The Reason for the Thai Spirit House and How to Keep Ghosts Happy

People who have visited Thailand will almost certainly have seen the Thai spirit house. These are tiny little houses that often have offerings in front of them; things like food, flowers, incense sticks, and even alcoholic or soft drinks in shot glasses. You will be able to find these spirit houses outside of property and in places that local people feel are special and are inhabited by ghosts. The purpose of the Thai spirit house is to allow people the opportunity to make offerings to wandering spirits. This is done in order to discourage ghosts from causing mischief and to get their protection.

Although most Thai people would class themselves as Buddhist the practice of the spirit house is not connected to this. In fact the use of the Thai spirit house goes back to animist beliefs that were practiced in Siam and its surroundings many years before the arrival of Buddhism. Like many other countries around the world, Thailand had animist beliefs. Animism is the belief that it is not only humans that have souls but also plants, trees, and rocks. It is also the belief that the dead become ghosts and that there are many different types of spirits.

Many Thai families have a spirit house. Some people believe that one of these tiny homes can be used as a place to make offerings to dead ancestors. This shows that the family still appreciates them and wants to take care of them. If the family home is to have an extension built on to it you will often find that people build an extension on to the spirit house; the last thing you want is dead ancestors feeling left out.

It is quite common to see Thai spirit house in areas where there is a big risk of road accidents. I spent a few years living in a Thai village and nearby was a really dangerous road that involved sharp twists down a huge hill. At the end of the hill was a spirit house. It is customary to give your horn a couple of blasts to thank the ghosts for allowing traffic to pass down the hill safely.

Personally I like the idea of Thai spirit house. It seems like a good idea to me to spend some time now and again thinking about the dead. I am skeptical about the idea of ghosts, but that's just me. There are also many modern Thais who don't really follow these old traditions. I think it would be a shame if this practice was to completely disappear, but I don't think it will any time soon.