Tat Tak School.

I have always been interested in all things paranormal so when I heard that there was a creepy, abandoned and “haunted” school nearby I jumped at the opportunity to pay it a visit. Now, it should be said that I do not believe in ghosts, spirits or demons of any kind but have always found these things very interesting. The school is located about a kilometre from Tin Shui Wai MTR station, which is nearby my place of work so I got ready and myself, my sister and two other friends of ours headed out for an afternoon of spooky urban exploring on Valentine’s Day.

Tat Tak School is in an area very close to the Tin Shui Wai MTR called Ping Shan and was operational between 1974 and 1998. Rumour has it that the school headmistress committed suicide in one of the school bathrooms while wearing a red coat. Apparently, visitors have seen an apparition wearing similar attire in the corridors near the bathrooms. The area surrounding the school also serves as a gravesite for many past residents who died during the British and Japanese occupations in the early 20th century.

We took the Tsuen Wan West MTR to the Tin Shui Wai station and made our way down Tsui Sing Road onto a short section of the Ping Shan Heritage Trail before turning left and walking through a parking lot towards the Tang and Yu Kiu Ancestral Halls which are the main ancestral halls of the Tang Clan of Ping Shan. The two courtyards inside are rather sublime and extremely well built and made for a great little detour and a good photo opportunity. Interestingly, the Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall actually housed Tat Tak School between 1931 and 1961.

We then continued on to Ping Shan Chuk Lam road before making a slight left on to Ping Shan Nam Pak road which continued to wind around a corner until we came upon the abandoned school. We had to climb over one or two fences to get in to the grounds but once inside I think we all felt a rather uneasy sense that we shouldn’t be there. We were greeted by overgrown weeds on what was once a basketball court no doubt used by many a happy child in the distant past. There was nothing overtly happy about this place and after a small walk on a path overcome with weeds, trees and thorns, we came upon the school building.

The school appeared as a rather sinister looking building in amongst some very green trees, almost hidden by the colour of its exterior. The mouldy green and brown walls blended in with the natural surroundings, really displaying how nature has taken back this school as one of its own. We had to climb one more small fence and once that was done, we were in. Now, I will say that this place is EERIE. Something in the air doesn’t feel right and when you aren’t hearing the sounds of birds chirping or cars driving nearby it is strangely silent. I also noticed the complete lack of birds inside the building itself, as if they were being kept away by some unseen force.

There was a small doorway on our right which we used to enter the main courtyard of the school, a big, empty slab of concrete which I imagined was once filled with children playing, talking about life, lessons and everything else they could dream up. Now it was a mess, covered in dried up leaves which crunched each time they were stepped on.

On each side of the courtyard is a row of classrooms with bathrooms and a staircase at each end leading to the second floor. I took one of these staircases and looked around one of the bathrooms, noticing the recently discarded cigarette packs left by other visitors. Doors no longer on hinges, blocks of tiles scraped off walls and bricks splashed on the floor were a few of the things that greeted me upon inspection of the corridor and classrooms. Some of the graffiti left in many of the classrooms was quite interesting and, in some cases, quite unsettling, but I carried on exploring nonetheless.

I then noticed a statue on the floor below me, a statue of the Virgin Mary. This was definitely rather creepy and thoughts raced through my mind as to why this was here; to ward off evil spirits perhaps? We then explored a large hall which looks as though it could have been used for assemblies, stage productions or even an area in which lunches were served. Broken windows and walls with peeled off paint were noticeable everywhere and one had to beware of where they were stepping due to the shards of broken glass on the floor.

We then came upon what is no doubt one of the most unsettling things I have seen in a while. In one of the lower floor bathrooms, we came across a noose hanging in one of the toilet stalls. The rope was thick and mouldy indicating it had been there for quite some time. I immediately cast my mind to the stories of the old headmistress who had committed suicide in one of the bathrooms and I was actually overcome with a sense of dread. I think my feelings were shared amongst the whole group as we all decided at that point we would rather leave than stay much longer, which we then did.

Overall, this was a fun excursion with some frightening moments for sure. The air at the school is definitely different, uneasy, full of dread and an imposing sense of doom. I heard many a noise which I could attribute to birds in nearby trees or the wind blowing a dry leaf across the concrete floor or one of the other group members. However, every now and again I heard something I could not attribute to anything, which I am sure was just my mind playing tricks on me, which I’m sure would happen at a place like this, but was it maybe something else? Something more sinister perhaps? Perhaps you should go and find out for yourself?