Krasue

Vengeful GhostThailand · Southeast AsiaLegendFear 9/10

Description

Floating female head with hanging viscera, hunts pregnant women at night

Origin & Background

The belief in the existence of Krasue is shared throughout Southeast Asia, and its origins are difficult to confirm. However, it is highly likely that Krasue originated from folklore. In Thailand, Krasue is considered to be a cursed individual (mostly female) who committed various sins and fraudulent acts in a previous life. After her death, due to her sins, she must be reborn as a phut (Thai: ภูต), which means she has to survive by eating discarded, raw, or rotten food. Recently, the Thai entertainment industry has fictionalized the origin of Krasue as a cursed ancient Khmer princess. This princess was kidnapped due to an affair with a soldier (general), and the soldier was beheaded while the Khmer princess was burned to death. However, before she died, she chanted a spell to protect her body, resulting in only her head and organs being saved. This description can be seen as an attempt to reconstruct the beginning of a well-known folklore story for entertainment and commercial purposes.

The Legend

Krasue is a female spirit that appears in Southeast Asian folklore, typically depicted as the floating head of a young and beautiful woman. Internal organs dangle from her head, and this spirit is active at night, hunting to drink blood or eat raw meat. Krasue attacks cows or chickens to drink their blood and eat their entrails, and if there is no blood, she may consume feces or rotten meat. During the day, Krasue behaves like a normal person, but at night, she floats around hunting. The headless body of Krasue must be hidden in a quiet place and must be rejoined before sunrise. If the headless body is discovered, Krasue will suffer fatal pain.

Variants

Krasue exists in various forms across different regions of Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, it is known as Ahp (Khmer: អាប), and it is said to appear as a normal human during the day but floats at night, leaving its head and organs behind to search for food. In Laos, it is called Kasu (Lao: ກະສື), while in Indonesia, it is known as Kuyang, Pok-Pok, and Leyak. Variants such as Pelasik, Pelesit, and penanggalan also exist in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. In Vietnam, it is referred to as ma lai, and in the Philippines, there is a similar spirit called manananggal.

In Popular Culture

Krasue has been reflected in Thai culture for a long time; for example, it is said that abnormally small bananas are eaten by Krasue. Additionally, a person who eats quickly may be described as 'eating like Krasue,' and the glowing mushrooms in Khon Kaen province are called 'Krasue mushrooms.' In Chonburi province, there was a village named 'Nong Krasue' (Krasue Swamp), but it was changed to 'Nong Krasaem' (Happy Swamp) to avoid the frightening name.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Krasue" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia