Ghosts & the Supernatural – As a paranormal investigator and being an international traveler, I am fascinated with various haunted locations in the world. My half-brother Andy Soyo would talk about his travels at exotic locations. Whenever Andy would talk about a place that I have not visited, I became more fascinated. I would also research the haunted locations in those countries that Andy visited. Below are two stories about my half-brother Andy and his travels to Istabul, Turkey and Malaysia.
This article is about my late half-brother Andy’s travels. Let me give you a brief history about my half-brother Andrew (Andy) Somprise Soyo. Sometimes Andy liked to be called Andres. Most of my family are world travelers. Traveling and adventure runs in our blood. Andy was no exception to the rule. Andy served in the US Army and served his country in the war in Vietnam. He was an 11 Bravo – Infantry and at one point of time made Soldier of the Year. When Andy got out of the Army, he acquired Malaria, that stayed with him for the rest of his life. He had post traumatic syndrome and at times would talk about things he experienced in Vietnam. Some of the stories I believe were exaggerated like the 5 minute snake that looks like a blade of grass. When bitten by this snake, the victim will die in 5 minutes. Another story is how he placed his hand down to his side and found his hand in his buddie’s brains, because his soldier buddy took a round from a sniper. Andy had stories. With stories you must have adventure and Andy sought out adventure by becoming a race car driver at Laguna Seca. At one point of time, he tried out with the Oakland Raiders and didn’t make the cut. Andy played football in high school and in college. Andy’s position was quarterback in college. Andy also ran for Union President for PG&E and campaigned as if he was running for President of the United States. At one point of time in his life, he embraced the Jewish faith and wore a Kippot. Andy also was a world traveler and traveled to many places in the world. One of those places was Istanbul, Turkey.
Going through some of Andy’s old photos, I discovered that Andy went to some very haunted locations in Turkey. Andy was no ghost hunter, but when you go to an ancient city, you have to expect the supernatural. Some of the places that Andy visited are:
Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia in ancient Greek means Divine Wisdom. Doing a bit of research, I discover that it was originally built as an Orthodox patriarchal basilica in the 6th century AD. It was declared as the largest Christian cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. During the aftermath of the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, Hagia Sophia was taken over by the Ottomans and converted into a mosque. As of 1935, it was converted into a museum. This museum contains a collection of Christian and Islamic art, Byzantine mosaics, holy relics, and extraordinary examples of iconography. While Andy was visiting Hagia Sophia, he may not have known that this museum is very haunted. Late at night, security has heard the sound of running feet, many feet running in unison. A woman is sometimes seen with a blue conical hat on her head drifting from one end of the museum to the other end. Her dress is blue, the woman seems very sad and one witness said she seems to be weeping. GHOST IDENTIFIED: WEEPING LADY IN BLUE
Perili Köºk, translates to “the haunted mansion.” Ottoman statesman and diplomat Yusuf Ziya Paºa had this mansion built in the 1910s. Construction on this beautiful mansion was soon halted by the outbreak of World War I. According to legend, Yusuf wanted the house to match the beauty of his Egyptian wife. His wife saw the closing of the Ottoman empire and left Yusuf for her home country. When two of the pasha’s merchant ships sank at sea a financial crisis ensued, leaving the mansion unfinished. Yusuf died in 1926 and was buried within sight of the Nile, asking for his tomb to be built of stones from the ill-fated mansion. The pasha’s second wife and his three daughters remained in the house after Yusuf died, selling the building to its current owner in 1993. The townsfolk started telling stories about a ghostly woman who would appear at the windows of the abandoned mansion. This ghostly woman would just stare at passerby’s and give those passerby’s a creepy feeling. When restoration began in 1995, workers claimed to see the pasha’s second wife walking the corridors. GHOST IDENTIFIED: PASHAS’ SECOND WIFE.
Molla Zey Rek Mosque: Most haunted buildings in Istanbul, Turkey are derelict houses, but this mosque in the historic neighborhood of Fatih is also known as one. Some locals claim that they hear screams coming from a point across the mosque where a stable stood in the past. They also believe there is an underground tunnel going from that point to the Ayvansaray neighborhood.
Baris Yilmaz says that he was taking pictures of this historic mosque and something slapped the camera from his hands. The camera shattered when hitting the ground. Baris then was engulfed in a green mist. When the green mist dissipated, he saw a woman in black. Behind her was a tall man also dressed in black, his face hidden with black wrap around cloth. The tall man was holding what looked like an Ottoman sword. Baris saw the tall man striking the woman’s neck several times and finally the woman’s head rolled off the tree stump and onto the ground, blood everywhere. The Ottoman Sword Executioner looked at Baris and started walking towards Baris. Baris retreated and saw the green mist ahead. Baris ran to the mist and was again engulfed in this mist. When the mist dissipated, Baris was back in this own time. Baris claims that this occurred in March of 2003. Baris says he will never go back to Molla Zey Rek Mosque. GHOST IDENTIFIED: THE OTTOMAN SWORD EXECUTIONER AND HIS VICTIM
The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul: When Andy was shopping at this bazaar, he did mention that he experienced vertigo that day. Now I know why. The bazaar is one of the largest and oldest in the world. It’s still in use and is also a shopping mall. This is an unusual place to have a haunting, but many people that frequent this bazaar say that it is indeed haunted. A section of the bazaar called the “Cevahir Bedesten” is believed by some esoteric sects to have a portal that opens to another dimension. Feriha Teke who shops at this bazaar says that in the fall of 1998, she experienced vertigo and saw the air around the bazaar moving like a wave. She looked around and many people did not notice the movement of the air, but a few were looking that way, as if they were seeing it. The waves then became an oval opening. From the opening a spectral entity came out. The spectral entity looked like a man that was bald headed and sporting a pony tail. Feriha believes she saw a Jinn. Feriha says you could see the outline of this entity, but you were able to see through him. The portal closed and the spectral Jinn moved lightning fast and vanished in the crowd. One of the people in the crowd that seemed to be aware of the portal fainted. After the portal closed, Feriha no longer felt vertigo. ENTITY IDENTIFIED: CEVAHIR BEDESTEN JINN
Bakirpasa Mansion: I found this one on the Internet, they say: “There are many of these old wooden manors, or ‘kosks’ in Istanbul, and they all have long histories and stories to tell. This old rundown kosk looks more like a horror movie stereotype than a venerable old home. Nonetheless, it’s rumored by locals that the mansion disappears for one day a year. Despite the predictability of this occurrence, no one has yet managed to document it. Whether ghosts exists or not, we’d wager few people would be brave enough to spend a night at this mansion on their own.” One report is that there was 3 witnesses that didn’t see the house vanish, but they saw a floating creature circling the roof, land on the roof and then float away. To my surprise, something similar like this happened in Diyarbaker, Turkey, you can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9FIM08VEj4 There is also much UFO activity in Turkey. Perhaps the Bakirpasa Mansion is connected with the UFO phenomenon and the floating entity may be a Jinn or an extraterrestrial of some sort. Many ancient alien theorists also believe that Jinns are extraterrestrial. ENTITY IDENTIFIED: BAKIRPASA MANSION FLOATING JINN
When my half-brother Andres Somprise Soyo aka Andy, a Vietnam War veteran took some R&R and visited Malaysia, the first place he stopped at was the Batu Caves and took the temple tour from Kuala Lumpur. I remember Andy complaining that the tour was basically a taxi ride to the location. The driver did not explain anything to Andy and his soldier friend about the caves. Andy and his friend were dropped off and realized they were on their own. Areas of the caves were closed off. On one of the statues there was a tarp covering it. Wherever Andy and his friend walked, there were people trying to sell them souvenirs. Andy was pestered throughout the whole tour, if you want to call it a tour. Andy also said that there was a very unpleasant smell in and around the Batu Caves. 
Of course, Andy was not a paranormal investigator, but researching Malaysia there are many haunted places in Malaysia. Of course since the first signs of homo sapien life appeared on Malaysia soil 40,000 years ago, there was plenty of death throughout the whole country. In the Malay Peninsula, the first inhabitants are thought to be Negritos. Negritos are a very old race of people. Genetics indicates they may have migrated from Africa. Negritos look like pygmies and their migration may have taken them to Malaysia, Thailand and even the Philippines. Malaysia went through many Sultan and Chieftain rulers. Many times there was turmoil in this country that lead to the deaths of their populace.
THE WAILING GHOSTS OF THE FIRST WORLD HOTEL:
One of the most haunted hotels in the world is right here in Malaysia. The First World Hotel in Gentling Highlands. Legend has it that many people that lost their fortunes at the nearby casinos have come to this hotel to commit suicide. It is said that children have psychic abilities from age 1 to 8 and then they lose their psychic abilities, that is why some children have imaginary friends. They are communicating with spirits from the other side. It is said that children who visit this hotel start crying and will refuse to go to certain areas of the hotel, because they have the ability to see ghosts. Chinese have a custom to share their food with the departed and to light incense. The aroma of incense is constant in this hotel. The hotel has 6118 rooms and some of these rooms are known to be cursed. Hotel staff will not rent out these rooms to their guests. Even when all of the non-cursed rooms are rented out, the hotel staff refuse to rent out a room that has the reputation of being cursed. In fact the entire 21st floor is said to be cursed and the elevator is known to skip the 21st floor. Guests have heard loud crying or wailing.
TAMBUN INN GREEN GOBLIN
There is a 3-story hotel called Tambun Inn in Ipoh. It is located near a Chinese cemetery. Guests report lights switching on and off. They can hear weird noises, whispering or shouting or screaming, but they can never trace the source of the noise. There are even reports of guests going to sleep in their own room and waking up in a completely different room with no recollection of how they got there. Even non-guests are affected by the hotel’s energy. A man reported passing by the hotel one time on his motorbike and he felt his bike getting heavier, as if something had climbed on the back. The Tambun Inn Green Goblin has been seen on the 3rd floor of the hotel and at the cemetery. This creature is green and full of deep wrinkles and scars. The creature has bulging eyes, large head and slender fingers with sharp nails. The Tambun Inn Green Goblin wears what looks like light blue coveralls. Legend has it that the Tambun Inn Green Goblin was once a Chinese man that disavowed his religion. His religion was Taoism. A Chinese demon cursed him and he fell from the 3rd floor of the hotel and died. He came back as a goblin that is forever tormented. This goblin is said to stand at 3 feet high. A woman guest was once chased by the goblin and the woman guest fell into a ditch, which caused a mild concussion.
CRAZY JAPANESE OFFICER:
There are plenty of haunted places in Malaysia and one of the places my brother Andy visited was Ghost Hill, Penang. Andy said when he was in this area, he felt a sickening feeling. The air was suffocating and at one point of time, he felt very dizzy, he felt like his whole body was spinning around. The history of this place is that the British built a fort on top of this hill. During World War II, a crazy Japanese officer is said to have held public beheadings on this site. He is also said to have terrorized the locals. His ghost is said to haunt this hill, which is now a war museum. Maggie Tucker a tourist went to this site, after she saw it on National Geographic Channel’s “I Wouldn’t Go In There”. She says that she saw the crazy Japanese officer and he was holding 2 severed heads in both of his hands. The ghost glared at Maggie and it haunts her to this day.
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations (HPI International)
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/HPIinternational/
