In the time of King Mongkut 1 Siam waged many wars on the Shan people of Burma 2. During one such conflict Mak, the young husband of Mae Nak3, is called away to serve his King on the Burmese border. Nak is heart broken thinking her husband may not live to meet their unborn child.
After many months of bravely slaughtering Burmese4, Mak is critically injured and sent to Bangkok to coalesce. It is during Mak's stay in BKK5 that his wife dies unexpectedly giving birth to a son. Sadly, the news doesn't reach our protagonist and he makes his way home expecting to find his loving wife and child.
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| A film depiction of Mae Nak |
Interestingly, that's exactly what he finds. Nak's "undying6" love for Mak won't let her soul move on. So Mak unwittingly settles into his life with the undead.
A busybody neighbor tries to warn Mak of Nak's metaphysical transformation but police records show she was burned alive in a unexplained house fire7. Mak's own mother-in-law drops by to tell him he's living with the ghost of her dead daughter, but then she drops dead before she can utter the words.
Perhaps if Nak had been able to keep up the charade, they all could have happily in limbo until Mak's own passing when they would be reunited in some kind of Kharmic, reincarnative after-life8. Unfortunately for all modern Thai children afraid of ghosts , one day Mak witnesses his corpse bride extending her arm through the ceiling into the upstairs bedroom to "grab something." Mak knows he's seen too much and devises a plan to escape.
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| Wat Mahabut, the legendary safe haven for Mak12 |
That night Mak bites the bullet and gets into bed with his dead wife one more time before excusing himself to relieve himself.
The ghost of Nak knows Mak has run away but doesn't reach him before he jumps into a sticky Blumea plant9. Covered in Blumea sap, Mak runs to the only other place he's sure he's safe from his dead lover, the hallowed ground of a temple.
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| Statue of Nak at Wat Mahabut |
Knowing she has lost the love of her after-life, Mae Nak returns to her village to...why else?..terrorize the town folk. The village is then plagued by illness and violence until a town elder suggests they call in a specialist...an exorcist10.
The exorcist binds Nak's soul to the skull of her corpse. Here her soul will remain until an unsuspecting virgin farang visits Nak's shrine at Wat Mahabut, lights a black flame candle, and unleashes her vengeful spirit11
1 You may remember this venerated Thai leader from his unflattering portrayal in Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical, The King and I.
2 Or Myanmar, depending on which dictatorship/occupation you choose to validate.
3 Ms. Nak. Mae is Ms. in Thai.
4 Man, those Bumese cannot catch a break.
5 BKK is the cool way to write Bangkok.
6 Pun intended
7 No they don't. This is anachronistic and made up.
8The mechanics of reincarnation in Theravada Buddhism are fuzzy to me.
9 Fun fact: ghosts hate sticky blumea leaves.
10Cue Tubular Bells.
11 So, this last bit is based on Disney's Hocus Pocus. But the real versions aren't very scary. Thais respect her deep devotion to her husband and visit the shrine erected in her honor. She's like the Patron Saint of Obsession.
12Fellow volunteers, we're going here next Halloween
