Some Haunted Spaces in Singapore: On the Paradox of Modern Urban Planning and Spiritual Beliefs

Some Haunted Spaces in Singapore explores the paradox of modern urban planning and spiritual beliefs in Singapore, proposing a parsing of the island’s town and country planning based on abstract expressions of mysticism. An investigation of the collective imagination, this book examines elements of the built environment believed to be occupied by spirits: haunted spaces. Often dismissed as irrational, this mystical focus digs deeper than religious superstitions or teenage esotericism. In exploring the apparent contradiction between a city-state built up according to a rigid rationale of urban development and robust spiritual practices that endure to this day, this book reveals the resilience of interconnected spaces and memories, as well as forms of social resistance to the changes brought about by fast-paced urban growth and top-down national planning in Singapore.

224 pages, softcover, 22 x 16 cm, Edition Patrick Frey (Zurich).