Introduction
What began as a carefree Saturday night among three close friends quickly spiraled into one of the most chilling real-life tragedies imaginable. During China’s annual Ghost Festival, three teenagers believed they encountered a mysterious woman sitting motionless in the middle of a deserted road. She never spoke, never moved, and remained in the same spot for hours, convincing the young men they had witnessed something supernatural.
Fear soon replaced curiosity. Traditional beliefs, ghost stories, and local superstitions took hold of their minds, leading them to perform rituals they believed would protect them from an evil spirit. But what they didn’t realize was that the greatest danger they faced wasn’t a ghost—it was something far more real.
This haunting true story reveals how fear, hallucinations, and deeply rooted beliefs combined to create a devastating chain of events that ended with the tragic death of a 19-year-old man named Wang Weijie.
Complete Story
At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, 2011, 19-year-old Wang Weijie met his close friends, Ma Jun and Zhou Guo, at an internet café in Taiping, China. The three friends spent much of their free time together, and on this evening they had already been sitting inside the café for several hours watching Jun play computer games.
Unlike Jun and Guo, who were outspoken and adventurous, Weijie had a quiet personality. He rarely argued and usually went along with whatever his friends wanted to do. When Guo suggested they shouldn’t end the night because it was Saturday and they didn’t have school the next morning, Weijie quietly agreed despite feeling uneasy.
His hesitation stemmed from the fact that this wasn’t an ordinary weekend. It was the annual Ghost Festival, a time when many people in the region believed spirits wandered freely after sunset. Families stayed indoors, businesses closed early, and streets became unusually quiet because of long-held traditions warning people to avoid being outside after dark. Although Weijie wasn’t certain ghosts truly existed, he respected his family’s beliefs and instinctively felt it was wiser to go home. Nevertheless, he followed his friends outside without protest.
After leaving the café, the friends gathered outside to smoke while deciding how to spend the rest of the evening. Unable to think of anything exciting, they climbed into Weijie’s car and began driving aimlessly through the outskirts of town, hoping adventure would eventually find them.
As darkness settled over the countryside, the roads became almost completely deserted. The Ghost Festival had emptied the streets, leaving the friends driving through an eerie silence. What had initially seemed exciting quickly became boring. Weijie, already wishing he had gone home, leaned against the passenger-side window and slowly drifted toward sleep.
Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt.
Startled awake, Weijie looked ahead and saw why Jun had slammed on the brakes. Sitting directly in the middle of the isolated road was a woman wearing a floral dress. Beside her rested a bicycle. She appeared completely calm, staring blankly toward the vehicle that had nearly struck her.
Jun shouted through the window, demanding that she move out of the road, but she never reacted. She simply continued staring at the three young men without speaking or showing any emotion.
Eventually, Jun carefully drove around her, and the friends continued on their way. Yet none of them could stop thinking about the bizarre encounter. It felt especially unsettling because it had occurred during Ghost Festival, when local legends claimed spirits roamed the streets after dark.
Hours later, around 1:00 a.m., curiosity overcame their fear. Someone suggested they return to the same intersection to see if the mysterious woman was still there.
To their amazement, she hadn’t moved.
She remained seated in exactly the same position with her bicycle beside her, as though time itself had stopped. The sight terrified all three friends. They debated whether she was mentally ill, injured, or perhaps something supernatural. Although frightened, they ultimately decided to return to Jun’s house and discuss what to do in the morning.
The next day, they described everything to Jun’s mother, expecting her to recommend contacting the police or seeking medical assistance for the strange woman.
Instead, she calmly declared that they had seen a ghost.
According to local traditions surrounding the Ghost Festival, spirits wandered freely for one night each year searching for living people to attach themselves to. Those unlucky enough to encounter these spirits were believed to suffer terrible misfortune or even death by drowning.
The boys initially questioned her explanation, but the more she spoke, the more Weijie began convincing himself that perhaps the impossible encounter really had been supernatural. The woman’s emotionless expression, her refusal to move after nearly being hit, and the fact that she remained in the same place hours later suddenly seemed to fit the ghost stories he had heard growing up.
Jun’s mother insisted there was a way to protect themselves.
She instructed the boys to purchase ghost money and burn it at their family graves. According to Chinese tradition, ghost money is symbolic paper currency burned for deceased ancestors. While it is often offered to loved ones in the afterlife, some also believe it can persuade angry spirits to leave the living alone.
Following her advice, the friends visited their family cemeteries. After completing the ritual at Guo’s family graves, Jun and Weijie traveled to another cemetery to burn ghost money at Jun’s ancestors’ graves while Guo waited in the car.
As the paper offerings burned, both young men gradually felt relieved, believing they were finally safe.
Then everything changed.
Without warning, Weijie looked up and froze in terror.
Standing directly behind Jun, according to Weijie, was the same woman they had encountered on the road.
Terrified beyond reason, Weijie screamed, leaped to his feet, and sprinted away from the graves into a nearby cornfield.
Jun spun around, expecting to see the woman as well.
There was nothing there.
Realizing Weijie had disappeared into the massive field, Jun hurried back to the car and returned with Guo. Together they searched the towering rows of corn while repeatedly calling Weijie’s name. The dense vegetation made visibility nearly impossible, and despite searching for hours with numerous friends who later joined the effort, there was no trace of him.
Days passed.
Police officers, family members, and volunteers searched extensively, but Wang Weijie remained missing.
Three days later, officers finally located his body in a lake not far from the cemetery.
The 19-year-old had drowned.
Background on the Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival, observed in many Chinese communities during the seventh month of the lunar calendar, is rooted in centuries-old beliefs that the gates separating the living from the dead temporarily open. During this period, wandering spirits are believed to roam freely, prompting families to honor deceased relatives through offerings, prayers, and rituals.
In the region where Wang Weijie lived, these traditions were taken especially seriously. Businesses frequently closed before nightfall, families avoided unnecessary travel after sunset, and many believed that spirits actively sought living people to attach themselves to. According to local folklore, encountering one of these ghosts could bring prolonged bad luck or even cause the victim to drown.
These deeply ingrained cultural beliefs significantly influenced how the three friends interpreted the strange events they believed they had witnessed. Rather than considering ordinary explanations, fear and superstition convinced them they had encountered something paranormal.
Police Investigation
When Wang Weijie’s body was discovered in a nearby lake, investigators questioned Jun about everything that had happened during the previous several days. Jun honestly recounted every detail—from their night at the internet café and the mysterious woman on the roadside to the ghost money ritual and Weijie’s terrified flight into the cornfield.
Although Jun sincerely believed the supernatural explanation, investigators remained skeptical. Rather than accepting the ghost story, officers focused on one critical detail about what the three friends had actually smoked before driving around town and before visiting the cemetery.
That single question completely changed the investigation and revealed the true cause of the tragedy.
The Real Explanation
The mysterious woman who haunted the friends throughout that weekend never existed.
Investigators discovered that before leaving the internet café, the three young men had smoked methamphetamine rather than cigarettes. The powerful stimulant is well known for causing hallucinations, paranoia, distorted thinking, and impaired judgment.
While under the influence of the drug, all three friends experienced the same terrifying hallucination of a woman sitting in the road. Because the experience occurred during the Ghost Festival—a time already surrounded by fear and superstition—they accepted the hallucination as something supernatural instead of recognizing it as a drug-induced illusion.
The following day, despite no longer being intoxicated, Jun’s mother’s unwavering belief that they had encountered a ghost reinforced their fears. Before heading to the cemetery, the friends again used methamphetamine.
While burning ghost money, Weijie experienced another hallucination, believing the woman had reappeared behind Jun. Overcome by panic, he ran blindly into the nearby cornfield, unaware that a lake lay hidden beyond it. Still impaired by the drug and unable to swim, he fell into the water and drowned.
What initially appeared to be an inexplicable ghost story was ultimately revealed to be a heartbreaking combination of drug use, hallucinations, fear, and cultural superstition.
Lessons Learned
This tragic case demonstrates how dangerous the combination of substance abuse and fear can become. Methamphetamine dramatically alters perception, making hallucinations feel completely real. When those hallucinations are reinforced by existing beliefs or superstitions, people may make irrational decisions with devastating consequences.
The story also highlights the importance of seeking logical explanations before assuming supernatural causes. Cultural traditions deserve respect, but life-threatening situations require clear thinking and evidence-based decisions.
Most importantly, Wang Weijie’s death serves as a powerful reminder that illegal drugs can impair judgment so severely that ordinary environments become deadly. A routine drive with friends transformed into a fatal tragedy because hallucinations replaced reality.
Conclusion
What began as an ordinary Saturday night among three close friends ended in unimaginable heartbreak. A series of hallucinations, reinforced by cultural beliefs surrounding the Ghost Festival, convinced the young men they were being pursued by an evil spirit. In reality, there was never a ghost on the road or in the cemetery.
The true danger was methamphetamine, which distorted their perception, fueled their fears, and ultimately led Wang Weijie’s into a hidden lake where he tragically lost his life.
More than a ghost story, this case is a sobering reminder of how easily fear, superstition, and drug-induced hallucinations can combine to create fatal consequences. Behind the chilling mystery lies a heartbreaking lesson about the importance of sound judgment, responsible choices, and understanding the difference between perception and reality.