Kampong Chhnang ghost house — Cambodia's famous haunted dwelling

The 'ghost house' of Kampong Chhnang is one of Cambodia's most famous haunted locations, known throughout the country and referenced in Khmer popular culture. The building, located in the provincial capital of Kampong Chhnang on the Tonle Sap River, has been associated with supernatural phenomena for decades. In a country where spirit beliefs are deeply interwoven with Buddhist practice, haunted houses carry particular cultural weight. Cambodians widely believe in 'preta' (hungry ghosts from Buddhist tradition) and 'kmaoch' (Khmer ghosts), and properties known to harbor such spirits are genuinely feared. The Kampong Chhnang ghost house has been the subject of reports including objects moving on their own, unexplained sounds at night, and apparitions of figures in traditional Khmer clothing. Cambodia's traumatic 20th-century history — particularly the Khmer Rouge genocide of 1975-1979, which killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people — has given the country an especially deep relationship with the dead. Many Cambodians believe the spirits of genocide victims wander the countryside, and locations associated with mass death are often considered haunted. While the specific history of the Kampong Chhnang ghost house predates the Khmer Rouge era, the broader cultural context of Cambodia's relationship with spirits and death gives the location additional resonance.