E-Hailing Driver Claims He Gave Ride to Ghost in Malaysia

Ahsan Ismail, 37, an e-hailing driver in Kuching—the capital and most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia—said recently in a Facebook post that on May 2nd he had given a ride to a ghost.

The post has since been removed from Facebook.

According to Harian Metro, Ahsan said that he had received an order at around midnight to pick up a passenger near the Samarahan Heart Centre and take them to the Pending Islamic Cemetery.

Although initially skeptical of the drop-off location, Ahsan said he assumed that the passenger had merely selected a nearby landmark.

"As soon as I arrived at the [pickup location], I saw a woman in a dark-colored baju kurung [traditional dress] and tudung [headscarf]. The area was dark so I don't see her face. After all, she's a woman, so I don't want to see very much for fear that she is uncomfortable," he said. "But I could hear her delicate voice when she asked me to lower the back window."

Ahsan did not chat with the woman and only focused on driving to the intended destination.

During the drive, he did not suspect anything unusual about his passenger.

"What I remember is that [her] scent was very fragrant, but I still didn't think she was a ghost or anything, because it's normal to smell a passenger's fragrance," he said.

It was when they arrived at the cemetery that Ahsan noticed something strange was going on.

"As soon as I arrived at the location, I told the woman that we had arrived but she didn't respond. I called again but she was silent," he said. "I thought she was asleep but was surprised to find that the passenger was gone when I looked back."

All that remained of the woman were several banknotes on the seat.

The money left behind was reportedly enough to cover the ghostly woman’s fare. *(Ahsan Ismail)*

Ahsan was stunned by the woman's sudden disappearance.

"I kept driving the car to another location and called a friend on a video call to tell them what happened," he said. "At 1 a.m., I went home and didn't tell my wife until the next morning."

Despite his initial shock, Ahsan said he doesn't consider what happened to be a bad experience.

"It's because a lot of friends who haven't been in touch with me for a longtime have called to say hello, because they want to know the real story," he said.

Since sharing his story, Ahsan said people have been largely supportive, although a "handful of netizens ... don't believe it."

"However, there are also those who believe and personally, I am not surprised that the supernatural exists, only we cannot see it with the naked eye and not everyone has the opportunity to go through mystical experiences," he said. "Some have sent messages offering thousands of dollars to buy the money, but I don't think about selling it at the moment because I want to save it for the memories."

While stories of encounters with seemingly normal people who suddenly and mysteriously vanish are often relegated to the realm of urban legend, firsthand accounts are not unheard of, and in 2019, a lost Taiwanese hiker claimed to have been rescued by a ghost couple who vanished soon thereafter.

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