Every Thai person knows the ghost story of “Mae Naak Phra Khanong”. The story has been made into movies and television dramas countless times. A recent movie version called “Nang Nak” was popular with foreign audiences. The basic story is about two lovers who used to live in the Phra Khanong area of Bangkok over one hundred years ago. Shortly after they were married, her husband, Nai Maak, is conscripted into the army. While he is away fighting a war, Nang Nak gives birth to their baby. Sadly, both the mother and child die during the birth. Unaware of this tragic event, Nai Maak returns from the war with plans to settle down and raise his new family. The spirit of Nang Nak couldn’t accept her own death so it disguises itself as a human. When Nai Maak returns he finds his wife and baby child waiting for him. Little does he know that he is now living with a ghost.

Although there is no historical record to show that Nang Nak was a real person, the local people strongly believe in the power of her spirit. Towards the end of the movie, Nang Nak is cornered at Wat Mahabut. This is a real temple and this is where you will find an extremely popular shrine for Nang Nak. People believe that if you go to her shrine and make an offering then the spirit of Nang Nak will look after you. I haven’t been back to this temple for several years, but I wasn’t really surprised the other day to see that the shrine was just as popular as ever. I could see that she had changed her clothes and that she now wore a wig. In the picture below you can see she is also wearing make-up. A little bit creepy to say the least.

People who go to this shrine to pray for good luck often give the spirit beautiful clothes and also cosmetics. Toys and gifts for the child are also given. She is holding the baby in her lap. In the above picture, a devotee is putting some gold leaf on the image. This shrine is also popular with young men who have to report for the conscription draft. They have to pick a coloured ball which tells them either they are conscripted into the army or are free to go home. Obviously Nang Nak is very sympathetic, so young men flock to this shrine before the draft is called in order to pray for good luck. Other people seeking good luck are the ones that play the Thai lottery. People believe that Nang Nak gives out the winning numbers for the lottery. In the picture below, people are rubbing the bark of a tree in the compound to see if they can see any clues about what the winning numbers will be.

To get to Wat Mahabut, take the sky train to the end of the line to On Nut. Just north of the station, on the east side, you will see Soi 77 On Nut. The temple is about 900 metres down this road on the left. Look out for Soi 7. You will find the temple at the end of this lane. The shrine is at the far side of the temple near the canal. Just follow the crowds! I have marked the shrine at our ThailandPhotoMap.com website. From now on, all locations that we write about at thai-blogs.com will be marked on this website. If you want to win the next Thai Lottery and cannot visit this shrine or any other shrine in Thailand which is considered lucky, then you are welcome to visit our virtual shrines at WinThaiLottery.com.