If you’ve been to Thailand, you have seen the spirit houses that sit outside local Thai houses and businesses. Spirit houses can be found outside almost every home and place of work in Thailand.
Normally the spirit house is a replica of a small house or temple. The spirit house plays an important role in Thai life where folk law and beliefs about ancestors, spirits, and ghosts have a strong influence on daily life.
Spirit houses come in many forms. In the rural areas of Thailand, they may be a simple humble wooden structure placed in the corner of a rice field. In both rural and urban homes they may be a colourful and ornate concrete structure placed in the garden. In city centers, the spirit house may be a large modern structure placed near the entrance of an office complex or hotel.
Thailand is a very superstitious country; it is believed that the spirit house is the home of the spirit of the land or the so-called ‘Lord of the land’.
It is believed that the ‘Lord of the land’ has powers that can influence almost everything from agricultural success in rural areas to financial success and safety at home. Providing a home or shelter for these spirits is like taking out an insurance policy, by keeping the spirits happy you will remain safe and protected. If the spirits are not happy who knows what they can do!
