Phi Ta Khon has portrayed the finest cultures and customs of Dan Sai District, Loei Province. It is assumed that the origin of the legend derived from the story of a couple whose love was oppressed, so they needed to hide in a big cave where the treasure of Phra That Sri Song Rak Temple was kept. Unfortunately, the cave was blocked accidentally resulting in the death of the couple who later became spirits: Chao Pho Guan and Chao Mae Nang Tiem. Both of them had protected PhraThat since then, and a lot of spirits came to be their subordinates thereafter. It is believed that when the ‘Boon Phaves Festival’ arrived, all of the spirits would appear on earth to join the parade worshipping PhraUbpakut. The villagers called them ‘Phi Tam Khon’ (the spirits follow the humans), but later the calling has changed to be ‘Phi Ta Khon’.
It is quite impressive that Thailand has a wide variety of places for tourism. Phi Ta Khon is not as scary as everyone thinks about, but they are enjoyable and renowned around the world. There are plenty of traditional recreations and unique cultures. We should encourage the locals to preserve their folklores and customs by holding cultural activities for this will create awareness. The life-style and origin of the locals have been reflected through the picture of The Ghostly Masks.