Top 10 paranormal events in China | Cat faced old lady

The Cat-Faced Old Lady Incident in Harbin in 1995 has long been a part of China's urban legends, despite its age. This eerie tale has captivated many, with numerous accounts from supposed eyewitnesses adding to its mystique. Let's delve into the various versions of this chilling story.

###Version One of the Harbin Cat-Faced Old Lady Incident

This incident is said to have occurred in the mid-1990s, around 1995–1996, in a small village in northern Heilongjiang Province. It involves a tragic and horrifying sequence of events that have been passed down through word of mouth.

The story begins with a local elderly woman who had passed away. According to local customs, it was believed that the spirit of the deceased could be "snatched" by animals, leading to a form of reanimation. On the night of her death, a cat happened to walk past her body. Inexplicably, the woman, who had been confirmed dead, suddenly came back to life. This phenomenon, known as "zombie resurrection" in local folklore, set the stage for the terrifying events that followed.

Rumors quickly spread that the resurrected old lady had a penchant for eating people, initially starting with the claim that she targeted children. At first, these rumors were dismissed as mere jokes. However, as the tales spread to neighboring villages, the story took on a life of its own.

Here is one of the most widely circulated versions of the story:

There was an old lady, whose surname was Li, living in a remote village in northern Heilongjiang. Her life was unremarkable, and her relationship with her son and daughter-in-law was strained. After a heated argument with her daughter-in-law, the old lady, filled with resentment, hanged herself one evening. Her death was met with sorrow, but the family, not being wealthy, decided to keep the body overnight before burial.

The old lady had died with a look of horror on her face—her eyes half-open, tongue protruding, and face contorted. Her son, overwhelmed with grief, was tasked with staying by her side through the night. As the night wore on, a neighbor joined him for company, but eventually dozed off. At that moment, the old lady's pet cat leaped over her body and then froze.

Suddenly, the old lady sat up, her face now half-human, half-cat. Her son was petrified. In a horrifying turn of events, the reanimated old lady attacked and killed the neighbor. The son, seizing the opportunity, fled, screaming, "My mom has come back to life!" The village, usually filled with the sounds of dogs barking at night, was eerily silent, with the dogs only emitting low, mournful whimpers.

The son sought refuge in a nearby house, where he spent the night in terror. The next morning, a group of villagers returned to the scene. They found the neighbor's body mutilated, but the old lady was nowhere to be seen. The village was now shrouded in fear, with reports of missing animals and even children disappearing. Parents warned their children to stay indoors and to run in circles if they ever encountered the cat-faced old lady, as it was believed that zombies couldn't turn corners.

The situation escalated to the point where it allegedly caught the attention of the central authorities. Eventually, the old lady was found by the police, who reportedly shot her and burned her remains to ashes.

### Version Two of the Harbin Cat-Faced Old Lady Incident

This version dates back to the early years of the Republic of China, though the exact year is uncertain. It involves a large family living together in a traditional courtyard house in Northeast China. The family's matriarch, a woman in her seventies with a face deeply wrinkled like an orange peel, lived a simple life accompanied only by a large, reclusive cat. This cat had been with the family for years, and since its arrival, the house had been free of rats. However, the cat remained aloof, only staying in the old lady's room and avoiding others.

As the old lady lay on her deathbed, she seemed unable to pass away, lingering for two days without eating or drinking. Her family, desperate, called upon an experienced uncle, who asked if there was anyone the old lady wanted to see. The old lady, with great effort, indicated her room, where the cat resided. The uncle, horrified, warned against letting the cat near the dying woman, citing an old belief that animals could "steal" a person's last breath, leading to malevolent consequences.

Strange occurrences began shortly after:

First, the old lady was seen lying in bed during the day, untouched food beside her, yet she never seemed hungry. At night, however, the family heard faint footsteps in the courtyard.

Second, all the rats in the area vanished, seen scurrying away in broad daylight as if fleeing from something.

Third, and most terrifyingly, children started to go missing. Infants were the first to disappear, followed by toddlers. The community was in a state of panic, suspecting child abductors. Despite locking their doors at night, children still vanished, with the only clue being small, bound-foot-like prints found in the dust.

Suspicion eventually fell on the old lady, who was rumored to have been brought back to life by the cat. It was believed that the cat had taken over her body and was preying on children. One night, the old lady's eldest son heard a faint cry of a child outside. Peering through a hole in the window, he saw the old lady, seemingly carrying something, enter her room.

Driven by fear and curiosity, the son cautiously approached the room and flung the door open. In the moonlight, he saw the old lady, half-human, half-cat, with blood dripping from her feline face. She turned to him with a sinister smile.

The son's scream alerted the household, and soon the neighbors were called. When they gathered, the room was deathly quiet. Upon entering, they found only a mutilated child's body on the bed. Underneath the bed was a tunnel leading to a nearby cemetery.

From then on, the cemetery became a place of horror, with coffins being dug up and bodies mutilated. Eventually, hunters were hired to deal with the creature. When the old lady's body was burned, it is said that the human skin twisted in the flames, as if a cat-like entity was trying to escape.

### Legend Three of the Harbin Cat-Faced Old Lady Incident

This story originates from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, and it might be based on a real event.

There was a couple who, in accordance with the national policy of late marriage and late childbirth, got married at the age of 35. By the time they were nearing 40, they finally welcomed a lovely baby, whom they doted on immensely.

In the blink of an eye, the child turned three, full of energy and running around the house. The house was often filled with the innocent laughter of the child, bringing joy to the couple. Life was truly happy and fulfilling.

One day, the wife brought home a small cat with an adorable black-and-white pattern. As soon as it entered the house, it was immediately washed and then dried with a hairdryer. The cat seemed to enjoy the process immensely. Soon, the child and the cat became good friends. The child would show the cat his building blocks, and the cat would sit quietly and watch.

The husband and wife exchanged smiles. The wife went to the kitchen to prepare a meal, while the husband leaned back on the sofa, reading the newspaper.

After a while, the wife called her husband to help in the kitchen. He immediately put down the newspaper and went over. At that moment, the cat darted out of the room as well.

The child was still playing with the building blocks and called out for the cat to come and watch. But the cat was gone.

At that moment, a dark shadow appeared in the corner of the room. From the shadow, the cat slowly emerged and began to walk towards the child.

The child immediately noticed this eerie scene. He pointed at the approaching cat with his tiny finger, wanting to call out to his parents, but he couldn't make a sound.

After a while, the couple finished cooking and set the table in the dining area. The wife then went to call the child for dinner. As she opened the door, she froze, her eyes wide with horror. The husband sensed something was wrong and quickly supported his wife, who was about to faint. He saw the child lying on the ground, seemingly lifeless.

The cat was lying next to the child and slowly turned its head at the sound. At that moment, the husband saw that the cat's head had the face of an old lady, with wrinkles stretching into a smile.

### Legend Four of the Harbin Cat-Faced Old Lady Incident

Here’s how the story goes: There was an old lady whose husband's surname was Li. No one knew her given name. She lived in a small village on the northern frontier of Heilongjiang Province, leading a plain and simple life. Her son and daughter-in-law didn't treat her very well, but as the saying goes, life is full of ups and downs. One day, after a minor quarrel with her daughter-in-law (people in the Northeast are quite tough, you know), the old lady, unable to let go of her anger, hanged herself in the evening.

The day was gloomy, and her appearance after death was truly horrifying—her eyes were half-open, her tongue protruded from her mouth, slightly blackened, and her face was contorted. No one dared to approach her. Strangely enough, when the old lady's son arrived, he burst into tears and knelt in front of her. Only then did the villagers dare to take her down, as advised by the village elders. It was believed that a person who died with grievances must have their closest relative by their side before being placed in the coffin for burial. However, this didn't prevent the old lady from "reviving" in the middle of the night.

After the old lady was dressed in her burial clothes in the evening, her daughter-in-law, overwhelmed with grief, returned to her parents' home. The old lady's son, feeling guilty, stayed up all night to keep vigil. The winter nights in Heilongjiang are long. The son sat with a neighbor, chatting. As the neighbor began to doze off, the old lady's pet cat leaped over her body and then froze in place. Suddenly, the old lady sat up, her face now half-human, half-cat. Her son was petrified on the spot.

After the old lady "revived," she killed the neighbor. The son, seizing the moment, ran away, screaming, "My mom has come back to life!" The countryside is usually quiet at night, and if someone were to scream like that in the middle of the night, the dogs would typically bark loudly. But that night, there was no barking—only low, mournful whimpers from the dogs. The son, terrified out of his mind, ran to a neighbor's house and spent the night there. The family was also frightened and couldn't sleep, fearing that the old lady would come for the son. They brought the dog inside, and it just stared at the son, whimpering but not biting. The next morning, a group of villagers went back to the son's house and found only the neighbor's mutilated body. The old lady was nowhere to be seen.

Later, the village felt very eerie. Animals started to go missing, and eventually, a few children disappeared as well. This caused great panic among the villagers. Adults warned their children not to wander around and to run in circles if they ever encountered that creature, as it was believed that zombies couldn't turn corners. The situation became so serious that it reportedly caught the attention of the central authorities. Eventually, the old lady was found by the police, who reportedly shot her and burned her remains.

There's another version of the story that suggests a criminal gang was pretending to be a "revived" corpse, kidnapping children to sell their organs. The leftover flesh was allegedly used to feed eagles. Later, the government debunked these rumors, but by then, the story had spread far and wide, with all sorts of variations.

I was quite young at the time, and this story left a deep impression on me. If you have the chance, you might want to ask someone from Heilongjiang if they've heard of it. I only overheard bits and pieces when I was a child, and I don't remember much. But that's pretty much the gist of it. The world is full of unknowns, and it's the unknown that makes things terrifying.

After reading these legends of the Harbin Cat-Faced Old Lady Incident, what do you think? Is it true or false? If you're interested, who knows, maybe in the future, you won't encounter the Cat-Faced Old Lady in real life, but a Snake-Faced Old Man might not be impossible.