Everyone loves a good ghost story. In Thailand, the spirit-world comes closest to us in June with the Phi Ta Khon festival, an event filled with fun, mischief and of course, a touch of the unknown.

The Phi Ta Khon Festival is quite unique to Thailand and unrivalled by any other ghost festival. Held in Dan Sai district of Loei province, about 450 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, this year's event falls on June 12-14. Phi Ta Khon is part of a Buddhist merit-making holiday known locally as "Boon Phra Vet." The precise origin of Phi Ta Khon is unclear. But it is believed that the roots of the festival revolve around an important tale of the Buddha's last life, before he reached nirvana.

Phi Ta Khon is held with the arrival of the sixth or seventh lunar month. Young male villagers prepare their ghostly attire and masks, while children roam around town playing tricks. Participants of the festival dress up like ghosts and monsters wearing huge masks made from carved coconut-tree trunks, topped with a wicker-work sticky-rice steamer. The procession is marked by a lot of music and dancing. The spirit masks are the integral part of the celebrations, which last for three consecutive days.

The first day is marked by a masked procession, accompanied by rejoicing, music, and dancing. On the second day, the villagers dance their way to the temple and fire off bamboo rockets to signal the end of the procession. Along the way, they tease onlookers as they accompany a sacred image of the Buddha through the village streets. Monks recite the story of the Buddha's last incarnation before attaining enlightenment.

The festival organizers also hold contests for the best masks, costumes, and dancers, and plaques are awarded to the winners in each age group. The most popular event is the dancing contest among those dressed up as ghosts.

On the last day of the event, the villagers gather at the local temple, Wat Ponchai, to listen to the message of the thirteen sermons of the Lord Buddha, recited by the local monks. The ghost dancers then put away their ghostly masks and costumes for another year, return to the paddy fields and continue to earn their living with the onset of the new crop season.