Thai Spirit Mediums and the Mae Nak Shrine

Record summary

The Mae Nak shrine at Wat Mahabut in Bangkok is associated with the famous Thai ghost narrative of Mae Nak Phra Khanong and with ongoing offerings, petitions, fortune practices, and spirit-medium activity. Contemporary visitors treat the site as a practical religious destination, while films, television, and folklore continually reshape the story. It is valuable for comparing gendered ghost narratives, household protection, lottery divination, shrine economies, and media transmission. The historical existence of Mae Nak as narrated in popular tradition is not independently established in the same way as the shrine’s current practices.