Cemetery in Thailand screens movies for the dead at night

Nakhon Ratchasima/Thailand: The authorities of a cemetery in Thailand has sought to entertain the dead by screening movies to them two nights recently, NDTV reported citing the South China Morning Post.

The cemetery in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeastern Thailand is the resting place for nearly 3,000 descendants from China.

Rows of chairs were arranged for the spirits to sit down and watch the movies.

The event, according to the report, was aimed at pacifying the spirits of those who have passed on to the afterlife.

The screenings that took place on June 2 and June 6 were an open-air show with only four staff members in attendance.

Began at 7pm, the screenings continued until midnight each day.

Laying out a feast for the dead, the staff burnt paper offerings such as food, model houses, vehicles, clothing and daily needs.

The event, according to the organisers, is a traditional custom in many Chinese communities in Thailand.

It takes place after the Ching Ming Festival or before the Dragon Boat Festival, to commemorate the dead, alongside providing them with a modern form of entertainment.

The contractor who arranged the event said initially he felt scarred by the idea but later it turned out to be unique and positive experience.

Many on social media reacted to the novel idea with one user saying: ‘This spooky film screening event is actually a very warm idea to make the deceased feel satisfied and the living feel at ease.’

The Chinese community in Thailand believes that spirits will linger in the material world because of unfulfilled wishes.

Pacifying them with such entertainments will reduce their "interference" with the living.

The belief in afterlife is so prevalent in the country that a Thai man had a ghost marriage solemnized with his girlfriend who had died of leukaemia.