Report: Holy Ground, Haunted Past – Religious Responses to Ghost Stories and Political Memory on Green Island
By Fang-I Chu, 2 October 2025
This report examines how ghost stories across Taiwan operate as informal modes of remembering the authoritarian past, particularly when official transitional-justice initiatives encounter political resistance or social unease. Focusing on Green Island—formerly a political prison—it traces the ways residents, survivors, tourists, and religious groups engage with the island’s commemorative landscape.
Sensationalized “execution-site” tales and night tours clash with the historical record, while islanders perform rituals for the dead and the museum itself offers rites to appease lingering spirits. Together, these practices show how Han-Chinese beliefs about restless ghosts intertwine with heritage preservation and tourism, creating indirect avenues for acknowledging the legacies of state violence.
To read the full report (26 pages), click here to download the PDF
