All the participants needed to do were to lie in a shut coffin for 3 seconds and strike a pose when the coffin cover reopens. Shopping in a shopping center couldn’t get any stranger or more sinister than that.

Apparently the organizer got the idea from an actual ritual that is getting popular in Thailand and was the genesis for this upcoming Thai Horror movie. The actual ritual which involved getting enclosed in a coffin with monks chanting during the process was said to prolong life and get rid of bad luck.

You would think that the general Singaporean would be too Pantang (Malay word for Malay bad luck, superstitious) to try this out but there was a long queue of people waiting for their 3 seconds of coffin time. Keeping in mind that this is not an actual ritual, which meant that no monks were offering blessing and it’s not exactly a real coffin. But all sort of people came and took part in the challenge. Different races, age group and gender came to lie in a “coffin” before their time is actually up.

For their “bravery”, they will be getting a Hong Bao (red packet). Inside the Hong Bao, there a pair of tickets for the Gala première of The Coffin at The Cathay on the 22nd of October and a Totto ticket ( just in case their luck really change for the better after the Coffin experience). One participant with the best pose will walk away with a 5 hundred dollars worth of DVDs from Scorpio East.

If you missed this chance at scoring a pair of Gala tickets for the premiere of The Coffin, fret not as The Coffin starring Karen Mok (Wait till you are older) and Ananda Everingham (Me … Myself & Pleasure Factory) will open on the 30 October 2008 at all good cinemas.

In the meantime, let’s see if anyone really hit the jackpot with the Toto ticket.

"The Coffin" movie page is right here