Haunted houses

A whispering voice echoes, books fall off shelves for no apparent reason and the sound of food steps follow behind, but no one's there! Beijing is littered with hutongs, which have a reputation for being haunted. Some ghost tales are explained and here are five of them.

Jingyongli Hutong

At a fixed time each year, three men in shackles walk along Jingyongli Hutong, who are said to be Suo E'tu and his sons, going to the execution ground. Wu Sheng'en, a 75-year-old Beijinger says: "Suo used to live here. My grandfather used to tell me how evil befell him, partly because Suo asked for trouble." Suo was a grand academic during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He led the emperor's beloved son, Yun Reng, in the wrong direction, egging him on to form parties and usurp the throne. Blazing with anger, Kangxi sentenced Suo to death. However, Suo's family didn't hear the end of the tragedy. Nine years later the emperor ordered his guards to kill Suo's two sons. Jinyongli Hutong was the only route to the execution ground.