Horror Stories: The Ghosts of Nam Koo Terrace

Nam Koo Terrace is an abandoned Hong Kong, Wan Chai district building. It’s well known for its architectural beauty and the dark legends surrounding it.

Built in the early 1900s, this mansion is associated with many ghost and horror stories that have lingered for decades, earning it a notorious reputation as one of Hong Kong’s most haunted places.

Locals believe the property is plagued by restless spirits—a remnant of the alleged atrocities that took place during World War II when it was said to have been used as a brothel by Japanese soldiers.

Despite being recognized as a Grade I historic building for its unique blend of Colonial and Chinese architecture, the house has been left to deteriorate, fenced off, and abandoned.

Over the years, more than 30 mysterious deaths have been associated with the site, with reports of suicides, disappearances, and unsettling apparitions.

Nam Koo Terrace Horror Story

Hong Kong, home to roughly 7.5 million people, is a densely populated metropolis struggling with a housing shortage. Every land plot is used for either commercial, residential, or industrial purposes.

Yet, hidden on the fringes of this enormous city is a decaying structure wrapped in mystery and legend—Nam Koo Terrace. A tall chain-link fence encloses the site. A rusted sign cautions anyone who seeks to enter: “Nam Koo Terrace. Do Not Pass! Hazardous area.”

Nam Koo Terrace was built between 1915 and 1921 by To Chun-man, a wealthy Shanghainese businessman who moved to Hong Kong to expand his silk trading empire.

The mansion’s construction, a blend of Colonial and Chinese architecture, signified the family’s prominence at the time, and it was initially intended to be a luxurious home for To and his family.

However, the peaceful life of the To family was disrupted during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II. The family was forced to abandon their home, leaving Nam Koo Terrace at the mercy of the occupying forces.

But not for long. The mansion was soon repurposed as a brothel (also called a “comfort house”) for Japanese soldiers.

Here, in the dim, confined rooms of Nam Koo Terrace, young girls—most of whom were forced into prostitution—endured unspeakable horrors. The atrocities committed here are still etched in local memory today.

The women here were tortured, brutally raped, starved, beaten, and some even murdered, and their bodies were left to rot in the small, dark rooms of Nam Koo Terrace.

Though there is no official death toll, locals claim that well over 100 girls lost their lives inside the mansion.

After the war, surviving members of the original family returned to Hong Kong and reclaimed their home. They began renovations, and for a brief period, Nam Koo Terrace was restored to its former glory as a luxurious home.

However, strange things soon began to happen. One by one, each resident mysteriously died. All under mysterious circumstances… if we are to believe the authorities. Their deaths were either deemed suicides or tragic accidents.

Yet, rumors started to spread. Rumors of something unnatural happening there. Bizarre voices, lights flickering, unusual cold rooms, and… shadows quickly moving across the hallways.

With all its original owners dead, Nam Koo Terrace changed hands several times over the next decades. Today, property giant Hopewell Holdings owns the land (and the house).

Oddly enough, despite having all the permits to demolish the building and construct a modern hotel, Hopewell Holdings has left the site untouched. Instead, the company erected fences around the mansion, with ominous warnings cautioning people to stay out.

For locals, Nam Koo Terrace is not just a decaying building but an epicenter of negative energy. Many believe the tortured souls of the women who perished there still haunt its halls. Some claim to have captured unsettling sounds coming from inside the abandoned house.

In the 1960s, the Nam Koo Terrace made headlines after a strange happening. What happened?

Disturbed by strange noises from the property, neighbors called the police. Officers responding to the scene were attacked by a seemingly crazed young woman who ran from the house wielding a knife. Two policemen were injured in the encounter.

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A similar incident occurred in 2003. A small group of teenage girls (allegedly on a dare) attempted to “explore the haunted mansion.”

The girls took some video cameras, provisions, and camping gear. They were planning to spend the night inside the house and, perhaps, get some video evidence of whatever paranormal event may happen.

But it didn’t take long for things to spiral out of control.

Shortly after setting up camp in one of the rooms, three girls began acting erratically… as if possessed. They screamed, tore at their clothes, and attacked each other.

Once again, the disturbed neighbors alerted the police. When officers arrived, what they found was beyond explanation.

Two girls were found in the basement, covered in self-inflicted wounds, speaking incoherently in what witnesses described as an unknown language.

Three bodies were discovered on the first floor, each in different rooms. The scenes appeared staged, with one body sitting at a table, another lying in bed, and the third standing behind a door.

Since 2003, over 30 bodies have been found within or near the property. Some victims were found hanging from trees in the garden. Others were discovered inside the decaying structure. Most of these cases were classified as suicides.

Those brave enough to enter Nam Koo Terrace often vow never to return. Witnesses report hearing voices, and some even claim to have seen the decapitated figures of young women wandering the halls. Some have also described seeing a ghostly figure of a man dressed in a WWII Japanese military uniform haunting the first-floor rooms.

a dilapidated room inside Nam Koo Terrace, with ghostly apparitions and broken furniture.

How the Horror Stories Spread

Nam Koo Terrace’s haunted reputation has grown over the years. Mostly due to local lore, media coverage, and modern digital platforms.

Most of the rumors started in 2003 with the strange story of eight middle school students who reportedly experienced paranormal activity during a séance inside Nam Koo Terrace.

Oriental Daily was the first newspaper to pick up on the story. Other local newspapers spun the original story, reporting that three girls claimed they were attacked by ghosts.

In 2009, the South China Morning Post published a piece titled “Derelict Hong Kong,” in which the mansion was mentioned as one of Hong Kong’s most haunted locations.

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Then, in 2019, Coconuts Hong Kong magazine reported that Nam Koo Terrace could become a wedding venue. The short article sparked a lot of interest, especially due to the irony of such a proposal for a site tied to tragic events.

Even random blogs and websites (like Mystic Sciences and Unexplained Mysteries) played a part in spreading horror stories about the Nam Koo Terrace.

Is the Nam Koo Terrace Horror Story True? Fact vs. Fiction

As with most allegedly haunted places, many horror stories are linked to Nam Koo Terrace. However, that doesn’t mean they are true (or even based on actual events). And separating myth from reality is not always straightforward.

While the stories of suicides, disappearances, and ghostly apparitions have become embedded in local folklore, much of it is difficult to verify with hard evidence.

In fact, most experts (including urban explorers and historians) view these tales as the result of years of myth-making rather than genuine supernatural phenomena.

Nam Koo Terrace photo taken from inside one of the rooms — Photo from inside one of the rooms where one of the bodies was allegedly found in 2003.

Myth vs Reality

While Nam Koo Terrace’s dark past during the Japanese occupation is well-documented, there is little concrete evidence to support the most extreme claims—such as the many alleged deaths on the property since the 2000s.

For example, the infamous 2003 case involving a group of teenagers who entered the mansion and allegedly became possessed is widely cited. Yet, our research team at SpookySight couldn’t find any verifiable documentation to confirm what happened that night.

Urban explorers from groups (like HK Urbex) who have ventured into the mansion have also expressed skepticism about the hauntings. They describe the building as eerie but found no supernatural activity during their exploration.

On top of that, most historians agree that the haunted reputation of Nam Koo Terrace likely originates from its wartime dark history.

While this period undoubtedly left emotional scars on the local community, experts like Dr. Jason Wordie, a well-known Hong Kong historian, argue that the building’s supernatural reputation has more to do with cultural memory and folklore than actual hauntings.

Apart from the tales of possession and suicides, there are other less-discussed myths about Nam Koo Terrace. Like the strange flames flickering in the windows at night. Or the voices some claim to hear from within.

In more recent years, security guards stationed at the mansion have claimed to see shadowy figures moving through the house, and one of the last reported suicides on the property occurred in 2010.

The house’s state of abandonment and decay also plays a significant role in amplifying its ghostly aura.

But why is it still abandoned? Well, based on what we could find, it has nothing to do with being haunted.

It’s true that Hopewell Holdings, a major Hong Kong-based property developer, owns the property. It’s also true that the company had ambitions to transform the site into a part of the Hopewell Centre II development, a commercial and residential project.

Initially, Hopewell Holdings sought to demolish the mansion and integrate the space into this massive redevelopment project. However, that didn’t happen.

In reality, it didn’t happen because Nam Koo Terrace was declared a Grade I Historic Building in 1996 by Hong Kong’s Antiquities Advisory Board, which marked it as a site of “outstanding merit” that deserved preservation. So, Hopewell Holdings faced increasing pressure to reconsider its plans.

According to recent announcements, the company plans to restore and possibly convert the mansion into a wedding venue, which, as mentioned above, is somewhat ironic given its history.