The Hash House Harriers began in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur when a British bloke named Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert gathered together a bunch of expatriates to form a "hare and hounds" group. The fraternity received its name from the Selangor Club which, due to its godawful food, had the nickname "the Hash House".

What separates the Hash House Harriers from other hare and hounds groups is its emphasis on social camaraderie and non-competitiveness. There are now more than 1500 hashes worldwide, all of which can claim lineage back to the original KL hash.

If you require a more exhaustive historic account, refer to the Hash Bible.