Mae Nak is a well-known Thai female ghost. According to local folklore the story is based on events that took place during the reign of King Rama IV. A shrine dedicated to Nak is at Wat Mahabut. In 1997, the shrine was relocated to the nearby Suan Luang District of modern Bangkok.
Common Legend[]
A beautiful young woman named Nak, who lived on the banks of the Phra Khanong Canal, had an undying love for her husband, Mak.
While Nak was pregnant, Mak was conscripted into the Thai Army and sent to war where he was seriously wounded (in some versions it is the Kengtung Wars, while others are not specific). While he was being nursed back to health in central Bangkok, Nak and their child both die during childbirth. But when Mak returned home, he finds his loving wife and child waiting for him. Neighbors warn him that he is living with a ghost but he rebuffs them.
One day, as Nak is preparing nam phrik, she dropped a Lime off the porch. In her haste to retrieve it, she stretched her arm to pick it up from the ground below. Mak then realized his wife was a ghost. That night, Mak sneaked out the house and fled with Nak in pursuit. According to Thai folklore, ghosts are afraid of sticky Blumea leaves so Mak hid behind a Blumea balsamifera (หนาด; pronounced Nat) bush.
Research[]
Anek Nawikamul, a Thai historian, researched the story and found an article in the Siam Praphet newspaper written by K.S.R. Kularb, dated March 10, 1899. Kularb claimed the story of Mae Nak was based on the life of Amdaeng Nak (อำแดงนาก, 'Mrs Nak'), daughter of a Tambon Phra Khanong leader named Khun Si. Amdaeng Nak died while she was pregnant. Her son, worried that his father might remarry and his inheritance shared with his step-mother, invented the ghost story. He dressed in women's clothing and threw rocks at passing boats to make people think it was Nak's ghost. Kularb also suggested that Nak's husband was named Chum, not Mak.
Mae Nak Shrine[]
The shrine of Mae Nak stands next to Klong Phra Khanong, at Wat Mahabut, a large temple on Soi 77 off Sukhumvit Road (On Nut Road). The shrine is a low building under large trees with a roof that encompasses the tree trunks. The main shrine has several minor shrines around it.
A statue of Mae Nak and her infant form the centerpiece of the shrine. Devotees often make offerings, accompanied by a request for help, generally by women seeking easy childbirth or for their husband to be exempted from military conscription. Offerings are usually lengths of colored cloth, wrapped around the trunk of the Bo tree. Other offerings include fruit, lotuses, and incense sticks.
Toys for her child and portraits of the ghost are displayed in the shrine's inner sanctum. A collection of fine dresses offered to her are displayed behind her statue.