Los Angeles California - Lee Wong has owned Wong's Restaurant ever since 1984 when his father passed away. Lee and his wife Emily are the only employees in the small cafe and have worked hard to make it stand out among the 100's of other restaurants in the Asian district of LA Lee has done battle with corrupt health inspectors, racist produce salesman and even the introduction of a fast food take-out place that opened next door. That's one reason why he was prepared when a demon materialized in his kitchen on one June night.

Lee Wong displays the finger he cut off the demon that attacked him in his kitchen

"It was a Gui." Wong told me through his nephew who acted as an interpreter. (Lee speaks very limited English) "I was cleaning up after we had closed and all of sudden a pot of water tipped over from the stove. I turned around and thats when I saw the spirit and knew we had a Gui in the restaurant."

According to Chinese mythology, a Gui is a spirit made up of the negative yin components of a dead person's soul. They are characterized by wearing unhemed clothes and not having a shadow. Usually Gui can only be seen as a transparent shape but the one that attacked Wong was a little more serious.

"It approached closer to me and I could see that it was getting more solid.", Wong continued. "It's eyes were turning red. I screamed for Emily but she was outside sweeping. I knew I was in trouble so I grabbed for my knife and yelled at it to go away, that we had no money to give to it but we would have a feast next month"

It is traditional for people to burn special paper money in religious ceremonies as a gift to the Gui. Also the Feast of the Hungry Ghost is performed in July as an additional appeasement of particularly violent Gui.

"It did not listen to me but instead kept coming closer." Wong said. "It raised one arm back and swung it toward me. As it did I saw that the arm was becoming solid and I sliced at it with my knife. I cut it's finger off and it howled at me. Then with a poof it disappeared."

Wong motioned for his nephew and I to get up from the restaurant booth and follow him. He lead us to the kitchen area, opened the freezer door and pulled out a Tupperware bowl. Opening the container he grabbed a larger finger shaped object and handed it to me.

"Claw of the Gui." his nephew told me solemnly.

The piece of meat I held in my hand certainly looked like it came off something evil. It was approx. 6 inches long by 4 inches wide and 2 inches deep. It had 2 claws which extended for approx. 2 inches and there was a soft bone sticking out of the back where the item has been neatly lobbed off. The flesh was drying out from the freezer but still had a very strong odor. It looked and smelled bad.

"Claw of the Gui." I told Wong and handed it back to him.

Wong plans to burn the claw in a religious ceremony later this month. "If I burn it" Wong told me. "Then maybe Gui will get it back and be thankful. He will not come around here no more or I . ." Wong made a chopping motion with a butcher's knife. Then he smiled at me and put the claw back into the plastic tub and sat it back into the freezer.

"You write story. You tell everyone that Wong's is still open for business."

sources

-interview with Lee Wong on July 11th, 1999

photo by Derek Barnes