A woman in Singapore recently recalled a chilling nighttime cycling trip through Bukit Brown cemetery, where an unexpectedly pleasant floral scent apparently sent her then-boyfriend into a panic.
TikTok user @bevahleee shared the story in a video on 12 Aug, recounting an incident she experienced while cycling through the area with her ex-boyfriend.
The Original Poster (OP) said she was not raised in a superstitious household, adding that neither of her parents believed in ghosts.
“So I also don’t believe in ghosts,” she said, explaining that this had “never been of consequence” to her until that fateful night.
While cycling through Bukit Brown cemetery, the OP suddenly noticed “a really nice smell”.
Source: Google Maps, for illustration purposes only
Wanting to share the moment with her boyfriend, she asked:
Babe, do you smell that? It smells so nice. Like, the flowers smell so nice.
Instead of responding, her boyfriend remained silent.
“Hello?” she recalled saying, before asking him again whether he could smell the flowers.
Rather than answering her, her boyfriend began cycling faster.
The OP said she continued asking whether he could smell the flowers, but he remained silent and kept picking up speed.
This left her increasingly frustrated, especially as they were cycling through a dark area and she was struggling to keep up.
Source: @bevahleee on TikTok
“I got damn angry,” she said, wondering why he was cycling so quickly instead of waiting for her.
The pair eventually made it out of Bukit Brown, after which her boyfriend explained why he had refused to respond earlier.
“The scarier part is that this man literally was going to leave me in Bukit Brown alone if I didn’t shut up,” she wrote in the caption.
In the comments, several netizens offered explanations for her ex-boyfriend’s reaction.
One user claimed that people should avoid mentioning unusual smells in such situations, as doing so could supposedly cause a ghost to “follow you home”.
Source: TikTok
Another TikTok user suggested that the OP may have smelled frangipani, a flower commonly associated in folklore with the Pontianak, a supernatural being in Malay mythology.
Source: TikTok
Another simply remarked: “You could not pay me to cycle at Bukit Brown at night.”
Source: TikTok
Speaking to MS News, the OP, Beverly, 28, said the incident happened a long time ago, estimating that it took place “at least six years ago”.
She explained that they had not actually intended to be cycling at night. Their original plan was simply to ride to Coney Island and back via the park connectors.
However, due to poor planning and her slower riding pace, it was already dark by the time they made their return journey, at “probably around 9pm”.
Source: Wikipedia, for illustration purposes only
Beverly also said she only noticed the floral scent while they were passing through the cemetery.
“Even after the scent was gone, I kept asking my then-boyfriend to acknowledge me but he didn’t until we were safely out of the Bukit Brown area,” she said.
“He told me not to mention unusual smells, as they’re believed to signal a supernatural presence. A floral fragrance, for instance, is commonly associated with a Pontianak,” Beverly added, echoing what several netizens had pointed out in the comments.
Despite the spooky encounter, she told MS News that she genuinely believed they had simply ridden past a frangipani tree.
“In fact, I still think we did, but who’s to say?” she said with a laugh.
Also read: Property agent claims some HDB flats overlooking Hakka cemetery in Commonwealth sell for over S$1M
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Featured image adapted from Wikipedia, for illustration purposes only.