“Do Not Sit On The Bed”: The Creepy Disturbances That Allegedly Occurred At Istana Lama Seri Menanti

By Lara Lindemann  •  17 Dec 2022 in Features

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Somewhere in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan stands a popular landmark known as Istana Lama Seri Menanti.

Made of chengal and iron wood, and held together using only wooden pegs, its design also portrays traits of Minangkabau architecture. The building itself consists of five levels rising to a height of sixty seven feet (or approximately twenty meters high), and has ninety nine columns to hold up the main structure, which represent the ninety nine officers of the palace (Hulubalang).

Between 1959 and 1964, Istana Lama served as a religious school before becoming vacant in 1992. On July 14 1992, it was transformed into a Royal Museum with the approval of Tuanku Ja’afar, the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar at the time, who also served as the ceremony’s officiant.

In order to permit repairs and upholstering which were initially scheduled to be finished in 2020, it is currently closed to the general public.

Apart from its historical value, and despite a lack of known tragic or brutal deaths taking place within the building, Istana Lama retains a haunting reputation due to disturbing claims of unsettling instances occurring within its walls.

One of the most well-known stories is that of a Malaysian woman named Nadirah visiting the palace in attempt to prep herself for a history quiz, and went against a vital warning along the way.

“I once had the opportunity to represent my school in a history test while attending a boarding school in Negeri Sembilan, so my history instructor brought me to Istana Menanti to prep. When we arrived, only my teacher, two of my friends, and I were present. We entered on our own and looked around.

“In the princess’ room, despite a clear warning sign that read “Do Not Sit on the Bed”, I naturally rebelled, being a teenager and all. I took a seat and suddenly began shivering and felt chills. I stood up promptly and walked out of the room but felt like something was creeping up behind me.

“I told my teacher I needed to rush back. After that, I felt a scorching agony in my neck when I took a shower. I got out of the bathroom and asked my friend to check my neck for anything. She told me I had three long scratches down my neck.”

To add to the palace’s creepy repute, caretakers and other staff have also reported cases of lights mysteriously being switched on and windows opening by themselves in the wee hours of the morning. In 2013, Utusan Malaysia featured these stories in a report  whereby some workers also noted that the beds commonly appeared to have been slept in.

One of the staff, Rohaizad Zakaria, 47, contended that although he has never witnessed this particular matter firsthand, the stories about ‘guests’ who spend the night in the room are often told by the museum workers.

“It is the responsibility of the staff on duty to tidy up and ensure that all items on display are in their original position after visiting time is over. Usually, the staff will clean up every bed in the palace. However, the next day the sheets that have been folded would look as if someone had just slept in them.

“While we considered the possibility of one of the workers sleeping in the room, no one has confessed to this day,” he said.

Then, in December 2015, Rohaizad experienced a strange event in the palace for himself.

“At about 9 p,m., I was contacted by the security guard on night shift because they said I didn’t turn off the lights and shut the windows. I rushed back to the palace to see for myself because I was sure I had switched off the lights and closed the windows before returning home at about 7 p.m.” he said.

To his surprise, he indeed arrived at the palace to see the lights on and windows wide open. The security guard on the day shift confirmed the peculiarity of the situation as he also claimed to have witnessed Rohaizad closing off the palace properly…

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