Heroic Indonesian Villagers Are Dressing Up As Ghosts To Patrol The Streets And Scare Locals Back Into Their Homes

Reuters

KEPUH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Kepuh village in Indonesia has been haunted by ghosts recently – mysterious white figures jumping out at unsuspecting passersby, then gliding off under a full-moon sky.

The village on Java island has deployed a cast of “ghosts” to patrol the streets, hoping that age-old superstition will keep people indoors and safely away from the coronavirus.

“We wanted to be different and create a deterrent effect because ‘pocong’ are spooky and scary,” said Anjar Pancaningtyas, head of a village youth group that coordinated with the police on the unconventional initiative to promote social distancing as the coronavirus spreads.

I LOVE this move. Rule number one of life: don't fuck with cats ghosts. No one should. Whether they're fake or not, ghosts are bad news bears. A few weeks ago when I was quarantined all alone in my apartment I was convinced there was a ghost downstairs. He would run the water in the sink and knock down dormant shower curtains like it was his job. I was horrified to face him so I stayed holed up in my room (yeah we have two floors) and out of is way Now he's got the whole place to himself and God knows what chaos he's causing. Whatever that may be there's nothing we can do. He's a ghost and he does whatever he pleases. Those are the rules. 

The President of Indonesia has resisted a national lockdown for whatever dumb reason and has instead encouraged people to just practice social distancing. Idiot. This has inspired heroic members of the community to dress up as ghosts and scare anyone who ventures outside for no reason. Genius. What are two ways to prevent people from going outside? 1) Threaten them with writing "I'm sorry" 500 times as punishment 2) Impersonate ghosts to scare them away. Just picture Frank the Tank screaming like this at the :20 second mark in a ghost costume. Problem solved, streets are clean.

These guys are heroes as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully they're able to stay safe themselves and avoid the virus while they're keeping the streets clea. They also have to worry about actual ghosts getting pissed off at their impersonation job and coming after them in their homes. Last thing you want is an angry ghost terrorizing your every move. Keep your head on a swivel boys.