During Ghost Month in 2025, I would like to share some ghost stories from my favorite Hong Kong movies of the 1990s.
This story is from the movie《怪談協會》(Till Death Do Us Laugh, 1996).
It follows a female journalist who is assigned to attend the annual dinner of the Mysterious Tales Association(怪談協會).
- 怪談 VS 怪譚
- "怪談" is the more common. The character 談's 部首 is “言”, which relates to speech, speaking, and words. Therefore, 「怪談」 refers to stories or legends about strange and bizarre things.
- The character"譚", in classical Chinese, has a similar meaning to"談". Today, it is more often used in the titles of books or movies.
This association is very secretive. In order to become formal members, applicants must tell an unusual story that the members approve of. Last year, the editor-in-chief sent a reporter to the meeting, but the reporter went missing.
Of all the stories told by the attendees at this year's gathering, the one that left the deepest impression on me was this one: "找替身."
找替身 The Stand-in
The story begins with a warning to the audience: "Never rent your room to someone similar to you in age, appearance, or looks; otherwise, something bad might happen."
When her boyfriend leaves for 出差, 小敏 is afraid to be home alone. At her boyfriend's suggestion, she decides to rent out a spare room and find a roommate.
- 出差(短期、長期) VS 外派
- 出差 is a journey taken for work purposes.
- 短期出差(business trip)：Typically a short-term journey lasting from a few days to a couple of weeks.
- 長期出差(work assignment)：A longer-term trip, usually for several months or up to a year or two.
- 外派 (expatriates)：It refers to an employee assigned to work at a company's foreign branch for an extended period, often exceeding a couple of years.
While putting up her ad, she runs into the priest from a nearby church. The priest, whom she has known for years, is as talkative as ever, so she quickly leaves.
As time went on, the two girls developed a close friendship. Finally, 小敏's boyfriend returned. Seeing a girl with her back to him in the kitchen, he naturally assumed it was her. He happily hugged and kissed her, only to realize he had made a mistake. 小敏 was unaware of their awkwardness and happily introduced them to each other.
小敏, who worked at a modeling agency, introduced 小淇 to her agent. The agent thought the two of them looked very similar. The only difference was that 小敏 had short hair and 小淇 had long hair. The agent immediately signed a contract with 小淇. 小敏 took 小淇 home with her, since her parents' house was nearby. Even 小敏's parents and grandmother were surprised by how much they looked alike.
One night, 小敏 woke up to find that her boyfriend was not in bed. She walked into the living room and saw him watching TV with 小淇. Their intimate posture made her jealous, but 小淇 greeted her naturally.
The next day, 小敏 plans to go shopping to vent her frustration, and she meets a neighbor from her building. The neighbor jokingly says how enviable it is that 小敏 and her boyfriend are so affectionate in the elevator. However, 小敏 has no memory of doing anything like that with her boyfriend. She then discovers by chance that 小淇 has taken over her own commercial shoot!
That night, when 小敏 returns home, she intends to confront 小淇. However, she finds that 小淇 has changed her hairstyle to match hers and is kissing her boyfriend. 小敏 was so angry that she tried to kick 小淇 out, but her boyfriend questioned what she was doing. Enraged, 小敏 calls the police, but they can't tell the two women apart and ask them to show their IDs. 小敏 takes out her ID, but to her surprise, the photo is 小淇's, even though the name on the ID is hers. Instead, the police believe that 小敏 has a mental problem and remove her from her home.
She runs back to her parents' house, crying. But to her shock, her mother calls her 小淇 and doesn't recognize her! She stares into the mirror and sees 小淇's reflection. Every photo in her parents' house shows 小淇, not her. Distraught, 小敏 rushes out into the misty night, and in the depths of the fog, she sees 小淇. In horror, she asks her why she is doing this to her. 小淇 slowly asks her if she has ever heard of "找替身"(the stand-in).
"I am a wandering spirit looking for a stand-in," 小淇 says. "If no one recognizes the real you by midnight tomorrow, I can take your place and live your life."
Bewildered and helpless, 小敏 wanders the streets until dawn. Seeing the church in the sunlight and the priest walking out gives her hope. To her surprise, the priest actually recognizes her! She tells him everything that has happened, and he agrees to accompany her to confront 小淇.
That night, 小敏 returned home to find 小淇 waiting in the living room as expected. The priest rushed to the door, but 小淇 locked him out. After a fierce struggle, 小淇 pins 小敏 down and tries to stab her with a knife. The priest finally breaks in. While 小淇 is distracted by the priest, 小敏 jumps up, grabs the knife, and pins 小淇 down. At that moment, the second hand of the clock crosses midnight. 小敏 feels a sharp pain in the back of her head, and she falls beside 小淇.
It was too late. 小敏 had been replaced by 小淇. The priest believes 小淇 is the real one, so he strikes 小敏 with his cross to drive out the evil spirit.
A hand rips down the "Room for Rent" ad from the wall. The scene changes to 小敏 asking if the room is still available. The search for 找替身 begins again.
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