Ghostly grilled pork seller haunts Ayutthaya streets

Erm, thought it was Songkran, not Halloween. Nannaphat Chalachainanpa, 23, dressed as the legendary ghost Mae Nak Phra Khanong, sells moo ping (grilled pork) with sticky rice at an intersection on Rotjana Road in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district of Ayutthaya on Sunday. (Photos by Sunthorn Pongpao)

AYUTTHAYA: A Mae Nak Pha Khanong ghost has been sighted in the streets of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district in this former capital city on recent nights -- wielding moo ping (grilled pork) with sticky rice that's been selling to passing motorists like hot cakes.

Nannaphat Chalachainanpa, 23, channelled an otherworldly way to increase her sales: donning a costume and wearing make-up to resemble Mae Nak Phra Khanong, the legendary ghost of a woman who died in labour.

A video clip and images of the ghostly vendor -- complete with a doll resembling a dead baby -- selling grilled pork at Wat Phraya Yat intersection on Rotjana Road in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district at night were widely shared on social media.

Grilled pork with sticky rice and dead baby - who could say no?

The supernatural sales strategy has proven successful, Ms Nannaphat said. And she sold all her plastic bags of grilled pork with sticky rice at 25 baht each in just two hours on Sunday night, her second night as Mae Nak Phra Khanong.

She told the Bangkok Post that she was a former supporting actor on a cultural performance stage at the famous Ayothaya Floating market before the stage was damaged in a predawn fire in June last year. Costumes and equipment were destroyed in the flames, leading to the show's abandonment.

She then tried to make a living by selling grilled pork, but sales failed to catch fire. She tried various methods to increase her sales until she was inspired to utilise her former experience as an actor.

"Sorry, dead baby not included"

Many motorists did not speed away from the ghostly apparition in terror, but stopped to investigate -- and buy her grilled pork and Isan sausage. Now, Ms Nannaphat said, she will increase her output to meet rising demand.

(Video clip via Sunthorn Pongpao)