Historic Haunted House

  This is the famous “ghost house” on High Street, named “Sai Ying Pun Community Complex”. Although many locals regard it as a haunted place, it has a history of 120 years and an extraordinary architectural style.

This kind of building is rarely seen in Hong Kong. It is similar to Italianate Renaissance architecture. As we see in the picture, the block is built with a base of granite boulders and several solid square columns. The elegant appearance among the modern buildings in Sai Ying Pun obviously stands out in a unique way. In virtue of the special architecture style, it was assessed to be one of the Grade I Historic Buildings in Hong Kong.


The building has been located here since 1892. Originally, it was a dormitory for European nurses of the Civil Hospital. In the 1940s, it became a mental hospital for patients nearby. During the Japanese occupation period, rumour has it that the Japanese used the building for maltreatment towards the war prisoners. After the liberation of Hong Kong, it was recovered to be a mental hospital again. In 1961, due to the establishment of Castle Peak Hospital, it was changed into a day patient clinic for mentally ill patients. Ten years later, the clinic was removed and the building was kept abandoned until its reconstruction in 2001 and is now today’s community centre.

Sai Ying Pun Community Complex

The view from 3rd floor of Sai Ying Pun Community Complex

As the building was a mental hospital and rumored to be a place of execution before, the building has been said to be full of the hatred of the souls of the departed. During the period of abandonment, haunted stories were heard one after another. Up to now, we could still hear of people exploring the ghosts inside. Our group had gone into the building that day. We were not sure if it was our psycho-effect or some other “effects”, but the desolate environment and the silence throughout the area made us feel uncomfortable.

Written by Kammy