Lost Taiwanese Hiker Says 'Ghost Couple' Led Him to Safety

60-year-old Soong Rui-xiong, an employee of Formosa Heavy Industries, was missing for 10 days in the mountains of Pingtung in Taiwan before being found by an indigenous villager on November 20th, according to UDN and Taiwan News.

Soong said that he lost his glasses while climbing a rock wall early in his hike, and became disoriented. He stayed for several days in a cave he found, subsisting on stream water and natural sugar from plants, but soon realized he would have to leave if he was to survive.

According to Soong, after he left the cave he met a mysterious ghost couple, whom he believed to be the ancestral spirits of the indigenous Taiwanese people. The couple accompanied him for two hours, chatting about everyday life as they walked together, but eventually he realized they were no longer there. He turned to look for them, but they were gone, and he instead found the path leading to the foot of the mountain.

After his rescue, Soong expressed sincere gratitude to the 111 police officers and firefighters, 284 volunteers (including local hunters, and volunteers from International Search and Rescue and Formosa Heavy Industries), and two helicopters who had tirelessly searched for him.

Soong was said to be in good health after being found.

In some cultures, there is a great deal of overlap between spirits—both ancestral and nature—and faeries, with all three often encountered while lost in the wilderness. Whether Soong was rescued by one of these, or simply helpful hikers who disappeared after leading him to the trail, remains a mystery.

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