That’s the Spirit! Horror Films as an Extension of Thai Spiritualism

Katarzyna Ancuta (Assumption University, Bangkok)

One of the perhaps less discussed effects of modernism is its contribution to the metaphorization of ghosts and spirits. Redefined as symbolic cultural constructs, in the modern world supernatural beings are no longer expected to co-habit the same dimension as its human population. Critical analyses of ghost films and literature deconstruct their ghostly protagonists in the contexts of psychoanalysis, history, politics, postcolonialism, race, gender, and any other methodologies invested in resisting the cultural production of marginalized others. Both the horror authors/filmmakers and the horror audiences are expected to be equally committed to the conscious codification of ghosts and spirits as signs. Admitting one’s belief that ghosts are “real” is simply inconceivable.

Thai spiritualism, attributed by some anthropologists to the hybridization, consumerization and politicization of Thai popular religion, can be seen as having significant consequences for the study of Thai horror cinema, since it allows for both a metaphorical (modern) and literal (pre-modern) reading of its ghost movies. On the literal level, these movies function as a fictional retelling of real or hypothetically possible spiritual encounters, and by tapping into the personal experience of their audience they can be found particularly frightening. On another hand, if the filmmakers stray too far from the audience’s expectations they risk getting seriously criticized for producing an “unconvincing” film narrative. Adding to this, the movies themselves are frequently being produced and promoted in a variety of supernatural contexts, including making offerings to the spirits, employing mediums and fortune tellers, or documenting instances of haunting on set. Last but not least, as a peculiar form of spiritual exchange, movies (though not necessarily horror movies) are commonly being screened at shrines and temples to appease local spirits and deities, or as a form of post-mortem entertainment for the recently deceased during the wake.

This paper discusses these and other examples of the mutual relationship between Thai horror movies and Thai spiritualism and suggests a connection between the popular animistic, mediumistic and religious practices of the Thais and their love of horror cinema.