"nampak ape² tak?"

So, are you alone?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah), the Lord of the daybreak,
From the evil of what He has created,
And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon as it sets or goes away),
And from the evil of those who practice witchcraft when they blow in the knots,
And from the evil of the envier when he envies."

the Qur'an, 113: 1-5

This is the third post I write regarding of what is so-called supernatural, and I must say being a fellow Malay myself, I can't escape from at least having a belief that there are unseen living things that co-exist within our lives. I'm not superstitious, and believing in the existence of these things are not superstitious either, for the existence of the Angels, Jinns, Iblis or Devil or Diabolos, Satan or Saytan or Shaitan, are confirmed by God in the Quran. I mean, to the extent that 'yaw, they exist and don't deny it', things like that. And I'm not fundamental either. It's just something basic. It's a part of life.

Some people (say, so-called experts) claim that what we know (and maybe, fear) as 'hantu' fall into the Jinn category - the bad Jinns clique. They're the evil guys, the evil spirit like some might like to call them, and their main point is to drive man to go astray thus fearing them more than they fear God - shaking and diverting one's iman - faith, and their akidah - belief.

In the Malay Archipelago - the Nusantara - the most popular hantu in the block is simply the image of a beautiful woman in a white robe that will (most of the time) morph itself into a very terrifying vampire (kind of) and known in Malaysia as the Pontianak, in Indonesia - the Kuntilanak and in the islands of the Philippines, the Mananaggal. Most hantu cope with the hot and humid tropical weather, and although most make their appearance at the slightly cooler nights, they are often sighted wearing white.

Unlike their Malay human counterparts, most hantu are competent in doing their tasks. Their existence and ability to cause fear are still relevant in the 21st century, some even go as far as roaming some floors of one of the world's tallest buildings, some parts of the world's best airport, the LRT lines and the posh vicinity of Putrajaya. But still, some chose to stick to traditional ways - roaming abandoned old houses, graveyards, mansions, roads, campsites, forests, etc. So simply, it's easier to find them at these places, for its their 'place', their port to hang out.

And so we did.

It was merely a suggestion from Uzair that turned out to be a confirmed plan. The particular bungalow at Seksyen 12 has always attracted ghost seekers, supernatural enthusiasts and, well, budak nakal alike. It was featured in Seekers, and in that episode they actually smelled a kind of scent. Rumor has it that the house can't, and never will, be completed. Should anybody buy the house, and renovate it and eventually claim they've completed it, then spend a night in it, he or she will find out, in the next morning that the house has turned back into its incomplete state. Some engineering wonder, eh? So if that kind of stuff happen,

1. The tenant might think that they've hired some lousy contractor, or
2. They should bloody better be leaving.

Hence after two series of unfortunate events, nobody dares to buy the house for clearly it'd be an incredulous investment (financially and mentally). So it was left there, abandoned.

So we went there, the night before Friday (malam Jumaat lah). There was 7 of us, but we expected more. Some have seen the house before and some don't. But everyone pun gasped in awe at the house's hugeness lah. The house is now berpagar, and with the incredibly eerie condition nobody dared to climb the gate. But wondering outside is enough to give the creeps. Qayum claimed to see things, anyway, together with Mahfuz. Not much to elaborate though, other than us being creepy and having goosebumps, but then we took some pictures and headed home.

All pictures were captured in low shutter, of assurance of this you should ask Mahfuz. But if my camera captured anything within this speed, any 'appearance' would be probably of no doubt. If we used flash, for instance, the light emitted from the camera will hit the particles in the air - habuk, debu or anything of that sort - producing some people call as 'energy balls' or fireballs, while actually it's just a reaction when the camera lights hit some tiny objects in the air. However chances are high if we use infrared filters, for these filters are inclined to heat changes or a slight variation in temperature - for the presence of the creatures can cause an alteration in the environment's temperature. But, nah, we don't have those.

So when we actually saw this picture, we panicked at first, but it turns out that the so-called image is a stain (a very convincing stain, that is) on the house's main gate's right pillar. But still when viewed after much suspense (and expectations to see things) that midnight, it still caused me to not bringing my camera home and making Mahfuz to keep it for one night before returning it to me the next morning. haha. When we examined the pictures the morning after at my house, it is confirmed not an image of any 'supernatural' stuffs, et al. So are in any other pictures, we saw nothing in them. But if anybody else saw anything else that night (which is, maybe a yes), it's merely up to them and it's their problem.

We entered the house in the next morning. I know groups that have entered the house at night with video cams (that includes your group, Amir), and I must say, in a sense, it's bloody brave because inside it's kind of dangerous. But either way, we found nothing, except that the house is (again) very huge, plus we found a small, hidden stair that leads up to a dark passageway leading upstairs - but we didn't take the risk. Plus some cigar packs, bottles and stuffs. So, after being contented of what we saw (at least I think of it that way), we left. But today, because Raimi wanted to see the house so much, AB drove pass the house and it still looked scary, the drizzling rain and the gloomy weather added the extra effect.

I don't know whether we're lucky or not (I mean, it's subjective) for not to encounter anything. But even not having a relatively horrible experience pun, it seemed like everybody had trouble sleeping that night. Still, alhamdulillah lah x jadi pape. Just got into a babbling session with Mama & Ayah, that's all. But Mama claim that it would be a 'kenangan manis' when we all grow up. That's a point (I think). Still it's a certified tempat keras, a 'friend of friend of a friend' having encounters is not a rare story. Sightings, creepy, blood-gushing goosebumps causing sounds, frangipani and kapur barus scents, are often told and heard.

Let's leave the house (or mansion) alone for now. The question is not whether the dubbed makhluk-makhluk halus exist or vice versa, but whether you believe in them or not. Whether you intend to see them, meet them, or feel them. With no substantial amount of faith whatsoever, one could fall into their trap and allured into using them and depending on them, causing imbalance in life and destroying the very aspect of monotheism - tauhid - believing in the Oneness of God.

I'm trying to write this in a very acceptable manner - by that I mean in an utmost logical sense possible. Just a fair, innocent reminder. They and us, we and them, fear each other. Seeing Malays using jinns, talismans, and practicing black magic and witchcraft to make each other fall sickens me. It's a shocking and humiliating reality, seeing how foolish some of us can be. So, with 13 years left for the country to be a developed nation, will the minds of our people be developed as well? 13 years is short. Oh, and 13 is not a good number.

and just go one by one of these, don't push yourself.

Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever Living, the One who sustains and protects all that exists.
Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him.
To Him belongs to whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is on the earth.
Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission?
He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter.
And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge expect that which He wills.
His Kursi (Throne) extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them.
And He is the Most High, the Most Great.

the Qur'an, 2: 255

well, you see, God always got His point. That's 'the' Kursi verse anyway.

All translations of verses of the Qur'an are picked from 'Interpretation of the meanings of the Noble Qur'an in the English language, A summarised version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir'. Riyadh.
1 & 2 captured by Qayum, settings by Mahfuz; February 15, 2007. no copyrights
Syukrishairi 2006/7