Ghost Month 101: Myths, Taboos & the August Slowdown

(00:00:00) Ghost Month 101: Myths, Taboos & the August Slowdown
(00:02:01) Part 1 - Where Ghost Month Comes From
(00:03:09) Customs and Beliefs
(00:05:35) Story 1 - The Front Row Seat
(00:06:12) Story 2 - The Taxi Passenger
(00:06:48) Story 3 - The Shore that Pulls
(00:07:27) Story 4 - The Red Envelope
(00:08:00) Some of the Lesser Known Beliefs this Month
(00:11:02) What are the Practical Reasons August is a Slow Month?
(00:13:04) Closing
(00:14:43) Outro

“The month doesn’t just honor the dead. It feeds them.” In this LilWeird deep dive, I walk the lantern-lit road of Hungry Ghost Month. Its Buddhist and Daoist roots, the customs and taboos (front rows left empty, water lanterns on black seas), and the stories people still whisper in August. Then I pull back the incense curtain to ask the blunt question: Is August slow because of ghosts… or because of calendars, budgets, and storms? Expect lore, etiquette, eerie vignettes, and a grounded look at why many businesses quietly avoid August. Light your lantern, don’t touch the offering, and press play.

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A gentle note:
This episode of LilWeird Podcast is a blend of researched facts, folklore, personal reflection, and creative storytelling. While efforts were made to ensure accuracy, this episode is intended for curious exploration, not as a scientific or academic resource. Listener discretion is encouraged when interpreting historical or cultural content.

References and suggested readings:
Stephen F. Teiser — The Ghost Festival in Medieval China

Roots.gov.sg — “Zhong Yuan Jie (Hungry Ghost Festival)”
Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Office — “Yu Lan (Hungry Ghost) Festival (Chiu Chow)”
Taiwan Tourism — “Keelung Mid-Summer Ghost Festival”
Alvin Eng Hui Lim (2020) — “Live Streaming and Digital Stages for the Hungry Ghosts and Deities,” Religions
Time Out Hong Kong — “Hungry Ghost Festival taboos and things to avoid doing”

Credits:
Outro - Quirky Whimsical Play

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
August doesn't knock its slips in paper, ash lifts and
twirls like gray moths. A bowl of rice waits at
a corner no one claims. Dogs look up at nothing
and look away down the alley as singer warms up
to empty chairs, the first raw that opened, as if
someone might arrive without footsteps. The month doesn't just honor

(00:23):
the dead, It feeds them and hopes tastay full enough
not to follow you home. Welcome to the seventh to
Nor month, where tradition says the gates of the underworld
open wide, and the spirits of the restless, the forgotten,
and the downright hungry are free to wander among us.
Some are ancestors, waiting patiently for a bowl of rice

(00:46):
and a joy stick. Others aren't so polite. People whisper
that this is why the oral moves is strangely now,
while messages drive, why signatures hesitate, Why the air fails watched?
Why do most businesses lie low during this month? Is
it fear, custom or something else that doesn't sign its name.

(01:07):
This is Silvered Podcast and I'm Jane. Tonight we're pulling
back the incense curtain on one of Asia's cupious and
most fascinating festivals. Hungry Gusman will trace its roots through
Buddhist tales of filial piety. Tavis writes for neglected soulce
and the deeply human urge to remember and to protect

(01:28):
ourselves from those who've left behind. We'll walk the London
lead through first the lore, the customs, the stories. People
still whisper when the seventh month turns its face. Later,
only later, we'll peer behind the veil at what might
be something else. Light your lantern, don't sit in the

(01:49):
front row, and absolutely do not touch that offering on
the sidewalk. This is ltil weird and to night you're
not alone at the dinner table. Think of Kosman as
a braid Buddhist compassion, Taos forgiveness, and neighborhood wisdom movement.
Together the Buddhists thread Ulambana or yulen Pen, a disciple

(02:13):
name Maulkyayana or Mullion in Chinese, searches for his mother
after death and find Harry born as a hungry ghost
aperetta mouth of lame with a hunger no food can satisfy.
The Buddhist remedy is a strangely practical feed, offer food
to the monastic community, dedicate merit, and by that generosity,

(02:34):
many suffering spirits are relieved. That's Ulambana, the festival of
feeding the en sin the daois thread or Shunyiwan. On
the fifteenth day of the seventh Clenar month comes hung Yuan,
the Earth's official day of pardon rights still covered absolution,
The gates are said to open, wandering saults are given

(02:55):
attention names and for one moon bright night company. Together
they form a living festival that isn't about cheap scares.
It's about hospitality for those who sleep through memories net.
Now let's talk about the custom, beliefs and traditions that
you'll see during this month. First is the offerings and

(03:16):
roadside tables posa, fries oranges, tea, sometimes cigarettes or beer.
And sidewalk tables appear at us, especially at cross roads,
or a place for the anhause spirits to eat. Gel's
paper and paper luxuries beyond the hell money family spurnt
paper houses, clothes, phones, even tiny paper cars. It's a

(03:39):
symbolic economy. We didn't forget you. Here's what you might need.
Getie shows usually in Singapore or Malaysia. Neighborhood concerts glad
Sea loud, delightfully extra. The first roast day is empty
for VIPs who don't buy tickets. If you then enjoy
the show, just mind that row. Community fees and auctions

(04:01):
in Hong Kong's Yulean traditions and cousins. Elsewhere, communities host
banquets and charity auctions, barrels of rice, bundles of charcoal
to fund next year's rights. It's just like a practical
magic lanterns on water in Kailom, builting lanterns drift into
the sea, guiding the wandering toward the underworld. Beautif home

(04:24):
habits and taboos. These may vary by region. Don't whistle
after dark. Don't have wet clothes overnight or someone else
might borrow them. Don't cake or disturb offerings. If you
accidentally do, apologize allowed avoid night swims what the spirits
are said to look for replacements. Don't pick stray red

(04:44):
envelopes they may commit obligations, and yes, leave the first
row alone. In the Philippines, although we don't really observe
this one because this came from Chinese roots, but in
places like Binando and other Chinese Filipino communities. You see
just paper shops, busy, instance, heavy in the air, and

(05:06):
tempost glowing. Some families make offerings. Many businesses quietly delayed
big launches till the month passes. Not everyone follows this,
but enough people do that the city itself seems to
walk softer, but wouldn't be so interesting without the stories
that people tell during this time. So the following stories

(05:28):
are old during the seven month. Three them like candle
light enough, the sea shapes not to sign your name.
The empty front row a neighborhood gettie lights up the street, sequence,
old pop songs, the smell of incense hugging the air.
The first row seats pristine, eight plastic chairs waiting like
open mouths. A late commer LOFs drops into a seat

(05:51):
and postes for a selfie on the next high note.
The singer's voice lips just once, just enough to make
everyone bulding. By dawn, the gate outside the late commerce
apartment holds a small plate, three oranges, a bowl of rice,
and a quiet apology to whoever had the seat first.

(06:12):
The taxi passenger who paid in joss paper. A driver
works a night shift for clean roads, and fewer small dogs.
Near a cemitary gate, a woman wheels him down. She
speaks politely, gives exact directions, and pasts with crisp bills.
At the next stop light, he checks the fair not currencyous, paper,

(06:33):
thin and gold and useless to glasmomps. He pulls over
beneath an awning lights the stick of incense and lets
the smoke carry his sorry to wherever it needs to go.
The back seat is empty, it always was. The shore
that pulls friends steer each other into a night swim.

(06:53):
The water is black glass. The moon is a cheap coin.
One waits too far and feels something loop an uncle, cold, patient,
not weed, not cramp. The beach seems to exhale and
step away. She doesn't scream. She turns with away, bushes
hard and finds sand with both hands. No bruises, no proof,

(07:15):
only a ring of cold around her uncle. That takes
until sunrise to leave. She avoids the ocean in August.
Now the sea introduces itself. That was enough. The red envelope.
A red envelopelies fat on the pavement. Right as there,
A passerby packet seat tells himself it's luck with good timing.

(07:38):
That night, a woman in red veil visits his dreams
and says nothing at all. On the third night, an
elder insists they return it properly at a crossroads with rice,
two oranges, and a stack of paper folded with a
paper in seat. The flame is red first, then gold,
then everything. The visitor stops coming, the lesson doesn't, So

(08:02):
let's talk about some of the lesser known beliefs during
this month. First is the good brothers or polite naming.
In many communities people avoid the hardware goes and say
good brothers or good sisters. The idea is simple etiquette softened,
the name soft and the encounter whos will also use
in dire phrases like special guests when addressing the unsenate events.

(08:26):
Next is voodoo, or the universal feeding. This is not
just for family, beyond private ancestor rightes. Voodoo is a
community feast meant for all wandering spirits, especially those without
descendants to remember them. Tables are typically vegetarian and abundant.
Some places that place hold their tablets labeled no name

(08:47):
to ensure nobody is left out. Next is paper re
seats and lists along with child's paper and paper goods.
Some families include paper e seeds or item lists a
symbolic delib note so the offering is properly received. Tempos
may stamp documents with a red seal after burning. People
avoid stepping on the ashes out of respect. Dashie or

(09:11):
the escort Gorgian large festivals sometimes feature a towering paper
effigy or the Dashie built from bomboo frames and painted paper.
His presence is protective and administrative. He maintains order amongst spirits,
then lead them back at month's end when the effigy
is burned to close the season. Next is the water

(09:33):
lantern logic. Water lanterns of an house or boat shape
are launched to guide the wandering away from shore and
back to the underworld. In some cities, organizers now use
eco friendlier materials and retrieve frames after the right, honoring
the ritual by protecting water rayce. Next is offering's economy
is not luxury shopping. Paper goods can get elaborate phones, clues,

(09:56):
even paper credit cards, but elders often rem mind that
intentions and merrite transfer matter more than extravagance. Many families
keep offering small tests, rise fruit, tea and a few
notes of just paper. Timing differences are normal. Dates may
vary by region, Lunar calendars aren't uniform across traditions, and

(10:18):
some places emphasize the fifteenth night while others run evants
for several weeks. To'll be surprised if neighboring towns observe
slightly different schedules or emphasis language and behavior hedges. Common
courtesies include speaking politely at night, avoiding loud whistling, and
not calling the unseen directly. If you accidentally disturb an

(10:38):
offering a simple verbal apology and setting things back neatly
is considered good form. And lastly, auctions fund the next year.
Community auctions of rice barrels, charcoal, or auspicious baskets aren't random.
They find next year's rights and redistribute resources. Winning a
lot is seen us both charges and blessing natural a purchase.

(11:02):
So why do most businesses do not like this month?
Or some say that this can be unlucky or chinks
a month? So here's where the instance curtain lives. Even
without supersition, August is a bottleneck. The eeriness overlaps with
very human calendars, and some of the reasons are the

(11:23):
following First is that it's a media financial chokepoint for
calendar year films. Quarter two closes in June. July to
August is earning skulls filings and often a quiet period
leadership ice or inward new commitments. Wait. Second is reforecasts
and budget kickoff. Finance teams are throughout the year and

(11:43):
begin next year's budget cycle. That means it's spend reviews,
hiring process and a lot of us again in September.
Third vacation culture, especially in northern Hemisphere so across Europe
and parts of Asia. August is a holiday month. Decision makers,
Vanish emil chains, name Varagosta, energy repuss across global timelines.

(12:04):
Next is market microweather, summer adult drums is equal to
lower trading volumes, tener liquidity, mixed prices, jumpier comms team's time,
big news after the lull. And here in the Philippines,
this is a season for typhoons and habakad so we're
smack in pakmunson floods, power blips, deleat deliveries. These are schedules,

(12:26):
not superstitions. Events and shoots, aithering buffers or they sleep
and of course back to school. Wallet shifts. In many markets,
August is spending pivots to school essentials, discretionary by snap
brands hold big peaks for septembery sets or quarter four,
and then, of course there's the self call filling hush.
If enough people believe August is unlucky or simply inconvenient,

(12:50):
fewer not just happened. Less money moves and the month
becomes slow. Culture shapes cash flow, so to make the
story short. Post month sets the vibe, but bandwidth, budgets
and the barometers do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Gusmon teaches me something business books rarely do. To notice,
to notice the chairs we leave empty, and the people

(13:12):
we forget to feed. Names without photos, stories without endings,
Love that didn't get its last goodbye. It's as the
world is crowded with hunger. You can see, and it
asks gently what you're willing to lay on the table.
Some years hunger is supernatural. Most years it's ours. We

(13:32):
are all hungry goes, sometimes starve for time, for a certainty,
for a reply that proves we still matter. Maybe that's
why August moves like a sticky syrup. Maybe our calendars
need mercy the way our dead do. I used to
think critles are about fear. Lately I think they're about care.

(13:53):
A bowl of rice, a paper house, a lantern on
black water. These are tiny rebellions against I think they
say you still belong, we still see you. And if
we can say that to the unseen, maybe we can
say it to the parts of ourselves we keep exciting,
the tired maker, the anxious planner, the dreamer who wants

(14:14):
to launch something, but betwakes for the air to feel safe.
So here's what I'm wondering tonight. If August or a
guest at your door goes our accountant, who would you
invite in first? And what offering would you sat down
between you? Tell me on coffee or Instagram. And if
you can leave an empty cher somewhere in your week,

(14:35):
let something you've been avoiding sit there for a while.
See what suppens when you pay a little more attention.
If the night fed your curiosity. Share this episode with
a friend who's planning a launch or planning to light incense.
Tell me what you think, Leave a comment or a
quick creating on your podcast app. It helps other weird

(14:55):
things find us. Share this episode with a friend who
loves eerie lore and practical rabbit holes. Follow me on
Instagram at Little Weird Universe for episode extras and behind
the scene notes ordi verdive, check my substock. I'm posting
the extended write upstare and if you'd like to keep
the lanterns lead, you can support Little Weird on coffee.

(15:15):
You'll find all links in the show notes, just references
and recommended readings. If you want to wonder further, I'm
Jane and this is Nail Weird? Are they uncanny? The
cultural and the curious share the same table. Until next time,
Stay curious, stay a little weird, and thanks for listening.