Exorcism Complete at Chaonei 81: Beijing’s Spookiest House is No Longer Haunted

We can't go a few months without wondering what has become of our favorite 100-year-old Beijing haunted house, 81 Chaoyanmennei Dajie. For those unfamiliar with this notorious hotspot of paranormal activity, here’s a quick catch-up: the complex, made up of two French Baroque-style mansions, was built in 1910 by the American Catholic Church and was later used as a Chinese language school to train foreign missionaries. The buildings sat unoccupied from 1949, which allowed for plenty of imaginations to run wild and deem that it must have been haunted, which in turn led it to become a top tourist attraction, and even the protagonist in the 2014 Chinese horror movie The House That Never Dies.

RELATED: Good and Bad News For Beijing’s Most Haunted House, Chaonei 81

Chaonei 81 has been getting a facelift since March of this year, (check our last visit in September), with those behind the project claiming that the remodelling would be complete by October 3. Sadly, the program got delayed (probably due to pesky ghosts joyriding construction equipment around the site and tossing hammers out of windows), and is still not yet open. Upon our visit this afternoon (Dec 28), the front gate remained locked and there was nothing but a stray dog looking longingly at what would probably make for a fun poochie hangout spot.

However, according to Beijing Morning Post, the renovations have in fact been completed, and all three residents are gone, although the article doesn't say whether they were kicked out or vanished in mysterious circumstances (cue "oooooooo"-ing noises). Meng Qi, office director of Beijing Catholic Diocese took the Beijing Morning Post journo inside to have a look, showing that the old graffiti had been covered with a lick of new paint, new rosewood doors now mark entry into every room, a brand-new wooden floor has replaced the old dirty concrete, and even the stairs to the basement have been fixed, leaving no trace of hauntedness. 

Meng told the Beijing Morning Post that “we will soon take the wall outside Chaonei 81 down and replace it with a fence. Beginning next spring at the earliest, we will also rebuild the inner bungalows to make them match the main building.” Meng added that, “after the construction, Chaonei 81 is no longer haunted, nor will it be open to the public. It will be rented out as an office building.”

It seems then that this historic building may lose some interest from urban explorers and tourists alike now that the only thing that Chaonei 81 is destined to be haunted by are business-minded zombies.

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Images: Beijing Morning Post, Tracy Wang