Information circulating on the Internet:
Minxiong Haunted House, also known as the Liu Family Ancient House, is a well-known so-called "haunted house" in Taiwan. It actually has rich historical and cultural value behind it. This building was originally called the Liu Family Mansion and was owned by the Liu family, a prominent local family in Minxiong. It was built in 1929 by Liu Rongru, a local official at the time. Liu Rongru was a well-educated and versatile man, and his family enjoyed a high reputation at the time.
The architectural style of the Liu family mansion combines Fujian architecture and Baroque style. It is a three-story house covering an area of 1,200 square meters, with luxurious decoration and facilities. However, as time passed and family members dispersed, the mansion was gradually abandoned, and various haunting legends began to emerge.
There are many versions of the supernatural legend about Minxiong Haunted House. One of the widely circulated stories is about the tragedy of a maid who committed suicide by throwing herself into a well in the Liu family mansion. Another legend mentions that Japanese soldiers killed each other with guns in the mansion during World War II, leaving bullet holes in the walls. There is also a version about the incident in which the National Army accidentally killed a fellow soldier in 1949, which is also related to the bullet holes in the wall.
Although these stories are widely circulated among the people, they are not actually supported by historical facts. For example, Taiwan was not a battlefield during World War II, and Japanese troops did not need to be stationed there. Moreover, in the story about the accidental killing of fellow soldiers by the national army, the firearms carried by the soldiers did not match the number and distribution of bullet holes in the wall.
The real history of Minxiong Haunted Mansion is far from these legends. The Liu family mansion was abandoned because Liu Rongru's descendants were scattered at home and abroad, and no one managed the building. Nonetheless, these legends add mystery to Minxiong Haunted Mansion, attracting many people interested in paranormal phenomena to visit. Although the descendants of the owner have repeatedly refuted the rumors, Minxiong Haunted House is still known as "Taiwan's No. 1 Haunted House" and has become a phenomenon that cannot be ignored in Taiwanese culture.
Chiayi Minxiong Haunted House is known as the first of the four major haunted houses in Taiwan, but do you know its legend?
Minxiong Haunted House, also known as the Liu Family Ancient Building, is owned by the Liu family, one of the well-known local families. With the release of the Taiwanese ghost film "Minxiong Haunted House", many people are curious about the true story of Minxiong Haunted House. Although the descendants of the owner have repeatedly refuted the rumors, people still call it "Taiwan's No. 1 Haunted House."
The story starts with the owner of the house
The person who built this foreign-style building was Liu Rongru. He was an open-minded, cheerful, easy-going and friendly person. He was the son of a large landowner and a graduate of the first class of Maomao Public School. Because he was smart and studious, he was proficient in poetry, Chinese painting, and calligraphy. , and also conducted in-depth research on the Book of Changes, and had profound attainments in Chinese studies.
During the Japanese colonial period, all village chiefs in various places were government officials, but the Japanese admired Liu Rongru's integrity and appointed him as the village chief in Xikou. When Liu Rongru was the head of the village, he used his own money to help people pay household taxes, which won praise and gratitude from local people in Xikou. In addition, although Liu Rongru came from a wealthy family, he actively expanded his career. In addition to farming and collecting rent, he also opened Santai Joint Venture to sell rice, cereals, cement, fertilizer and other necessities for people's livelihood, pushing the Liu family's wealth to a high point.
Against this background, Liu Rongru built a three-story bungalow with a main building and a courtyard in today's Minxiong Xingzhong Village in 1929, covering an area of 1,200 square meters. It combines Fujian architecture and Baroque style. The bungalow itself is decorated with red bricks and white decorations. The courtyard has a fountain and pavilions. The two dragons on the roof are respectively carved with the words "Yiming Shengde" and "Brothers in Harmony". The top floor of the middle building is dedicated to ancestors' spiritual tablets. It was a rare luxury western-style building at that time.
The two dragons on the roof of the Liu family's mansion are respectively carved with the words "To Ming Shengde" and "Brothers in Harmony".
Liu Rongru originally wanted the whole family to live here together. However, as her children started their own families and Liu Rongru thought the mansion was inconvenient, she finally moved out with her son Liu Cunyang in 1945. The Liu family mansion has experienced the ravages of time, and the entire building has become mottled. Later, it became a haunted house in people's mouth, and various supernatural rumors gradually spread.
1. The maid committed suicide by jumping into the well
There are different opinions as to why the Liu family mansion is haunted. Among them, the most well-known one is the tragedy of a maidservant. In the past, wealthy families liked to hire maids and long-term workers. It is said that the owner of the house at that time, Liu Rongru, had a crush on a maid and wanted to take her as his concubine. When the lady learned about this, she was very angry and often abused the maid when Liu Rongru was not at home. She suffered a lot. The tortured maid decided to commit suicide by throwing herself into a well. From then on, the Liu family mansion would see the ghost of the maid wandering around the house from time to time late at night.
According to legend, this is the ancient well into which the maid jumped.
2. The Japanese soldiers killed each other with guns
In addition to the story of the maid, the holes in the walls of the Liu family's mansion also echo another legend of Minxiong's haunted house. Some people say that these holes came from the Second World War. One time, the Japanese soldiers passed by here. Because it was dark, they insisted on staying in the mansion even though they heard that it was haunted . Chinese folk ghost stories . After a while, the Japanese soldiers seemed to be possessed by ghosts, raising their guns at each other. There was a brutal killing, and bullets rained down on the house. In the end, the entire group of soldiers died here.
However, from the history we have learned, we know that Taiwan during World War II was not a battlefield, so there were no Japanese troops stationed elsewhere. Furthermore, when soldiers attack each other, the bullet holes will not be concentrated on just one wall.
3. The national army accidentally killed a fellow soldier
In 1949, the defeated Nationalist Government withdrew to Taiwan. There were military stations everywhere. At that time, the army in Minxiong used Xingzhong Elementary School as a stronghold. Because there were too many soldiers, they had to live in nearby temples and houses. One of the teams was stationed there. The Liu family mansion was uninhabited at the time.
One day, a soldier reported to his superior that he had encountered a ghost in the mansion in the middle of the night. However, the superior did not believe it. He thought that the house was just too dark at night and he had made a mistake, so he sent another soldier to set up wires and light bulbs. . As a result, when the soldier was halfway through the process, a suspected ghost appeared. In desperation, he drew his gun and fired randomly, but accidentally hit a soldier who got up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. The hole in the wall was left by this accident.
But would a soldier who installed a lightbulb in the middle of the night carry a repeating firearm? The soldiers at that time probably only had single-shot rifles. Unless several people fired at the same time, it was impossible to leave more than 30 bullet holes. As the stories of supernatural beings are passed down by later generations, their plots become more and more rich, and they may also produce obvious historical errors.
The Liu family mansion has become an overgrown ruin due to long-term neglect.
The above three supernatural stories are just folklore. According to the descendants of the Liu family, after Liu Rongru's death, his descendants scattered all over the country and abroad, and Minxiong's foreign-style building was abandoned until now without anyone managing it. The owner of a cafe next to Minxiong Haunted Mansion for many years also stated through the media that he had never encountered any supernatural events. But also because of these ghost stories, Minxiong Haunted House adds a lot of mysterious imagination space.
Rating: The story of Minxiong Haunted House is a fascinating and mysterious phenomenon in Taiwanese culture. These legends not only stimulate people's curiosity about supernatural phenomena, but also reflect people's desire to explore the unknown and history. Although these stories lack the support of historical facts, they add a layer of mystery to the Minxiong Haunted Mansion, making it a fascinating tourist attraction and cultural symbol. These stories also remind us that history and legend are often intertwined, and the truth may be hidden in layers of mystery, waiting for us to discover. At the same time, this also reflects the role of folk tales in the dissemination and preservation of cultural heritage, even if they may be different from real history.