Gather outside the Arts House at the Old Parliament Building, on Old Parliament Lane: the home of Singapore Writers Festival. Before Singapore was colonised, this lush flat ground by the mouth of the river was the centre of life in the local community. And through British colonial rule of the Straits Settlements, and the distress of the Japanese occupation during World War II, this site has been at the heart of events affecting Singapore and the region. Here more than most places you stand amidst layers of human history, as well as within the accumulating layers of time. Soon you will be making your way through these layers, listening to stories people have experienced in this remarkable part of the city, and finding whatever it might be that you will find yourselves. Your tour starts here.

Welcome. When you're ready, make your way into the building.

Heading into the Arts House

Head up these stairs - to the right as you enter the Arts House. And listen to the next audio section on the landing outside the Black Box theatre. If you need a lift to reach the upper floor, it can be found at the back of the building: turn to your left behind the stairs, and the lift is on your right side after you have passed through the lobby. Alternatively you can simply listen on the ground floor if that's more comfortable.

...And sometimes, when they're returned, you only feel worse.

Sometimes, Things Go Missing...

Leave the Arts House in the direction of Asian Civilisations Museum. The exact location where the next ghostly encounter occurred is beside the Empress Lawn, the stretch of grass outside the Victoria Theatre.

You don't have to cross the whole way to the Museum entrance: stop halfway along the side of the Museum, under the big trees beside Empress Lawn, and there you'll be exactly where our next story took place.

A Scent of Frangipani

Cross into the main foyer of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall for the next true story.

A Stage Ghost

Carefully cross over to the National Gallery side of the Padang field. You can walk there by going via the Victoria Theatre foyer, and past the Singapore Cricket Club on Connaught Drive.

For your next story, take a pause on St Andrew's Road with a view out over the open Padang. That's where this next encounter took place.

Ghosts might have a liking for old buildings, but as our next true history reveals, they can just as well hang around open spaces.

A Sound at Dusk

Cross St Andrew's Road and enter the National Gallery through the large portico. This was previously the Supreme Court of Singapore, and is as steeped in history as you might imagine.

This section contains two stories. Make your way through the back of the Supreme Court entrance foyer as you listen, to the side of the grand staircase that was opposite you as you came in. To the left on the far side of the atrium beyond, is an opening that leads to the old jail cells of the Supreme Court. Haunted, naturally. Image: detail from Boschbrand (Forest Fire) - Raden Saleh, 1849

A Strange Visitor

Leave the Gallery through the cafe, exiting on to Parliament Place. For your next story, cross the road at the crossing, and towards the front of the new Parliament building, you will find a stairwell down to your left signed 'Public Carpark'.

Make your way down this staircase, which leads directly from the street to the scene of our final encounter. Head down the staircase into the carpark below. No, it isn't 'clean' either.

Down the Stairs

That's right, we've brought you to this hot, sticky, underground carpark as the finale of this tour. Look around you. It might not look much. But at least you can be assured this inauspicious facility is thick with the ghosts you came to wonder about.

And in case you're wondering where EXACTLY that final ghostly encounter took place, it was in this corridor. You can stand right in it, and soak up that un-clean feeling. Now get home safe!

The Shadow of Things to Come - SWF 2025

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