Tekong ghost stories 

If you believe every army tale you’ve ever heard, every army boy who has gone through Pulau Tekong probably has his fair share of Tekong ghost stories. Shaking beds, ghosts along the corridor, women’s voices in the toilet … BMT has become more than just a test of fitness.

Here are the scariest Tekong ghost stories that are guaranteed to make your hair stand on end. In the spirit of Hungry Ghost Festival, share these anecdotes with your buddies the next time you book in. 

1. The screaming woman of School 4

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Like most Tekong stories, this one takes place during the dreaded guard duty. At the end of their shift, the recruits were waiting outside the guardhouse to sign off for the night. Out of nowhere, a woman’s scream could be heard from within the buildings that made up the coyline. This continued for several minutes. 

The interesting part of the story is that his buddy did not hear anything at all despite being next to him. This story however, did not end with him as there have been several recruits from different batches who have experienced the same thing. 

2. Field camp encounter

Image credit: MINDEF

Field camp is one of those events in BMT that recruits dread the most – living in the forest surrounded not only by your comrades but also the endless waves of mozzies is sure to be an unforgettable experience. In this story it’s not the doings of mother nature that’s got our recruit shaken up – it’s something way scarier.

While digging his shellscrape, his shovel hit a rock that was embedded in the soil. It is unknown what this rock actually was, but there was speculation that maybe it was a headstone of a grave that was once there. 

After this happened, when our recruit was taking a break he noticed that he was being watched from his peripheral vision. There was a woman with long hair that covered her face, slowly moving closer to him.

Shaken, he looked away and uttered the words “Sorry if I offended you, but I am here just to serve my nation like everybody else. I will be gone in 3 days. Please leave me alone.” And just as she appeared, she vanished, never to be seen again.  

3. The tale of the disembowelled recruit

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Route marches are a common occurrence when you’re in the SAF – but what happened in this story is anything but common. As the recruits were trekking through the Tekong wilderness, that was when a headcount was performed. In the midst of counting, they realised that one person was missing. That was when a search party was activated to look out for this missing recruit. 

This was when they discovered the missing recruit, his field pack items were neatly displayed on the mud, and his body hung limply from a tree. His internal organs, intestines and all, were torn out forcefully and lined orderly beside the tree, in “stand-by-bed” manner. This gut-wrenching tale is on the mind of everyone doing guard duty on a Thursday night.

4. Tekong’s legendary 3-door bunk

Image credit: Asia Paranormal Investigators

Army boy or not, everyone would have heard this iconic story about a bunk on Pulau Tekong with a 3rd door. Many recruits look out for it when they enlist, but few, if any, ever see it. Let’s just get it out there: this bunk exists.  It’s hidden among the empty bunks that recruits pass on the way to field camp or on the way to Rocky Hill Camp. 

So, back to the guy whose guts were removed. The story goes that his spirit became extremely bitter towards his bunkmates, especially his buddy for not looking out for him. Every night without fail, he would come back to the bunk and haunt everyone with the usual rattling of cupboards and scratching of nails on the walls.

It wasn’t long before the higher-ups in BMT finally engaged a Taoist priest to perform some rituals to get rid of the spirit. The priest suggested adding a 3rd door to the existing 2, in order to make the spirit leave. Till today, that bunk is the only one with 3 doors – every other bunk in Tekong has only 2.

5. The little girl learning how to count

Image credit: CMPB

Many believe this is a story sergeants made up to get recruits to go to bed on time. 

It’s rumoured that on certain nights, a young girl and her grandmother strolls among the bunks, counting the number of sleeping recruits. Maybe this is how the ghost community teaches their children basic maths. Counting slowly, the voice of the girl becomes increasingly loud as she nears your bed. 

Never peep. The temptation is real but remember: curiosity killed the cat, and curiosity will kill the recruit too. Some have witnessed the eerie counting, telling of a shadow over their faces when they attempt to open their eyes… 

6. The little boy & his bouncing basketball

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If you ever thought you heard the sound of a basketball bouncing late at night while catching some shut-eye at your bunk, it’s not just your imagination.

Grandma doesn’t like to show favouritism, so she brings her grandson out on other nights too. This little boy has a basketball in one hand, and his grandmother’s hand in the other. He’s looking for a playmate, but his grandmother is telling him not to wake up the tired recruits. Don’t let him catch you awake, or he’ll ask his grandma “why this kor kor not sleeping?” 

The basketball drops, and your heart beats as loudly as the thuds of the basketball. You open your eyes and he’s inches from your face. No one has lived to tell how much fun being his playmate was. 

7. The case of the missing toilet buddy

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This is one of those typical stories that happened to your friend’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin. In the middle of the night, a recruit’s buddy – let’s call him Thomas – woke him up to go to the toilet. Grumpy and half-awake, the recruit followed Thomas to the cubicles and waited outside. 

10 minutes passed, then 30, then an hour. Finally, there was a flushing sound. The recruit looked into the toilet, all ready to give his buddy a piece of his mind for taking so long, only to be greeted with the sight of 10 empty cubicles. Then, it hit him. Thomas was on MC.

8. The “gifted” recruit of Bed 12

Image credit: Basic Military Training Centre via Facebook

It is said that every batch, one Bed 12 recruit of the Jaguar Company will be “gifted” with the ability to see “things”. Many people scoff at this rumour, until they are the ones assigned to Bed 12. 

The spirit of a young boy will be seen on the top of the opposite bunk, playing with a towel and grinning evilly at the Bed 12 recruit. 

If you’re the one ‘lucky’ enough to be put in Bed 12, good luck bro.

9. The Cupboard of Secrets

Image credit: aussiegall via Flickr

This story starts with the recruits noticing an unoccupied bed in their dorm. Then, they find notes in their cupboards, warning them not to open the cupboard beside the empty bed. Nothing much happened otherwise… until nightfall.

Everyone was sleeping soundly when suddenly, the cupboard beside the empty bed shook violently, and terrified screams could be heard from within. All the recruits jumped up in fear, everyone huddling together and backing away into a corner. Frantic scratching sounds are heard from inside the cupboard. Someone, or something, was trying to get out. 

After a long moment of trying not to pee in their pants, the recruits decided to suck it up and get back to bed. They have already been warned that Tekong wasn’t the “cleanest” place. But every night, without fail, the cupboard shakes and screams will be heard. Generations of men have passed, but not a single man has tried to unlock the cupboard’s secret.

10. The one who watches you as you sleep

Image credit: IMDB

Think you have more space to yourself when there are unoccupied bunk beds? Think again. Ask around and you may have heard stories of recruits finding strands of long hair and red lipstick on unoccupied bunk beds. Did someone sneak a girlfriend in for hanky panky? Or is it something else? 

Bella loves it when Edward watches her sleeping, so yay for you if you like that sort of thing because someone’s going to be watching you, all night, from that unoccupied bed. 

Many will believe it’s a hallucination – the woman with long black hair, red lipstick, pale face, and bloodshot eyes. Who would blame them though, that’s the typical description of any mainstream female ghost. But when they find the strands of long hair during area cleaning and red lipstick on their pillows, they’ll know it wasn’t just a dream…

11. The real reason nobody wants to do night duty

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Night walks are all romantic and cute, until you have it in Tekong. Any boy assigned to night time Guard Duty better have all his good luck charms ready, because he’s gonna need them. There are many different ghost stories regarding night patrol, and this is one I heard: 2 recruits were patrolling the area when they decided to venture into the forest. Asking for it, I know. 

Soon, they came across an abandoned playground neither of them had seen before. The air was still, the night was cold, and the only sounds heard were the crunching of leaves beneath their every step.

Then there was a creaking sound. The roundabout started to turn, faster and faster. Without a second glance back, the 2 men ran for their lives back the way they came. When they retraced their footsteps the next morning, the playground was nowhere to be seen.

12. Ominous murmurs throughout the forest

Image credit: Basic Military Training Centre via Facebook

Here’s a familiar scenario for recruits at outfield: It’s 5.30am. The air is cold, misty, and still. It’s dead quiet, save for the crickets chirping in the dark. It’s not enough to stir you from your slumber – but the religious-like chanting you hear in the distance is.

“It’s just the Azan,” you tell yourself. The Muslim call to prayer that is blared out over PA systems from JB can be heard all the way in Singapore.

As anti-climatic as that might seem, doubts still linger. Similar accounts note the stillness of the air as the call to prayer played, while others have noticed branches swaying in the absence of wind. Some have even recounted hearing voices responding to the call, as lines from the Quran emanated deep within the forest.

Those unlucky enough to have their field camp scheduled during Hungry Ghost Festival must be wary too. During this period, certain exercises have recorded instances of signal sets acting up in the dead of night. The sets would pick up muffled cries that relayed a female voice on the other end, profusely crying for help. Our advice? Act blur live longer.

13. Kena confinement

Image credit: Basic Military Training Centre via Facebook

The ultimate scary story of all time. Extra Confinement. All alone in Tekong.
‘Nuff said.

Creepiest Tekong stories – no questions asked

These are a collection of the 13 scariest Tekong stories we heard. Think about it the next time you see a NSF and cut your guy friends some slack. It’s not nice being away from home, and then they have to stay in the natural habitats of these less-than-human beings. Goodness knows what else they do to our boys at Tekong.

Believe it or not, it’s up to you. But never be one to mock or question their existence – they might just prove it to you.

More spooky articles here:

• Scariest ghosts and monsters in SG
• True Singapore office ghost stories 
• Local chalet ghost stories
• Why Asian ghosts are scarier than Western ghosts

Cover image adapted from: MINDEF, Asia Paranormal Investigators & BMTC via Facebook
Originally published on 17th February 2016. Last updated by Khoo Yong Hao on 14th September 2023.