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I can only imagine what it would be like for a tourist from some far off country to inadvertently disembark in the United States right in time for the Halloween holiday. Stepping off the plane to be surrounded by blood-covered nurses, mad scientists and cackling witchcraft wielders would be extremely traumatizing for someone not specifically told that people are going to be walking around in costume like it’s no big deal.

Well, now I sort of have an idea of what that might feel like now that I’ve watched this YouTube video of a Taiwanese bus company that decided to replace its bus driver with a creepy zombie for Taiwan’s annual Hungry Ghost Festival.

The festival supposedly takes place on the 15th night of the 7th month of every year. If you’re wondering why I didn’t just say “July 15,” remember that this is on the Chinese lunar calendar so there’s a little bit of shift going on year to year.

This holiday is said to take place at a time when the spirits of the deceased are free to re-enter the real world and roam among the living, and, as with most holidays, the living (and, in this case, presumably the dead, too) use it as a prime excuse to get slobber-faced drunk and eat a ton of awesome food.

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This particular bus company apparently allowed at least one of its drivers to dress up in the traditional ghostly garb of the Jiang Shi – a type of zombie/vampire hybrid that apparently can only move by hopping around. Well… or driving a bus, I guess.

News reports say that the costume took a lot of riders by surprise, with one man supposedly taking one glance up at the driver and nearly falling back out of the bus as he reeled in horror. How that guy could have missed the bus’ outrageous paint job is anybody’s guess, though.

Rather than the costume being just for kicks, the driver says he dresses up so that other cosplaying vampires will feel comfortable coming in for a ride. But would anyone really feel comfortable getting a ride from this guy?

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Source: Stomp