Guest Uses $10 Million In Hell Bank Notes At Hotel, Spooks Receptionist

Guest unwittingly uses hell notes for hotel stay

The Hungry Ghost Festival is upon us – and those in observance of it may be a little more sensitive to close encounters of the spooky nature. However, as we live in a diverse country, it’s understandable that not everyone may be familiar with the traditions of the festival, when the deceased are believed to roam among the living.

Such is the case with this guest, who unwittingly tried to check in at a hotel in KL with hell bank notes ‘worth’ $10 million. The incident left the hotel’s receptionist spooked, as it was her first time encountering someone attempting to use hell notes as real currency for a stay during the festival.

Hell notes worth $10 million

Image credit: 郑心

Netizen 郑心 from Kepong, KL took to Facebook on 1st September 2021 to share her story, where it received over 11,000 shares at the time of writing. According to the post, written in Chinese, the incident took place while the sun was still shining – something she was glad to be able to avoid during her night shift.

A man had apparently walked into the hotel where she was working as a receptionist, much like any other ordinary customer. However, he proceeded to pull out two hell bank notes – or joss paper meant to resemble real currency, and burnt for the deceased – to use as legal tender, which left her spooked.

Image credit: 郑心

He told her that he had found the ‘bank notes’ on the ground, and kept it in his pocket for safe keeping for a whole month. This left her the task of explaining to him that the money could not be used for any transactions among the living when he attempted to use it at the hotel.

Image credit: 郑心

Along with the post, she also shared a video of the incident, where she can be heard telling him that the money “tak boleh pakai” – or cannot be used. She proceeded to ask him to show her the money again, only to confirm that they were indeed simply two $5 million hell notes that are reserved for the deceased.

She also wrote in her post that despite having worked at the hotel for several years, it was the first time that she’d come across such an incident. But it will hopefully be her last, as she said that the Hungry Ghost Festival wasn’t over yet, and what had taken place had scared her.

Hotel guest attempts to use $10 million hell bank notes

Mistaking hell bank notes as the real deal is a honest mistake, as not everyone may be familiar with what they are and their usage.

But we do hope that no one actually tries to use them as legal tender – or attempt to pull a fast one on anyone – as they are of little use and value to the living.