The Spirit That Jogged Forever (马拉松幽灵)

This is a school ghost story prevailed in my old Taiping secondary school. During an annual inter-school marathon tournament, a school marathon runner suddenly suffered heart attack and subsequently fell to his death just a few steps short of reaching the end in the annual inter-school tournament. Everyone lamented the loss of a young soul as this young athlete was the best student in academic and also athletic. A memorial service was held in the school hall, the most heartbroken ones were certainly his parents.

A few weeks later, people started to see a silhouette of a youth start running at first from the tracks in the school field, but gradually this shadowy figure also being seen running marathon from one end of the classroom to another. Not long after that this figure also being seen running in student hostel. It would suddenly appear from the wall and at times bumped directly into students after night tuition class. Those ones who had direct contact with this ‘creature’ said that they felt as being knocked down by a cold breeze.

Soon the rumor of the school being haunted by a marathon spirit begun to spread like wild fire; people were afraid of walking alone in the corridor or even to the library. The headmaster decided to put a stop to this ‘haunting’ or rumor alike, so he called an emergency teacher’s meeting. In the meeting, the P.E. teacher suddenly said that he has a method to solve this headache issue.

After obtaining permission from the headmaster, the P.E. teacher summoned some students to the athletic field; he asked two students each holding a piece of tape. One student held at one end. This would be the so-called ‘finish point’ of a marathon race. The P.E. teacher then asked the bystanders to cheer out as loud as possible. After a few rounds of cheering, he took a pair of scissors and cut the tape. There were a few rounds of cheer and applause as if someone has won the marathon race.

On the same night, a security guard said that he saw the deceased student’s soul ran for the last time on the field while raising its hands and smiling satisfactorily as if it has finally completed his race. No one saw the apparition again until…

I asked the P.E. teacher of the reason. He said: “It is simple. The deceased was indignant that he couldn’t finish the race so he started to show itself due to hatred. Now that we have given what he wanted; he has no further reason to remain.”

The story did not end there however…

During my last school days there, we had a small celebration in the evening. We were very excited and decided to go to the field to have a final race before we went out of the school gate. Someone suddenly shouted: “On your mark, GO!”

Many years ago, when I met my P.E. teacher, he told me that the phantom again reappeared on the school field running nonstop. People who walked pass the field at night may notice a figure running around the field. No one dares to approach this figure; at least this time it did not venture into the school building as before.