The Ghost Bride, originally named Xue Xin, was promised a dream life with a perfect husband before entering an arranged marriage. However, her husband revealed his true nature—an abusive man consumed by drinking, gambling, and rage. Xue Xin and her daughter endured his violence until her tragic end.

This project draws inspiration from the Chinese horror legend of the Ghost Bride. Her story reflects the tradition of arranged marriages in China, where women sacrificed personal desires for societal expectations, losing their freedom to choose their futures. The Ghost Bride’s design echoes a recurring theme in traditional Chinese horror: wronged women as figures of vengeance. This motif may stem from cultural fears tied to women’s historical oppression and silencing, making their suffering a powerful symbol of unresolved societal unease.

Later, I further developed the concept and visual outcomes of this project into my video game, Drown Ghost.