Wang Saen Suk

After a series of relatively peaceful, spiritual scenes, the visitor turns a corner to see a diorama depicting Buddhist hell.

Two large figures named 'Nai Ngean' and 'Nang Thong' stand high above the tortured souls of the garden; their emaciated appearance, long necks and distended bellies seems to mark them as Preta, the 'hungry ghosts' of Thai folklore.

These animalistic characterisations reflect the nature of each soul's sin; plaques at the feet of each feature inscriptions such as:[2] Ones who make a corruption are punished in the hell, they are named as the spirits of the pigs.Ones who sell the habit-performing drugs are punished in the hell, they are named as the spirits of the cows.Other designations include the ungrateful becoming tigers, jealous people being named rabbits and bird heads given to those who steal cooked rice.

These include depictions of human sinners being ripped apart by the dogs of Hell,[5] burnt alive in boiling cauldrons,[5] disembowelled by birds,[6] and having their heads replaced with those of animals.

They also detail the sins likely to incur the depicted torture; these range from a woman being crushed in a vice for having an abortion and a man having his head savagely knocked off for undermining Buddhism.

The central area of Wang Saen Suk, featuring the Pretas and tortured souls, June 2013