Source: Remember Singapore & Suntec City for illustration purposes only
A question about Singapore’s urban legends has prompted local Redditors to dig up a mix of fengshui theories, National Service (NS) ghost stories, and also old-school rumours.
Posted on r/askSingapore on 24 Aug, the Original Poster (OP) asked: “Anyone know (sic) of any urban legends in Singapore?”
The OP clarified that the stories did not have to be “ghostly” or “supernatural”. Instead, they could also include “local myths or rumours” that their families and friends swear are true.
Source: Reddit
One of the more intriguing replies involved something many Singaporeans have handled countless times: the S$1 coin.
A Redditor claimed the octagonal bagua (eight trigrams) symbol found on the coin was introduced as a “fengshui cure” after the construction of the MRT.
Source: Gwengoat on Canva for illustration purposes only
According to the commenter, Singapore had “five geographical dragons,” whose “veins” MRT tunnels supposedly cut through.
Source: Reddit
They also pointed out that the older S$1 coins minted before the opening of the MRT in 1987 did not have the bagua.
Another commenter added that the authorities also shaped old road tax labels like a bagua for the same reason.
Others joked that with fewer people carrying coins nowadays, that could also be the reason why the MRT system is experiencing so many breakdowns.
Source: Reddit
Another popular category was NS folklore.
Stories mentioned included the “three-door bunk”, “standby organs”, and the mysterious cough that recruits develop during Basic Military Training on Pulau Tekong.
Source: Wikipedia
Netizens also brought up the fengshui design of Suntec City, the supposedly haunted Ngee Ann City shaped like a tombstone, and the Bukit Timah “monkey man”.
Another netizen then summed it up best by saying: “Perhaps it is time for a Singapore creepypasta collection.”
Also read: 5 most eerie shopping centres in S’pore with lesser known pasts & ghostly sightings
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Featured image adapted from Remember Singapore & Suntec City for illustration purposes only.