- Native
- Old Changi Hospital
- Type
- Haunted place
- Region
- Changi
- Verification
- Partially documented
Old Changi Hospital is an empty hospital complex on the eastern tip of Singapore, closed since 1997 and widely called the country's most haunted building. The hospital was real and its history is ordinary: a British barracks, then a military hospital, then a public one. The ghost stories, including the best-known torture-chamber tale, come mostly from the years after it closed, and careful sources say none of them has been verified.
In the record
- The buildings began in the 1930s as part of a British military base at Changi. Wikipedia says the complex was Kitchener Barracks, built for Royal Engineers, with Block 24 and Block 37 as the buildings that later became the hospital.
- After the Second World War the site served the Royal Air Force as RAF Hospital Changi (1947 according to Wikipedia). It was renamed several times, ending as Changi Hospital.
- It closed in December 1997 when its services merged with Toa Payoh Hospital to form Changi General Hospital, which moved to nearby Simei.
- In November 2021 a proposal to turn it into a stargazing observatory and aviation viewing deck won a contest run by the Singapore Land Authority and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, according to Wikipedia.
Not in the record
- Any documented evidence of ghosts. Wikipedia says there is almost no substantial proof beyond a few photos and videos.
- The torture-chamber story. Campus.sg says there were no recorded reports of torture at the site, and The Smart Local calls it a rumour.
- A working hospital at Kitchener Barracks during the 1942 battle. Wikipedia, citing medical reports and dispatches, says none is mentioned.
What's Actually Verifiable
The site is real, the dates for the barracks and the hospital are broadly agreed, and the closure in 1997 is not disputed. Sources differ on small details. One gives 1935 as the year the buildings were completed, while Wikipedia dates the barracks to 1929 to 1935. Treat exact start years with some caution.
What the record does not show is any proof that the place is haunted. That part rests on stories, photos and videos.
From Barracks to Hospital
The complex sat on a rise called Barrack Hill at Changi Point. Wikipedia says it was one of several barracks built for coastal defence units. Block 24 was a barrack building and Block 37 a small medical facility.
After the war, the RAF used the buildings as a hospital for its own people and for Commonwealth troops, including Australian and New Zealand personnel and, during the Korean War, United Nations soldiers. A large linking building, Block 161, was added in 1962. Through the 1970s the hospital changed names as British forces left, becoming the ANZUK Hospital, then the UK Military Hospital, then the Singapore Armed Forces Hospital. It was later opened to the public as Changi Hospital.
The Wartime Story
In February 1942 Japanese forces took Singapore, and the Changi area became a large prisoner-of-war camp. Kitchener Barracks was part of that, according to Wikipedia, which says it held prisoners until May 1943 and later housed Japanese army units overseeing the building of an airstrip.
This is where the legend gets its weight. A popular version says the Japanese military police, the Kempeitai, ran a torture room in the buildings, with chains on the walls and stained floors. Campus.sg reports the story but says there were no recorded reports of torture there. The Smart Local, a Singapore guide site, introduces it as rumour. The Kempeitai's wider record in Singapore is documented, but the sources opened for this article do not tie the hospital buildings to those events.
One more wrinkle: Wikipedia says that, going by the medical reports it cites, the barracks was not running as a hospital during the 1942 battle. Field hospitals operated elsewhere in Changi. So the idea of a wartime hospital full of the dying is also shaky.
What Visitors and Locals Report
After the hospital closed, the unfenced site drew trespassers, and stories began to pile up. Wikipedia lists reports of a nurse walking the grounds and of poltergeist activity. Campus.sg mentions apparitions in old-fashioned clothing and figures in medical uniforms in the corridors. The Smart Local says none of these stories can truly be verified.
The areas named most often are:
- the old mortuary, which Wikipedia says has since been demolished
- a tile-walled operating theatre
- the accident and emergency building, also demolished
- rumoured underground bunkers, which Wikipedia says cannot currently be reached
In 2017 a video circulated online showing what was said to be a nurse carrying a baby. Wikipedia notes that it sparked debate over whether it was genuine. The Smart Local also mentions a cyclist's video of a dark figure at a window, reported by the Singaporean site STOMP. Neither has been confirmed.
How the Reputation Grew
Several things fed the legend, and most of them came after 1997. The empty buildings were vandalised. The Singapore Land Authority ran a short-term rental programme that let television crews film there, and Wikipedia names MediaCorp series that used it. A 2010 found-footage mockumentary, Haunted Changi, was built on the building's reputation. The hospital was also recreated as a haunted house at Universal Studios Singapore, according to The Smart Local.
A real wartime setting, a mortuary, long abandonment and repeated screen appearances make a durable haunted-place story, whether or not anything happened there.
What Became of the Site
A 2006 tender for a luxury spa resort fell through, partly because of the financial downturn, and Wikipedia says the site went back to the Singapore Land Authority in 2010. The compound was then fenced and fitted with cameras and motion sensors. The Smart Local reports that refurbishment plans have repeatedly fallen through and that officers are stationed on site. The 2021 observatory proposal was a contest entry and, as far as this guide has found, not a confirmed construction project.
If you are in Singapore, do not try to enter. The site is guarded and monitored, and unauthorised entry is trespassing. The Smart Local lists organised night tours and a free online 360-degree video tour, though availability may have changed.
For other haunted ruins and ghost stories in the region, see Bokor Hill Station in Cambodia, the Pontianak of Malaysia and the Big C ghost of Hai Phong, Vietnam.
Related: More Southeast Asian ghosts and folklore.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Old Changi Hospital?
It is an abandoned hospital complex in Changi, on the east coast of Singapore. It began as part of a British military base in the 1930s and closed as a hospital in 1997.
Is Old Changi Hospital really haunted?
There is no verified evidence that it is. Wikipedia says almost no substantial proof backs up the stories beyond a few photos and videos, and The Smart Local says the sightings cannot be verified.
Did the Japanese torture prisoners at Old Changi Hospital?
That is a rumour, not a documented fact. Campus.sg says there were no recorded reports of torture at the site, though the barracks was part of the wartime Changi prisoner-of-war area.
When did Old Changi Hospital close?
Changi Hospital shut in December 1997, when it merged with Toa Payoh Hospital to form Changi General Hospital at Simei.
Can you visit Old Changi Hospital?
The site is fenced and monitored, and unauthorised entry is not allowed. Organised tours have been offered, so check current availability before planning a visit.
What is planned for the site now?
A 2021 competition entry proposed an observatory and aviation viewing deck. This guide found no confirmation that it is being built, so check the Singapore Land Authority for news.
