Creepy images have been released showing a long-abandoned mansion in Thailand where a harrowing triple murder took place.
Once the home of an affluent young family, the house is now the domain of snakes and monitor lizards; a crumbling reminder of the unsolved murder that occurred within its walls five decades ago.
Located in Samut Sakhon, around 30 kilometres outside of Bangkok, the isolated mansion is a far cry from the beautiful family home it once was; weathered by time and scorched by frequent arson attacks.
Check out footage of the now derelict property below:
The tragic history of the property reached the ears of American urban explorer and photographer Dax Ward, 39, who went on to conduct extensive research into the case.
Ward, who has lived and travelled in Asia for almost 15 years, explained:
According to my research, in the late 1970s, a family of three – a husband, wife, and child – moved into the local community,
They were outsiders, half Chinese-Thai, and they ran a business of some sort. Their business did well, so they built a brand-new house which was one of the nicest in the town. Although it’s fairly built up nowadays, when it was built, it was relatively remote and isolated.
The success and wealth of the family drew a lot of attention – which ultimately cost the family their lives. It seems a small group of thieves saw an opportunity to steal some cash and/or expensive goods and broke in one night.
As there were no neighbours around and no busy roads, they knew that there would be little risk of drawing attention.
Ward, who also works as a technology teacher, continued:
The burglary seems to have got out of hand and the criminals murdered the entire family and took whatever cash and valuables they could. They got away and as far as anyone knows, they’ve never been caught.
The house now sits mostly uninhabited, has been subject to numerous arson attacks and is frequently used as a drug den. A number of snakes and monitor lizards also call the mansion home, and the whole structure is deeply unsafe.
Despite not being a particularly spiritual person, Ward couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease during his time at the house, during which he encountered various eerie sights including a rusty old knife and a haunting message scrawled in red lettering.
According to Ward:
I didn’t know specific details of what happened at the house while I was there, I knew that something bad had happened, but didn’t really know that three people had been brutally slaughtered there.
It was certainly eerie, but at the time I was mainly concerned with the instability of the structure itself. The top floor was very difficult and perilous to access, the stairs having been burnt out in fires.
I had to climb up the remaining charred boards on either side while carrying all of my equipment and trying not to step on a nail and fall three metres. Also there were several spots on the upper floor that I’m fairly sure I could have fallen through if I had stepped on them.
The house had a number of everyday living items such as plates, kitchen utensils, shoes, lamps, a mattress, and some rudimentary furniture, but much of the items were very old and boxed up. It didn’t look as if any of it had been used in quite some time.
There was an old, rusty knife lying on the upper floor which I found to be a bit creepy. It is awful to imagine the horrific crime that was committed there and to think that justice was never served to the murderers.
In Thailand, great respect is given to the spirits of the departed, and so several large ‘spirit houses’ have been built close so that the souls of the family might find peace and solace after their violent deaths.
However, the atmosphere at the property is undoubtedly chilling, whether or not you believe in ghost stories. According to Ward, particular superstition is placed on the striking glass dome skylight, which locals believe to be a harbinger of bad luck.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.