| Krasue | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Other Names |
กระสือ, អាប Ahp, Penanggal, Kuyang, Palasik, ‘’Capculacay’’ |
|
First Appearance |
Southeast Asian folklore |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The Krasue is a nocturnal female spirit of Southeast Asian folklore. It manifests as the floating, disembodied head of a woman, usually young and beautiful, with her internal organs still attached and trailing down from the neck.
The Krasue belongs to a constellation of similar mythological entities across different regions of Southeast Asia; these regional variations all share in common that they are characterized by a disembodied woman's head with organs and entrails hanging from its neck. These include the Ahp in Cambodia; the Kasu in Laos; the Kuyang, Pok-Pok or Leyak in Indonesia. There is also the Pelasik, Pelesit, penanggalan or penanggal, the last four of which are also found in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. In Vietnam there is also the Ma la.
In addition Japanese folklore also has yokai creatures called nukekubi and rokurokubi that are quite similar to their Southeast Asian counterparts and the Philippines there is a similar ghost, manananggal, a local spirit that haunts pregnant women.
According to Thai ethnographer Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, the Krasue is accompanied by a will-o'-the-wisp-like luminescent glow. The explanations attempted about the origin of the glow include the presence of methane in marshy areas. The Krasue is often said to live in the same areas as Krahang, a male spirit of the Thai folklore.
This spirit moves about by hovering in the air above the ground, for it has no lower body. The throat may be represented in different ways, either as only the trachea or with the whole neck. The organs below the head usually include the heart and the stomach with a length of intestine, the intestinal tract emphasizing the ghost's voracious nature.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Batibat from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Notes[]
- The Krasue has been the subject of a number of films in the region, including My Mother Is Arb. Also known as Krasue Mom, this Cambodian horror film has the distinction of being the first film made in the People's Republic of Kampuchea after the absence of locally-made films and the repression of local folklore in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge era.
- In the Thai film Krasue Valentine, this ghost is represented with more internal organs, such as lungs and liver, but much reduced in size and anatomically out of proportion with the head. The viscera are sometimes represented freshly daubed with blood, as well as glowing.
- In many contemporary representations her teeth often include pointed fangs in yakkha or vampire fashion while in the movie Ghosts of Guts Eater she has a halo around her head.