玄澤師傅 ·
Someone asked: "Master, if a haunted building is demolished and rebuilt, is it still haunted?" My answer is: after rebuilding, the configuration is assessed anew. The old matters are worth knowing, but what determines how I look at a home is its current sitting and facing, its layout, the current period's fortunes, and the people who live in it.
I do not agree that "once something has happened, it is forever inauspicious," nor do I accept that "once renovated, it is certainly auspicious." Both statements are too lazy. If feng shui is reduced to listening to stories and sticking on labels, then what do we still need a compass and a floor plan for? What follows is my traditional feng shui interpretation.
First, let us break open the word "inauspicious"
Hong Kong has no unified legal definition of a "haunted property." When people talk about haunted properties, they usually think of unnatural deaths such as murder, suicide, or serious accidents. This is a market and folk term; when I look at feng shui, I need to look further at the house's configuration.
If an elderly person of advanced age passes away peacefully at home, I first think of a "good death," not an "inauspicious" one. A home that accompanied someone to live in peace into old age, through a long life, is in traditional thinking that values blessing and longevity actually a cherished good omen. To call such a home a haunted property as well seems to me both inaccurate and a betrayal of the four words "passing away peacefully at home."
To me, death itself is not a ruler for measuring whether a residence is auspicious or inauspicious. To assess a house, put your eyes back on the house.
Sitting and facing, and layout, are where analysis begins
Form looks at the terrain and surroundings; compass method looks at direction and timing. Rebuilding changes the building's form, entrance, and partitions, so my judgment must follow the new conditions. Ordinary renovation depends on what exactly was changed; changing wallpaper or a sofa is a different matter from altering qi intake and layout.
The sitting and facing must be measured to the twenty-four mountains, not settled by hearing "roughly facing south." When I get a floor plan, I first look at the door, bed, and stove: how the main door takes in qi, how the bed is placed, and which palace the kitchen and toilet fall in. If a beam presses on the head of the bed or a place where someone sits for long periods, I tend to adjust the usage position first; if the kitchen and toilet configuration has problems, I start from the layout. This is far more practical than hanging a auspicious ornament at the door and then expecting all problems to disappear on their own.
The nine palaces flying stars must be read together with the house chart
I do not like taking only an annual nine palaces flying star chart and pronouncing judgment on the whole home. The house chart is the base, and the annual stars are that year's changes; the two must be overlaid. The palaces where the main door, bedrooms, and kitchen are located, and where residents move about each day, are all key points of analysis.
My order is clear: first determine sitting and facing and the house's fortune, then look at layout, then overlay the annual stars. Staring only at one star this year instead causes the house itself to be overlooked. To cast the chart, prepare the measured sitting and facing, a floor plan, and the year of completion or major rebuilding, so the judgment has a foundation.
A good house must also suit the destiny of those who live in it
A house does not exist in isolation; the match between people and house is very important in my judgment. For the same unit, if the residents change, I will look anew at the eight characters' favorable and unfavorable elements, room arrangements, and frequently used positions.
The five elements are also not a fill-in-the-blank game of "supplement whatever is missing." Favorable and unfavorable elements must be seen from the whole eight characters and then matched with the house configuration. I advocate first arranging how people use the space, then discussing furnishings; in a family with several members, bedrooms can be arranged individually, while shared areas must take the main users into account. A good layout should serve the people living within it.
Garry Building: old matters remain, the new configuration is read anew
Garry Building suffered a severe fire in 1996. China Resources Property records state that the company unified its ownership in 2007 and later rebuilt it as Jordan Hub.
For rebuilt properties of this kind, my attitude is: remember the history, look at the configuration anew. The post-rebuilding form, entrance, use, and internal arrangement are the starting point for today's analysis. I will not let an old name pass judgment on a new building. As for the specific auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, the current sitting and facing and house chart must be brought out for discussion, not guessed from a fire story.
Abby Choi case: I am more wary of the evil of the living
The Abby Choi case brought attention to Lung Mei Village in Tai Po. What this matter made me feel is that the evil of the living is often more terrifying than imaginings about the dead. Focusing entirely on "whether the deceased will leave something behind" makes it easy to forget that what truly harms people is the behavior of the living.
I am willing to respect the deceased and also willing to face the human heart. If the relevant place is rebuilt in the future, I will still look at it according to the new house's sitting and facing, layout, flying stars, and the residents' eight characters; this is a discussion assuming future rebuilding. Letting the deceased rest in peace and letting current residents live well is more meaningful than letting fear spread among neighbors.
Settling the four corners, and beginning new life well
For residents who mind an old home's history and also accept this custom, I support settling the four corners before moving in, accompanied by a yin contract. Inform with respect, pray through ritual, put old matters down, and welcome new life in. My position is: the house configuration must be put in order, and the heart must also be settled.
The meaning of settling the four corners lies in respect and peace of mind, not in buying an insurance policy against disaster. Once the ritual is done, the door, bed, and stove must also be arranged well, and fire safety and residential safety must be taken care of even more; doing these things together is the move-in preparation I endorse.
My conclusion: look at the house, the people, and the time
Whether a "haunted property" is inauspicious or auspicious, the focus of my reading is the unit's sitting and facing, interior layout, including beams, toilet, kitchen, and the configuration of door, bed, and stove, together with the house chart, that year's nine palaces flying stars, and the residents' eight characters. Demolition, renovation, and past events are background, not the final verdict.
After rebuilding, assess the configuration anew; when residents change, look anew at the match between people and house. I will not reject a home with a good death just because of the word "death"; nor will I give up analysis of a place with a tragic history just because of the word "inauspicious."
If you want to ask Master Xuanze whether this house suits you, bring the floor plan, sitting and facing, year of completion or rebuilding, and the residents' birth year, month, day, and time. We start from these materials and see the house, the people, and the time clearly together.
References (verification date: October 8, 2026)
Estate Agents Authority: Legal definition of haunted properties and differences in understanding
https://smart.eaa.org.hk/en-GB/other/47
China Resources Property: Development history, 2007 entries for Garry Building and Jordan Hub
https://www.crep.com.hk/en/fazhan/index.html
Radio Television Hong Kong: Background information on the Abby Choi case
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1872436-20261002.htm
Editorial update: October 8, 2026.