Peter Nordgren's Blog
October 3, 2025
Beneath the Statue of Pho Kasaem
One of Lampang's Hidden Secrets...
In 2008, on one of those dry, hot days with nothing to do and no one to talk to, we found ourselves aimlessly riding our bikes through an as of yet unexplored muban (neighborhood) on the northern edge of Lampang city. The street of the muban was narrower and twistier than most (which is saying a lot), and we found ourselves partially lost among the cinder block walls and clusters of overgrown vegetation.
After a few minutes of dawdling about, looking for someone new to talk to, we rather unexpectedly emerged next to a shrine overlooking a barren open area alongside the Wang River:
Looming inside the shrine was the statue of Luang Pho Kasaem Kemagoh, a descendant of the aristocratic Na-Lampang family. Born in 1912, he travelled to Bangkok in 1927 to study the Pali language before returning to his home province where he was ordained a monk at Wat Bunyeun at age 21. He furthered his studies across northern Thailand and brushed shoulders with some of the most famous and revered monks of his day. He then took up residence at Sasahn Sahlahwangthan, a cemetery in Lampang.
Pho Kasaem was highly respected for his religious devotion, which included a 49 day fast and a 3 month mediation in which he sat without any shelter under the hot sun and rain. Starting in 1971, he only bathed once a year but those around him claimed there was never any stench or foul odor due to his purity. And apparently, he never suffered a single mosquito bite.
Pho Kasaem's only earthly possessions consisted of an alm bowl, his monk robes, and a piece of human bone used during mediation. He would pass on anything else that was given to him to other monks. He refused all luxuries, including a pillow to sleep on.
Pho Kasaem died in 1995 at the age of 83.
In Eastern Shadows, Shane's journey leads him to northern Thailand, where he is summoned to a clandestine meeting beneath the statue of Pho Kasaem. There are many statues of the revered monk scattered throughout the province, but the one in the story is meant to be the very same one I came across on that day when there was nothing to do but aimlessly explore the fringes of the city.
However, not all is as it seems at the statue:
"The revered monk sat high above, his lips curled into a hint of a smile. The canned lights surrounding the effigy’s head cast shadows over his face. The monk’s jutting brow prevented the light from illuminating the sunken eye sockets, like a leering skull.
Had it been daytime, the open space would have given them a view of their surroundings, but there were no street lights. It was dark enough that they couldn’t see more than ten feet around them. It gave the night a cold, lifeless feel, as if a fog of claustrophobia had rolled in just for them."
Clearly, I started to let my imagination run wild. To be honest, I never actually visited the statue at night. But the open space, quiet surroundings, and the Naga staircase leading down to the riverbank just lend themselves so well to the story!
Wanna know where to find this particular statue? Google Maps has you covered.
Be sure to subscribe on my website for more story insights and inspiration, as well as exclusive chapter sneak peeks.
Eastern Shadows will be released in all formats on December 15, 2025. You can pre-order the ebook now.
In 2008, on one of those dry, hot days with nothing to do and no one to talk to, we found ourselves aimlessly riding our bikes through an as of yet unexplored muban (neighborhood) on the northern edge of Lampang city. The street of the muban was narrower and twistier than most (which is saying a lot), and we found ourselves partially lost among the cinder block walls and clusters of overgrown vegetation.
After a few minutes of dawdling about, looking for someone new to talk to, we rather unexpectedly emerged next to a shrine overlooking a barren open area alongside the Wang River:
Looming inside the shrine was the statue of Luang Pho Kasaem Kemagoh, a descendant of the aristocratic Na-Lampang family. Born in 1912, he travelled to Bangkok in 1927 to study the Pali language before returning to his home province where he was ordained a monk at Wat Bunyeun at age 21. He furthered his studies across northern Thailand and brushed shoulders with some of the most famous and revered monks of his day. He then took up residence at Sasahn Sahlahwangthan, a cemetery in Lampang.
Pho Kasaem was highly respected for his religious devotion, which included a 49 day fast and a 3 month mediation in which he sat without any shelter under the hot sun and rain. Starting in 1971, he only bathed once a year but those around him claimed there was never any stench or foul odor due to his purity. And apparently, he never suffered a single mosquito bite.
Pho Kasaem's only earthly possessions consisted of an alm bowl, his monk robes, and a piece of human bone used during mediation. He would pass on anything else that was given to him to other monks. He refused all luxuries, including a pillow to sleep on.
Pho Kasaem died in 1995 at the age of 83.
In Eastern Shadows, Shane's journey leads him to northern Thailand, where he is summoned to a clandestine meeting beneath the statue of Pho Kasaem. There are many statues of the revered monk scattered throughout the province, but the one in the story is meant to be the very same one I came across on that day when there was nothing to do but aimlessly explore the fringes of the city.
However, not all is as it seems at the statue:
"The revered monk sat high above, his lips curled into a hint of a smile. The canned lights surrounding the effigy’s head cast shadows over his face. The monk’s jutting brow prevented the light from illuminating the sunken eye sockets, like a leering skull.
Had it been daytime, the open space would have given them a view of their surroundings, but there were no street lights. It was dark enough that they couldn’t see more than ten feet around them. It gave the night a cold, lifeless feel, as if a fog of claustrophobia had rolled in just for them."
Clearly, I started to let my imagination run wild. To be honest, I never actually visited the statue at night. But the open space, quiet surroundings, and the Naga staircase leading down to the riverbank just lend themselves so well to the story!
Wanna know where to find this particular statue? Google Maps has you covered.
Be sure to subscribe on my website for more story insights and inspiration, as well as exclusive chapter sneak peeks.
Eastern Shadows will be released in all formats on December 15, 2025. You can pre-order the ebook now.
