At the Hungry Ghost Festival, Rituals to Appease the Dead

On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, according to Chinese belief, the gates of hell open and ghosts pour out of the lower realm. On that day, Southern California’s Chinese diaspora celebrates the Hungry Ghost Festival. They perform rituals to appease the dead.

It is a time of great and sometimes confusing activity at the Thien Hau Temple in downtown L.A.’s Chinatown. Explanations fall to volunteer docent Michael Le Tigre, who over the years has become the temple’s friendly, garrulous wandering spirit, its ambassador to the English-speaking world.

Are there ghosts walking around right now?

Source: LA Weekly