For the faint of heart, beware! Hong Kong Fox Spirit Murder Incident

Today, I'm going to talk about the sensational fox spirit murder case that rocked Hong Kong in 1981. During that time, everyone in Hong Kong, from tea restaurants to office buildings, from taxi drivers to neighbors, was talking about this case. At night, when they turned off the lights to sleep, they had to keep a close eye on their children's cribs, afraid that something strange might come knocking at their door. This case was not groundless. The level of strangeness from start to finish was even more terrifying than the fox spirit stories in "Liaozhai".

The beginning of everything starts with a wall at Haw Par Mansion. Haw Par Mansion was the property of the Hu family, known as the "Tiger Balm King". The exterior walls were adorned with exquisite murals, including many images of fox spirits from "Liaozhai". Workers would regularly clean and maintain them. One morning, a worker named Xiao Zhang went to clean the walls as usual. As soon as he reached the wall, he froze in place - there were seven vivid fox heads staring out from the wall, their eyes deep like two ancient wells. Looking at them for too long felt like one's soul was being sucked in. What was even stranger was that these fox heads could not have been painted overnight. The brushstrokes were delicate, the expressions lifelike, and they exuded an indescribable evil aura.

Xiao Zhang was so frightened that his soul seemed to have flown away. He hurriedly called his coworkers, but by the time they arrived, the wall was spotless. Not to mention the fox head, there wasn't even a trace of paint. His coworkers laughed at him, saying he must have hallucinated from staying up late. No matter how Xiao Zhang tried to explain, no one believed him. A few days later, Xiao Zhang took a long leave due to mental confusion, but this was just the appetizer for the bizarre events to come.

Not long after, another strange incident occurred in the Duke of Windsor Mansion (now known as the Royal Pavilion), which is adjacent to the Tiger and Leopard Villa. On a decorative marble slab inside the mansion, seven fox heads emerged clearly, each with a faint red glow in its eyes, giving people the chills even during the day. Once the news spread, the citizens of Hong Kong rushed to the mansion like mad, crowding it from inside and outside. The shopping mall had no choice but to close for the day. In the end, the security guards had no other option but to find a piece of red cloth and tightly cover the marble slab, which barely managed to calm down the onlookers. However, no one could have predicted that this marble slab, covered with a red cloth, would soon become a death omen.

A month later, the Windsor Palace Restaurant in Windsor House hosted a lively full-moon celebration. The child's parents, who came from a good family background, had prepared a splendid banquet. Guests toasted and celebrated together, but no one could have predicted that this joyous feast would turn into a tragedy. Late at night, the child's mother was sleeping soundly when she suddenly felt pulled up by an invisible force and floated uncontrollably towards Windsor House. She tried to shout, but no sound came out; she tried to struggle, but her limbs felt as heavy as if filled with lead.

Finally, she was brought to the marble stone covered with a red cloth. An inexplicable curiosity drove her to reach out and uncover the red cloth - the seven foxes on the stone were staring at her, their eyes red as if they were about to bleed, even more ferocious than what had been rumored. She turned around to run away, but the largest fox on the stone suddenly moved, leaped off the marble stone, and its body swelled at a visible speed, instantly reaching the top of the building. The huge fox held her tightly with its sharp claws and growled from its gaping mouth, "Insignificant human, how dare you disrespect me, the great fox immortal, by hosting a banquet? I will bite your child to death!"

The mother suddenly woke up from a nightmare, her entire body soaked in cold sweat, and her heart pounding wildly. Without time to catch her breath, she frantically rushed to the baby's room. The moment she pushed open the door, her world completely collapsed - the child in the crib was blue and purple, and had already lost consciousness. The couple frantically rushed the child to the hospital, but the doctor's words left them in complete despair: the child had been dead for several hours, and the cause of death was unknown. The autopsy report simply stated "sudden infant death syndrome," but rumors circulated that there was not a single drop of blood in the child's body during the dissection, and even the coroner was unable to explain it.

What is even more terrifying is that the couple's experience is not an isolated case. In the short period of time that followed, the babies of all the families who had held a full-moon party at the Windsor Palace Restaurant died mysteriously one after another. Regardless of whether they had heard of the rumors about the Fox Stone before, the parents of these children all dreamed of a giant red-eyed fox, and the scenes in their dreams were exactly the same as the nightmare of the mother who had hosted the full-moon party. Some parents said that before their children died, there were marks on their faces that looked like animal claws. Now, the rumors of "fox spirit claiming lives" have spread like wildfire, and the whole Hong Kong is in a state of great panic.

The strange occurrences in Windsor Mansion have been increasing: every morning, clothes from the children's clothing department are scattered all over the floor, as if children had been playing there during the night; late at night, inexplicable noises can often be heard in the mansion, sometimes resembling the laughter of children, and sometimes the low growls of foxes. The business of the restaurant has plummeted, and the vast hall is deserted. The waiters are all on edge when they go to work, and no one dares to stay alone in a corner.

Under pressure, the restaurant owner had no choice but to hire a renowned Feng Shui expert from Taiwan. After inspecting the building, the expert looked grave and said that a fox spirit with strong grievances resided there, and those "fox hole" like crevices were its entry and exit passageways. Subsequently, the expert held a grand sealing ceremony in the building, pasting talismans all over, sealing those crevices, and even setting up a special incense burner for long-term worship, in an attempt to appease the fox spirit's grievances. After the ceremony, part of the restaurant was permanently sealed and never reopened to the public again.

Strangely, since this ritual, the number of bizarre deaths seems to have really decreased, but the rumors have not subsided. Some security guards said that when they were patrolling late at night, they could still hear the laughter of children coming from the top floor of the building, which was later converted into a children's playground that was not open to the public. Others said that the expert did not subdue the fox spirit back then, but merely brought it to Yangmingshan in Taiwan for release, allowing it to continue its cultivation there.

Later, the Hong Kong police and medical institutions also intervened in the investigation. However, the authorities never confirmed the claim of "fox spirit claiming lives". The causes of death of those infants were ultimately attributed to sudden illnesses or unexplained natural deaths. Some experts analyzed that this was just a typical collective hallucination, a psychological suggestion made by people under panic, coupled with the media's promotion, which made the legend spread more and more sinisterly. Others questioned whether this might be a commercial promotion, given that after the incident, the popularity of Haw Par Mansion and Windsor House skyrocketed. Even though the restaurant business suffered, the foot traffic to the buildings increased abnormally.

Now, decades have passed, and the Duke of Windsor Building has long been renamed the Royal Fort. The mysterious marble has vanished, and the children's playground on the top floor remains colorful. Children laugh and play inside, unaware of the eerie stories that once transpired here. Only the older generation of Hongkongers, when occasionally mentioning this incident over tea and meals, lower their voices and reveal a hint of fear in their eyes. Was it a fox spirit claiming its life, or just rumors and gossip? The truth may have long been buried in the dust of time, leaving only this dramatic legend as one of the most classic tales in Hong Kong's urban legends.

Speaking of which, do you feel a chill down your spine? Did you subconsciously turn around to look behind you? Don't panic, it might just be the sound of the wind blowing... But imagine this, if at this moment, a pair of glowing red eyes are staring at you through the screen, mimicking the low growl of a fox, breathing softly in your ear, would you... dare to turn around?