Supernatural & Sacred Trees In Singapore

Supernatural & sacred trees in Singapore

When it comes to the otherworldly, Singapore has plenty, only if you know which cobweb-filled nook to peer in. Just take your pick; we’ve got haunted MRT stations, spooky parks, and even malevolent roads that many have claimed to be the stomping grounds for literal speed demons.

Even our flora isn’t spared from the Little Red Dot’s ghastly grasp. That’s right, we’re talking about the various supernatural and sacred trees you can find scattered across our island. From a supposed “Evil” tree along Old Holland Road to a Monkey God sealed behind bark in Jurong, here are some we’ve sussed out and where you can find them, if you dare.

1. Changi Tree

Believed to be SG’s tallest recorded tree, “caused” the fall of the country

Image credit: The Malayan Nature Journal

Eons before our beloved, award-winning airport was even conceived, there existed a massive tree in the neighbourhood of Changi. Unimaginatively dubbed the Changi Tree, this impressive specimen was thought to be over 200 years old and stood at an impressive 76m high, with a trunk circumference of roughly 11m.

The Time Tree art installation by Robert Zhao, which was modelled after the dimensions of the Changi Tree.
Image credit: NParks via Facebook

To give you some perspective, it’s about the same height as a 25-storey-tall HDB block, and since it was visible from kilometres away, it even appeared on maps from as early as 1888. But, it was exactly its hulking presence that caused its eventual demise, and purportedly, British-ruled Singapore’s.

In February 1942, during the height of the Japanese’s invasion of Singapore, the British ordered the tree to be felled. The Changi Tree was such a prominent landmark that the Japanese artillery could have used it as a useful navigational marker when ranging their weapons, and so it had to go.

The tree is believed to have stood somewhere along present-day Changi Village Road, near the Changi Chapel and Museum.
Image credit: Wikipedia

Here’s where it got eerie. As a local legend foretold, when the Changi Tree falls, so would Singapore – sure enough, within days of the tree’s felling, the Brits soon threw in the towel, and the country came under Japanese rule. Although many have classed this as a mere coincidence, perhaps it was for the best; Singapore’s not doing too bad these days, less the rising COE costs and overpriced cai fan.

2. Old Holland Road Evil Tree

Sits on the site of a former cemetery, turns nearby electronics wonky

Why is an innocent tree catching strays from passers-by? We might never know.
Image adapted from: Google Maps

Old Holland Road might be home to some of the most palatial GCBs around, but just round the corner resides an ominously-named point of interest. The Old Holland Road Evil Tree got its moniker from a now-defunct Google Maps listing, and upon first glance, it’s hard to see why.

Image credit: @willys_pictures via Instagram

It’s an unassuming, lone tree planted in the middle of a vast open field, and although it’s one of the tallest trees in the vicinity, its stature is not nearly as impressive as the Changi Tree’s. So, one can only wonder what atrocities this leafy abomination has committed to garner such a reputation.

Image adapted from: Nostalgic Singapore via Facebook

Apparently, the tree sits on the site of the Fong Yun Thai cemetery, a Chinese Hakka Graveyard which was exhumed by the early 1980s. Perhaps the visitors to the field today have picked up on the bad juju surrounding the area, and attributed it to the only tangible entity in sight AKA the tree. But the tree’s off-putting vibes aren’t the only thing giving people goosebumps.

Image adapted from: Sandra T via Google Maps

According to old screenshots of the tree’s Google Maps listing, people have reported that devices like phones and drones started acting up as soon as they approached. One brave soul even said that they saw a small alcove within the tree, and after pushing past a couple of branches, found themselves in a snow-covered forest.

Malfunctioning electronics, I can get behind, but teleporting to a lonely, icy domain? Someone ring Elsa up – she’s got a visitor in her kingdom of isolation.

3. Toa Payoh God Tree

Revered tree that withstood HDB’s attempts to uproot it

Image adapted from: Google Maps

Not all supernatural trees are out to get us; just ask the folks who live in Toa Payoh. Within this historic housing estate lies arguably the most famous sacred tree in Singapore. Known as the Toa Payoh God Tree, it’s one of the last surviving “deity trees” you can find on the island, and has seen its fair share of worshippers for the better part of half a century.

To understand why it’s revered so much by residents, we’d have to turn back time, back to when the now-bustling estate of Toa Payoh was but a humble kampong village. In the days of yore, Banyan trees were regarded as sacred by residents of the village, and were thought to be inhabited and protected by spirits.

What the Toa Payoh God Tree and its shrine looked like in 1971.
Image credit: Simone Lam via Facebook

One particular Banyan tree, which later became known as the Toa Payoh God Tree, withstood the test of time and remained undisturbed – that was, until heavy machinery came knocking. For context, the redevelopment of Toa Payoh in the 1960s was the very first project that the Housing and Development Board took on, and so they approached it with much zest.

Things were going smoothly, but a tree-sized wrench was thrown into their plans. There were plans to uproot the Toa Payoh God Tree to make way for redevelopment works, but it simply decided to hunker down and stand its ground, literally. Allegedly, bulldozers stopped working around the tree, and one even overturned when a worker tried to ram into it head-on.

Image credit: Roots

The government then decided to leave the tree be, and fast-forward to today, it still stands tall at its original location, at Block 177, Toa Payoh Central. Today, you’ll find that a small shrine called Ci En Ge has been built at the foot of the tree, which many flock to in order to pray for good health, safety, and of course, winning 4D numbers.

4. The trees of Sembawang Park & Kampong Wak Hassan

Nailed with talismans to appease spirits

Image credit: VanGarrett James Lee via Facebook

Wander off on your own in the recesses of Sembawang, and you just might unknowingly rouse the ire of lingering spirits. Trust us, we’d know better – after all, we’ve tangoed with the supernatural during our visit to Sembawang Park and Kampong Wak Hassan as part of a ghost tour.

If you didn’t know, the park is situated near the Sembawang coastline, which served as a mass execution site during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that it’s become a paranormal hotspot decades later, ever since the beach nearby saw much bloodshed.

On the aforementioned tour, our guide Eugene told a story which began with him having strange, recurring dreams in his teenage years about a particular tree within Sembawang Park. Turns out, he later discovered that these dreams stemmed from a repressed memory from his childhood.

The very tree which haunted Eugene’s dreams.

According to his mother, Eugene had been playing in the park when a lady in a sarong beckoned him to follow her towards the tree. Maternal instincts kicked in, and she called out for him and started running towards him – the lady then “disappeared into the tree”, recounted Eugene.

Nailed trees

Just a few minutes’ walk away, certain trees at Kampong Wak Hassan are not to be trifled with either. The area is a dumping ground for unwanted spiritual objects, and an old tradition of nailing talismans to appease or bind malicious spirits is practised to this day. For those itching to bring home a memento, Eugene warned not to remove said nails, as you might be afflicted with unexplainable maladies.

5. Fenced-up tree in Seletar

Mysterious tree that still stands even after area went through redevelopment

Image credit: Darren Soh via Facebook

Similar to the one on Old Holland Road, another solitary tree of much intrigue can be found in Seletar. Sat along Seletar Aerospace Drive, what’s special about this very tree is that it’s enclosed by a short fence, and no one seems to know why.

Image adapted from: Google Maps

The land the tree sits on used to be populated by colonial bungalows built for personnel of the British Royal Air Force. Some of these houses were demolished in 2007 to make way for the development of Seletar Aerospace Park, but the tree still remained, impervious to the march of time. One theory posited by a TikTok user commenting on a video discussing the origins of the tree goes like this:

A bungalow on Lancaster Gate in the old RAF Seletar Airbase.
Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The user grew up on the grounds of the RAF Seletar Airbase in the early 90s, and recounts that this very tree was located at the houses near the back of Lancaster Gate, a road in the old military camp. They surmised that the fencing surrounding the tree we see today are remnants of the houses that surrounded it.

Another hypothesis some users settled on was that it’s a Heritage Tree protected by NParks, hence the barrier. However, the tree is not listed on the board’s Heritage Tree Register. As to why it has been left untouched for decades on end, perhaps the government learnt from their previous brush with the Toa Payoh God Tree, and decided not to mess with another of its kind.

Although the tree appears to be fenced up, the gate that’s supposed to deter curious visitors is left unlocked, as confirmed by a TikTok user who swung by sometime this year. There are no signs put up that indicate any form of trespassing, but whether you’d want to approach the tree or not is a whole different question.

Image for illustration purposes only.

NSFs from the nearby Seletar Camp felt the tree “following” them on night missions in the area, while another passer-by found a small radio playing religious Chinese chants on loop at the foot of the tree. Murmurs of the tree being the prowling grounds for Pontianaks are also plentiful, so if you ask us, the tree’s haunting majesty is best admired from afar.

6. Jurong West Monkey God Tree

Famous for its “holy” markings that resembled 2 monkeys

Image credit: SRX Property

Now, this one might ring a bell for some of the older folks out there, especially if you live in the West. In 2007, a particular African Mahogany that stood at Jurong West Street 42 essentially shot to superstardom after a car scraped into it during a minor accident.

Image credit: National Museum of Singapore via Facebook

The collision damaged a portion of the tree’s bark, which peeled away to reveal markings that many thought resembled 2 monkeys. Of course, this was a clear-cut case of pareidolia, but that didn’t stop the superstitious from flocking down to the tree’s location in droves, with bountiful offerings in hand.

Image credit: Pinterest

Word soon spread that the primate-like markings were the manifestation of Sun Wukong, the monkey king from the 16th-century Chinese epic Journey to the West. Meanwhile, other devotees were sure that these were the works of Hanuman, a monkey deity from Hindu mythology who’s revered as the god of courage, strength, and loyalty.

An anonymous handwritten notice that was tied to the tree proved to be the catalyst that skyrocketed the tree’s popularity. It stated that a monkey was searching the lands for its monkey god a couple of years back, and that the recent accident had unbound the deity hidden within the tree’s trunk.

Image credit: Wayne’s Dhamma Blog 水月佛法博客

In the weeks that followed, thousands of worshippers visited the site. A small shrine was also erected at the foot of the tree, where many offered fruit, incense, flowers, and coloured ribbons in exchange for good health, prosperity, and prophesied 4D numbers.

The hype surrounding the Monkey God Tree crescendoed in October 2007. It was so famous that makeshift vendors were peddling photographs of the tree for at least $3 a pop, and tour buses were reportedly bringing in visitors from overseas to have a gander at the markings on the weekends.

But the Monkey God Tree’s transcendent pull eventually dwindled, attracting fewer and fewer worshippers over the years. This could be attributed to the fact that the supposedly divine markings eventually calloused over as the tree grew new bark. Should you pay a visit today, you’d be hard-pressed to spot anything resembling a monkey.

Pay a visit to these supernatural trees in Singapore, if you dare

Singapore might be one of the safest countries around, but when it comes to the supernatural, it doesn’t hurt to keep a vigilant watch over where you tread, especially during 7th Month. Even innocuous trees could become a hotspot for paranormal activity, so we’d rather err on the side of caution and not tempt the unknown.

For more spooky reads:

Cover image adapted from: Simone Lam via Facebook, @willys_pictures via Instagram

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Supernatural & Sacred Trees In Singapore