Zamari Muhyi was roaming the abandoned halls of the infamous Kellie’s Castle when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and flashed a grim expression.
“This is the most anticipated part of the tour. I’m bringing you to one of the spookiest locations in this castle, ” said Zamari, the managing director of Kellie’s Castle, motioning to the flight of spiral staircase leading up to the first floor.
That spooky location turns out to be the Linen Room. According to Zamari, the room is haunted by the ghost of a laundryman named Gopal.
“He came all the way from India to work in this castle. Unfortunately, he died here and it’s said that his spirit still occupies this room until today, ” Zamari said during a Facebook Live virtual tour organised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
Locals are well aware of the macabre history and creepy tales that envelops Kellie’s Castle. Located in Batu Gajah, Perak, the unfinished mansion holds stories of mysterious diseases, unfortunate accidents and untimely deaths.
The 14-room castle was built by Scottish planter William Kellie-Smith for his family while living in then-Malaya. The construction which started in 1915, however, was plagued by financial constraints, World War I and the Spanish flu.
The castle’s construction was ultimately halted when Kellie-Smith contracted pneumonia while in Portugal. He had been in the country to bring back a lift to install at Kellie’s Castle.
That lift shaft can still be seen today at the mansion, evoking a foreboding feeling among visitors.
This thrill of the macabre is what makes Kellie’s Castle an icon of dark tourism, a popular but relatively untapped concept, in Malaysia.
Gloomy allure
The term “dark tourism” first made its appearance in the late 1990s when it was cited by travel researchers Malcolm Foley and John Lennon (no, not him) in their book of the same name.
Dark tourism should not be confused with urban exploration, popularly known as urbex, which revolves around checking out abandoned buildings and sites that are in a state of dilapidation.
The goal of urbexing is usually to take pictures and/or video footage of the place for use in social media content, documentaries or research, and of course, to brag and share stories among other urbexers. This often means having to trespass a property, which is of course illegal, but in a way adds to the appeal of urbexing.
In dark tourism, the main objective is education – people visit certain sites, museums and memorial halls to learn about the history of events that took place there. A good dark tourism tour would require a guide who is not only knowledgeable about the place but can also share personal stories or anecdotes, making the visitor’s experience even more real.
The concept of dark tourism made its way to a bigger audience when Netflix added the Dark Tourist series to its catalogue in 2018. That same year, statistics from a flight-booking platform revealed that there was a 307% increase in searches in Britain for destinations typically linked to doom or gloom.
The Dark Tourist series depicted New Zealand journalist David Farrier visiting well-known eerie sites including Aokigahara, Japan’s suicide hotspot, and the Manson Family murder locations in the United States.
The consensus on what constitutes dark tourism is “tourism where people deliberately visit places linked to death, disaster and atrocity”.
Some examples include war zones, the sites of nuclear blasts, natural disasters, prisoners-of-war camps and – in the case of Kellie’s Castle – places that appear eerie at first glance.
Zamari said he isn’t highlighting merely the supernatural elements to visitors of the dilapidated mansion. On the contrary, its the haunting history that’s offered on the table.
“We are not selling ghosts. What we are selling is the unsettling experience to travellers, ” he said.
Tourism Malaysia senior deputy director (Strategic Planning) Zakaria Nani said Malaysia is primed to be a dark tourism destination.
“There are several dark tourism sites in Malaysia that could be promoted or highlighted as unique destinations, ” he said.
Apart from Kellie’s Castle, Zakaria pointed out places like Pulau Jerejak and the Penang War Museum, both in Penang, as well as the Kundasang War Memorial in Sabah.
“The dark tourism sites also represent attractions that are considered and classified as cultural heritage sites or memorial sites, ” he said.
Grim appeal aside, Zakaria said dark tourism in the country also offers travellers knowledge, understanding and educational opportunities.
“Jerejak is said to have more history per square inch than most other places in Malaysia, ” he said, adding that the island has provided homes for people from various backgrounds over the years.
“It was the base for rural fishing communities, a leprosy colony, a quarantine station and a prison, ” he said.
“You know what happens in prison, right?” he cryptically added.
Zakaria was alluding to the horrors that are often tagged to dark tourism sites.
The Kundasang War Memorial for one, reminds visitors of the horrors the British and Australian soldiers who died in the Sandakan POW camp endured during their death marches to Ranau.
A grim affair
Local academics agree that the rise of dark tourism is another representation of travel’s enduring ability to excite the senses.
It is something that Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Azlean Jamin, Zainab Mohd Zain, Siti Rosnita Sakarji, Nurbarirah Ahmad and Raja Mayang Delima Mohd Beta discussed in a conference paper published earlier this year.
The Benefits Of Dark Tourism Experience Among Visitors In Malaysia paper extensively discussed the growth and potential of this form of tourism in the country.
“Tourists are continuously searching for new trends, exciting ways of travelling and a variety of adrenaline rush experiences. Dark tourism is one of many examples of tourism products that are able to fulfil these objectives, ” they wrote.
The study observed that dark tourism also gave people an avenue to explore the macabre and sinister.
“Tourists like to satisfy their curiosity and fascination with the dark tourism concept in a socially adequate setting that also gives them the opportunity to build their own reflection of mortality, ” the academics wrote.
The study reiterated Zakaria’s point about Tourism Malaysia seeing educational opportunities in dark tourism.
“These dark tourism tours are designed in such a way that the story can be experienced with the aim of learning from it so that it does not repeat itself, ” the researchers wrote.
They added that dark tourism brings to life the history of the tragedies and openly discuss the darker side of history and humanity.
Apart from that, there are also economic benefits to the concept.
“Dark tourism helps to generate income for the local community which is affected by the tragedy to rebuild itself. Tourists visiting these disaster locations bring in tourist dollars which may aid the local community, ” they wrote.
Azlean and his fellow researchers included Villa Nabila in Johor, Pulau Bidong in Terengganu and the Batu Lintang camp in Sarawak as places of interest.
Villa Nabila is an abandoned bungalow in Danga Bay that’s shrouded in mystery, while Pulau Bidong and Batu Lintang are reminders of the horrors of war.
Pulau Bidong used to house Vietnamese War refugees while the Batu Lintang was a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
However, the study observed that while Malaysia has its share of dark tourism sites, the potential is still untapped.
“Although Malaysia has lots of dark tourism sites, they are not globally recognised yet or able to attract many international tourists, ” said Azlean.
This, according to the researchers, is due to the lack of government recognition and supporting services by agencies towards this new tourism prospect.
By the looks of the Facebook Live session hosted by PATA, dark tourism is certainly something that tourism promoters are beginning to warm up to.
There’s also a demand for it among locals, said Zamari. He revealed that 90% of visitors to Kellie’s Castle are from the domestic tourist market.
“There are many interesting stories, ” he said of the allure of dark tourism sites like the mansion. Some of those stories are gruesome while others, like the one about a family torn by war at Kellie’s Castle, are heartbreaking.
The real question then is, will more travellers be willing to experience these dark stories?
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