The Royal Thai government tourism and cultural page states that Mae Nak is a famous Thai ghost story tied to the Phra Khanong area and that the legend is commonly placed in the early Rattanakosin period, not specifically the mid-19th century. The page also notes the story is associated with Wat Mahabut near the canal area now known as Sukhumvit 77 in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district.

The article states that a leading Thai history writer, K.S.R. Kularb, published in Siam Praphet on March 10, 1899 and claimed that the story of Mae Nak was already known in the Phra Khanong area. This is presented as the documentary starting point for the legend in print.

According to local folklore, the story is based on events that took place during the reign of King Rama IV. The article identifies the origin area as Phra Khanong in Bangkok and says Mae Nak lived on the banks of the Phra Khanong Canal.

The article explains that K.S.R. Kulap wrote in the newspaper *Siam Prakat* (issue March, R.S. 118 / 1899) that the story "Am Daeng Nak Phra Khanong" was based on a real event which occurred "in the reign of King Rama III" (Phrabat Nangklao, r. 1824–1851). It notes that the ghost story of Mae Nak as recorded by Kulap was an incident in the reign of Rama III, not later, and that Rama III reigned between 1824–1851, before the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV, 1851–1868).

The legend says Nak died in childbirth while her husband Mak was away at war during the reign of King Rama III. It places the shrine in Wat Mahabut in the Phra Khanong area and describes Mae Nak as the ghost of the district’s most famous love story.

The culture office text states that Mae Nak Phra Khanong "was found" from the newspaper *Siam Prakat* dated 10 March 1899 by K.S.R. Kulap, and that this story "probably came from a real incident that happened in the late reign of King Rama III" about Am Daeng Nak, daughter of the headman of Phra Khanong, who died while still pregnant. It explicitly locates the origin of the legend in the Phra Khanong area, referring to her as "Am Daeng Nak Phra Khanong" and says the event took place in the late reign of Rama III, before Rama IV.

The events concerning Nang Nak are thought to have occurred in the 1830s, and Phrakanong at that time was a small riverside market town situated along the Phrakanong canal. The article presents the setting as a canal-side locality in early 19th-century Bangkok.

Imagine this: you are a newlywed, living in Thailand, then known as Siam. Your wife, Mae, is beautiful, and madly in love with you.[4] This is the same King Rama IV whose interactions with Anna Leonowens are depicted in Anna and the King and The King and I. The same King Rama IV who was known as “The Father of Science and Technology” in Siam.[4] Blaming the residents of the village for her husband’s abandonment, she persecuted the population of Phra Khanong, haunting them ceaselessly, until the renowned Tantric Buddhist Master Somdet To trapped her in an amulet. Either way, the spirit of Mae Nak stopped haunting the poor souls of Phra Khanong.[4]

The Wikipedia entry on "Mae Nak Phra Khanong" states that, from the newspaper *Siam Prakat* dated 10 March 1899 by K.S.R. Kulap, the story "seems to come from a real incident that occurred in the late reign of King Rama III" involving Am Daeng Nak, daughter of the headman of Phra Khanong, who died while still pregnant. It adds that people believe the story happened in the late reign of Rama III of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and that there is now a Mae Nak shrine at Wat Mahabut, Sukhumvit 77 (On Nut Road), in Suk Sawat district, Bangkok, near the Phra Khanong canal area.

The article says legend has it the events took place somewhere between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. It also notes that a more traditional version was uncovered in an old print from the late 1800s describing a woman named Nak in Phra Khanong.

The article recounts that K.S.R. Kulap’s piece in *Siam Prakat* (March 1899) describes the story of Am Daeng Nak Phra Khanong as an incident in the late reign of King Rama III, when she died while pregnant and her children, fearing their father would remarry and divide the property, pretended to be ghosts haunting passersby along the canal by throwing stones at boats at night. It notes that the husband of Am Daeng Nak was actually named Chum Tosakan, and clarifies that the phrase "Mae Nak" was originally spelled with *ko kai* (ก) not *kho khwai* (ค).

The RMUTT Radio cultural feature explains that the legend of "Mae Nak Phra Khanong" is a love story between the ghost Mae Nak, who died in childbirth, and her husband Mak. It states that the story is widely known and has been passed down for many generations, and that people "believe it is a true story that happened in the reign of King Rama IV". It also notes that a shrine to Mae Nak is located at Wat Mahabut, at On Nut 7 (Sukhumvit 77), in Suan Luang district, Bangkok, in the Phra Khanong canal area.

In an essay on Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram and Mae Nak Phra Khanong, The101.world notes that the survey about "Inak Phra Khanong" suggests the ghost story of a woman who died in childbirth and haunted the area around the Phra Khanong canal "was an oral legend (mukhpatha) that existed before the written text in the reign of King Rama V" by K.S.R. Kulap (born 1834, died 1921) which appeared in *Siam Prakat* in March R.S. 118 (A.D. 1899). The article therefore treats the story as already circulating in local oral tradition in the Phra Khanong canal area before being recorded in print in the late 19th century.

A Thai PBS social media post presenting old documents about Mae Nak Phra Khanong includes a comment summarizing that, according to historical information, "Nang Nak was born in the late period of King Rama III to the early period of King Rama IV". The post frames the Mae Nak story as based on historical documents and mentions that it concerns a woman of the Phra Khanong area whose story later became a famous ghost legend.

In this episode of Shadows of Siam, we tell the legend of Mae Nak and Mak from the canals of old Phra Khanong to the shrine at Wat Mahabut. The tale describes Mae Nak dying in childbirth while her husband is away at war, and her ghost continuing to live with him upon his return until he discovers the truth and flees to a temple.[10] The setting is explicitly the canal area of old Phra Khanong in Bangkok, linking the legend to that locality.[10]

In a discussion thread analyzing the timeline of the Mae Nak Phra Khanong legend against Thai historical chronology, a user notes that the legend is often said to have taken place "in the reign of King Rama IV or V" and asks about the conscription of Mak (or the real husband, Chum Tosakan) for war. The thread reflects that many popular tellings situate the legend roughly between the late Rama III and early Rama IV periods, although the exact historical war and year are disputed among storytellers.

This page states that the story is believed to have originated in the Phra Khanong district of Bangkok, but it does not provide a specific earliest written record date or support for a mid-19th-century origin.

The entry says the place of origin is Phra Khanong, Bangkok, and summarizes the story as taking place by the Phra Khanong Canal. It is a tertiary source and repeats the common locality attribution without adding archival evidence.

This page says a Thai historian, Anek Nawikamul, researched the story and found an article in Siam Praphet dated March 10, 1899 by K.S.R. Kulap. It supports the existence of a late-19th-century written record, not a mid-19th-century one.

The narrative is more recent than many realize. Its rise to fame can largely be attributed to film, particularly following a Thai screenwriter's assertion in the 2000s that it was based on a true story. Additionally, the Thai government promoted it as a national ghost tale.[5] Prior to this, it was a lesser-known myth, with residents of Battambang, Cambodia, claiming it originated from their area. During Siamese occupation in the 1800s, the story may have spread northward to provinces that are now part of Thailand.[5] The motif of a husband returning to encounter the spirit of his wife or a ghostly child is prevalent across provinces in Cambodia, suggesting broader regional roots.[5]

In a YouTube lecture-style video about the "real" Mae Nak Phra Khanong in history, the presenter states that the story of Mae Nak Phra Khanong "is believed to have occurred in the reign of King Rama III" and later reiterates that the story is said to have happened "around the period of Rama III, possibly extending into the early Rama IV". The video explains that the events concern a woman named Nak in the Phra Khanong area whose husband was away, leading to later ghost-story elaborations.

This repost repeats the claim that K.S.R. Kularb wrote in Siam Praphet on March 10, 1899 about Mae Nak. It is secondary and less authoritative than the primary and mainstream history sources, but it points to the same earliest-known print reference.

This social-media post says the spirit lingers by the Phra Khanong Canal and presents the legend as a haunted love story, but it provides no verifiable historical sourcing or dating.

The video description repeats the common plot: a famous Thai ghost who died during childbirth and remains by the Phra Khanong Canal. It does not provide historical evidence for a mid-19th-century origin.

The Facebook video repeats the claim that in 1899 K. S. R. Kulap published an article suggesting the story was based on a real woman named Mae Nak. It is useful only as a low-authority copy of the same historical claim.