📷Image Credits: Cik_Ra Corner, Medium, Biskut Marie, Myths and Folklore Wiki Fandom, JUICE, Terakurat, ArtStation, Fiksyen Shasha
The Hungry Ghost Month is when the Gates of Hell open up and release its inhabitants into the world.Don’t look behind you or else one of these 9 ghosts may just give you a terrible fright! Let’s look at what they really are!
- Pontianak
The puntianak, pontianak or kuntilanak is a type of creature believed by the Malay community that originated from a woman who was killed while pregnant with her child or died during childbirth. There are also opinions stating that it’s a wild genie that disturbs humans. A pontianak has long hair, an ugly and frightening face as well as wears a dress resembling a white robe.
- Hantu Pocong
Pocong is the embodiment of spirits, genies or other evil manifestations “dressed up” like a dead person wrapped in white cloth. Once a person dies, in the Malay culture, it’s customary for the corpse to be wrapped in a white ‘kain kafan’ or death shroud. However, if one of the knots were to come undone, spirits are said to enter the corpse and ‘reanimate’ it. The experiences of the few who have had the bad luck to meet it say that it stinks like carrion. If you don’t notice the sign, it likes to blow a small breath on your neck from behind. It also likes to get attention by spitting.
- Nu Gui
The Chinese believe that Nu Gui is the spirit of a woman who during her life was hurt by men. It wants to take revenge on the husband or man who has hurt them during their lives. Normally the death is caused by something brutal such as being tortured or raped. Nu Gui is depicted as a ghost of a woman with long hair, pale skin, red eyes and wearing a long white dress or the dress that she died in.
- Toyol
Most Malays are used to hearing the word toyol which is understood as a kind of ghost. It also refers to creatures resembling small children from the jinn, which are kept by humans to steal certain things, especially money. The use of the toyol is a supernatural method to enrich its keepers who deviate far from the teachings of religion by robbing and stealing other people’s property through the supernatural.
Among the conditions imposed on a person who wants to keep a toyol are:
- Cannot practice religious teachings or perform acts of charity or kindness.
- The house should be away from crowds and religious activities.
- Provide a special space or room that smells of incense as the toyol’s residing place.
- Must be gentle and polite towards the toyol because it’s like a small child.
- Mohini
Mohini is believed by the Indian community to be a ghost which haunts male virgins or bachelors. This ghost usually appears wearing clothes that can charm men. Some say that this ghost was once a woman who was thirsty for love and her sexual desire was not satisfied when she was alive. When the woman dies, she transforms into a mohini.
- Penanggal
A midwife who becomes a Penanggal at night looks like an ordinary woman during the day. They can however be identified as Penanggals by their behavior. When meeting people, they usually avoid eye contact and when serving as midwives, they can be seen smacking their lips, as if thinking of enjoying the blood of a woman giving birth when night falls. One who knows where the Penanggal ghost lives may wait at night when the Penanggal flies away from its body.
It can be destroyed by pouring shards of glass in the hole of its neck, which will injure the Penanggal’s internal organs if it reconnects with its body. Another way to kill the Penanggal is to burn its body, thereby preventing the Penanggal from reconnecting with its body during the day.
The ghost of the Penanggal is someone who studies black magic. That knowledge needs to be passed on to a successor before his master dies. If the master dies before he can find a replacement, the Penanggal ghost will go wild and disturb the nearby residents. The Penanggal is also usually inherited from mother to child from generation to generation.
- Jiang Shi
Jiang shi is an undead that appears in Chinese folklore. Its name is often translated as ‘jumping ghost’. Jiang shi is synonymous with the official attire of the Qing Dynasty. This vampire has an iconic posture and movement – hands clasped forward while moving in a jump.
However, jiang shi sometimes appear differently. Some have fangs, long nails, and body conditions that are more fragile than usual. Sometimes, its appearance is accompanied by green smoke that evokes an air of mystery. In some versions, jiang shi has the ability to fly and turn into a wolf.
According to popular belief, the jiang shi exists from several types of death. Among the death situations include death by suicide, entangled in hanging ropes, or suffocation. Death like this is said to make the spirit trapped in the body, at the same time turning it into the undead. Deaths that are not properly cared for can also be the cause of the bodies of the deceased turning into jiang shi. Corpses that were stricken by lightning also became jiang shi.
Generally, jiang shi only comes out at night. To increase strength, jiang shi is said to absorb the qi (life force) of living humans. According to popular belief, among the efficacious weapons to avoid becoming the prey of the jiang shi were the blood of black dogs, mirrors, chicken eggs, and the urine of males.
- Orang Minyak
The Orang Minyak is someone who seeks psychic knowledge or black magic by sneaking into the prey’s house to rob before raping a girl who is still a virgin. One story says that the Orang Minyak had wrongly obtained knowledge, causing him to turn black and would only recover after raping 40 girls. Another version also states that the Orang Minyak is an ordinary human who is studying spiritual knowledge and his knowledge will be complete after successfully raping 41 women with the ability to enter a house without being seen by anyone. When his knowledge is complete, his black skin will turn white and eventually he’ll have supernatural powers.
- Hantu Raya
Hantu Raya in Malay culture, refers to a kind of spirit. It is said to be made up of the jinn or shaitan, who were kept for the purpose of helping their masters do work and also to weaken the enemy. The maintenance of these spirits is known as saka. Hantu Raya can be controlled by the owner who can order him to do anything. It can also be ordered by its master to possess someone.
The Hantu Raya has the ability to take the form as an ordinary human or other animal, and usually it will take the form as its master. The spirit has to be fed as agreed. Usually the food provided includes eggs, roasted chicken, yellow glutinous rice and so on. If not properly cared for and fed, the hungry Hantu Raya will attack its master.
The Hantu Raya usually has to be inherited, and if not passed down to the heirs, the master will be a living corpse. His dead body would stink, but when he is about to be buried, he would rise as if he’s alive. Moreover, it will eat greedily when fed. In Java, Hantu Raya is known as Genderuwo which has a little to do with the mythical Hindu creature Gandarewa and the ferocious monster of the Magi religious myth, Gandharva.
Written By Kartini Kannan
