Lin Tou Jie: A Taiwanese ghost story older generations have all heard—a woman cheated out of her money hanged herself on a Lin Tou tree

Taiwan has a ghost story passed down for over a hundred years, called "Lin Tou Jie." Lin Tou is a plant that grows by the seaside, with long, hard leaves edged with thorns, growing in large patches. When the wind blows at night, they rustle, looking rather frightening.

It's about a woman named Li Zhaoniang. After her husband died, she was sweet-talked by a man into handing over all her property to him. The man took the money and ran, never to return. She took her child, had nowhere to go, and finally hanged herself under a Lin Tou tree; the child was not saved either.

After her death, she often appeared at night, wandering in the Lin Tou grove, asking passersby for debts. It is said she most loved finding men who had cheated women. She would knock on doors, saying she wanted to borrow something or find someone to talk to. The person who opened the door would see a woman with disheveled hair, a bluish face, and her tongue stretched out very long.

Some versions say her vengeful spirit later haunted the man who cheated her, and the man eventually went mad. Others say someone later built a temple for her, with people making offerings every year, and after that, she stopped harming people.

This story has many versions—some say it happened in Tainan, some in Chiayi, some in Tamsui—and it has been adapted into opera, movies, and TV dramas.

Older Taiwanese people tell this story to children as a warning not to go to the Lin Tou grove by the seaside, not to walk alone at night; to girls, it's a warning not to be cheated out of money by a man's sweet talk.

#Ghosts #网络转载 #台湾