys.

They weren't there to celebrate.

They were there to feed the dead.

According to traditional Chinese beliefs, those who die violently, far from home, or without proper burial can become restless spirits. Hungry ghosts who wander among the living, searching for food, comfort, and a way home.

And every year, during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the gates of the underworld are believed to open.

Tonight, we're exploring the history and supernatural traditions of the Hungry Ghost Festival.

From the ancient Buddhist story of a monk attempting to save his starving mother to the elaborate offerings, ghostly performances, and unsettling superstitions surrounding Ghost Month, we'll discover how communities across Asia have welcomed the dead back into the world of the living.

We'll also investigate the legend of the Jiangshi, China's infamous hopping corpse, and the mysterious corpse drivers who supposedly transported the dead through mountain villages under cover of darkness.

Finally, we'll return to America's forgotten Chinese communities, where immigrant families exhumed their loved ones, carefully packed their bones, and sent them across the Pacific so they could finally rest at home.

Because in these traditions, the dead don't always return to frighten the living.

Sometimes, they're simply trying to find their way back.

Welcome to Day 28 of 31 Days of Halloween