The Ghost Villas of Kep

Kep · Kambodja · Abandoned site

Khmer folk belief holds that those who die violently remain as restless spirits — which is why Kep's ruined villas are called the ghost houses.

Locals do not call them ruins but the ghost houses. In Khmer folk belief, those who die a violent death remain on the spot as restless spirits, and the war left plenty of them behind in Kep. Many avoid the gutted villas after nightfall, and visitors describe how the silence between the empty stairwells and overgrown terraces settles like a damp blanket.

In the 1950s and 60s the seaside town of Kep was Cambodia's riviera, lined with daring modernist villas where the country's elite and international stars partied. The war of the 1970s emptied the town in one stroke, and today about a hundred shells remain, half swallowed by the jungle above the sea.

FAQ

Where is The Ghost Villas of Kep located?

The Ghost Villas of Kep is in Kep, Kambodja.