Ghost House

Living on Koh Samui I get to absorb the Thai culture & the sometimes crazy island life!

There are a great many mysteries here, which are fun to explore. I am not going to elaborate on the subject of the difference between beautiful girls & beautiful ladyboys, or the Thai alchohol purchasing laws, although they are both worth further consideration!

I am fascinated by the ghost house known here as Spirit Houses, so much so that I sell little replicas of them! Raised above the ground on a high platforms, outside of homes & businesses here on the island. Even business like Thai airlines, Thai restaurants and bars. Some elaborate & very ornate with mirrors, lights, & lots of glittery decoration, others much simpler. The one outside my Thai house is painted in bright cheerful colours,covered in tiny figures, and vases with flowers.

These Spirit Houses are believed to provide a special shelter for the spirits,or celestial beings, who would otherwise reside in the heavens, so this is the home of the spiritual guardian of the property.

Spirit Worship is traced back in history to when Tai's migrated from the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam to all parts of Southeast Asia. Buddhism also came to Southeast Asia, these beliefs developed side by side. Some of the old animistic beliefs are intertwined with Buddhism and some animistic practices still exist in Thailand. One practiced by every Thai is the Spirit House


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Spirits watch over and protect the home
Spirits can be good or evil
Most are mischevious
Spirit houses are built by only Expert Spirit House Builders, who must exercise all necessary rituals so that the invited spirits will find it an acceptable earthly abode.
Offerings to the resident spirit may include flowers, food such as meat, fruit and rice. Candles and incense are also seen, the incense lit daily.

Now we can appreciate why the spirit houses need to be treated with care! If a new spirit house is created, to replace an old one. there is a ceremony to ensure that the spirit moves from the old house to the new. Once this is all completed the old spirit house will be discarded, at, or near a temple or Wat.
This explains the old, rickity and abandoned looking spirit houses all piled together, on the side of the road. It seems that when a spirt house is discarded it is put with others which have suffered the same fate! Yes, those piles of spirit houses are deliberate.

Thai Silk

The history of Thai silk is equally as colourful & exotic as the legends of where silk itself originated, some say that it was first discovered in China by Empress Si Ling Chi. The Empress was relaxing under a mulberry tree, enjoying a cup of tea. A silk worm cocoon fell from the tree and landed in her teacup. As she removed it the fine thread started to unravel.



For centuries the Chinese guarded their secret of how to make silk. Raw silk was considered the cloth of the gods and emperors and produced great wealth within the country. Anyone found guilty of selling or transporting silk worms, cocoons or mulberry trees was put to death.

Fragments of pure silk 3,000 years old have been found among the ruins in Baan Chiang, northeast Thailand. Thai silk and Laos silk production has developed over time to become one of the most distinctive types of silk.

Making silk requires knowledge and understanding, and much of current spinning and weaving practice in the silk process is still respectful of tradition. Different silks produced in different regions of the world exhibit distinctly different characteristics.

How silk is made-

Mulberry silk is a natural product made by the silk worm – the caterpillar of a type of silk moth that feeds on the mulberry bush. Kept in a silk house, the silkworms are fed fresh mulberry foliage everyday. As the silkworm reaches pupate stage it spins a cocoon. This silk cocoon is placed in a vat of boiling water to remove the threads. Weavers are known to sing silk songs as they work their looms.



Thai silk fabric is not cheap silk; it’s one of the most unique and stunning textile products in the world. High quality silk production in the Thai silk industry is instrumental in the countries development.

Some interesting facts about silk!

· Raw silk is a natural product made by the silkworm, this is the caterpillar of a type of moth which feeds on the mulberry bush
· Thailand silk has beautiful natural textures and designs unique to Thailand
· Silk cloth resists rot, in ancient times it was used as shrouds & closing sutures in surgery
· Being strong & light it makes ideal silk parachutes, silk stockings and silk body, even silk postcards, silk hankies, hat silk, and silk wallpaper
· Silk burns completely leaving no residue
· Silk weaving in different countries of the world produces a different type of silk, the finished silks all have very different characteristics
· Thai silk saw a massive increase in popularity and sales when Her Majesty the Queen (Thailand) included dresses made of silk in her tour wardrobe
· Painting on silk, creating vibrant orange silk, red silk, green silk, and a myriad of rainbow colours has been practised for centuries, leading to the modern day craft of screen printing

Thai silk jewelry box	Thai silk boxes

Find silk online, gift boxes with a Thai silk top. Planning to buy silk? Why not indulge at our silk shop