When it comes to ghost stories, Thailand is the source to some truly bone-chilling
tales. From tragic love stories to sorcery gone wrong, here are four of the most
prevalent supernatural spirits from the land of smiles.
KRASUE
Among the most famous of Thailand’s spirits, the Krasue has quite the striking
appearance. It is described as the severed head of a woman, floating around with only
its internal organs dangling under its neck. This terrifying appearance is said to be
hidden during the day, with the Krasue appearing to be an ordinary civilian. At night,
however, her head detaches from her host body, and she goes out seeking flesh. She is
said to eat small livestock, and even occasionally feeding off the open wounds of
sound sleepers.
The origins of this legend differ, but the most popular one is a tragic tale of love and
spells gone wrong. This iteration says the original Krasue was originally a princess,
betrothed to one man but in love with another. She begins a love affair with this
second man, a knight, but is soon found out. Here’s where the story gets gruesome: it
is decided that she is to be burned to death for her crime. Before her execution, she
undergoes a spell to spare her from the fire. Unfortunately, the spell is miscalculated,
and takes its effects too late. By the time the flames stop affecting her, she has already
burned, leaving just her head and internal organs behind.
It is also believed that one can become a Krasue if they ingest its saliva or blood, or if
they commit atrocities while they are alive. Regardless of how these creatures
materialise, they are sure to make you want to sleep with your door closed.
PRET
The word ‘pret’ or ‘preta’ translates from Sanskrit into ‘gone’ or ‘deceased’. To put it
simply, ‘pret’ is what is believed in Buddhism and Hinduism to happen to people
who’ve sinned after their death. The sins often associated with this rather grim
afterlife include hitting your parents and being gluttonous, both things that are
reflected in the body of the Pret.
The Pret often has an abnormally tall and slender body, making them incapable of
residing within homes. They also feel a constant hunger and thirst that they can never
quench, as their mouths are a needle-sized hole. Hands that hit their parents also
transform into the size of palm leaves, meaning they cannot grab onto anything. In this
way, the Pret often acts as a cautionary tale to misbehaving children.
In the south of Thailand, it is tradition around October to offer up food through rituals
to the Pret. The belief is that during the 10th month, ghosts and spirits are released
from hell to the human world. Therefore, families may feed their deceased loved ones
that might not have made it to heaven, and help ease their suffering and everlasting
hunger. Typically, the Pret are pitied rather than feared.
PHI POP
Continuing the theme of hungry ghosts, the Phi Pop is a truly frightening addition to
this list. These spirits are said to enter a host and eat them from the inside out. They
cause an insatiable hunger in the people they inhabit, often causing wild cravings for
raw meat. As time goes on, the inhabitants become weaker and weaker before passing
away, at which point the Phi Pop moves on to its new victim.
There are two main origin stories around Phi Pop. The first is that a sorcerer was
seeking immortality. However, in a spell gone wrong (another persistent theme in Thai
folklore), the sorcerer was instead cursed to wander the world as a spirit, feeding off
the living forever. The other story is slightly more complicated. It involves a prince
who could switch bodies with another living being by saying an incantation. The
servant, upon seeing him, repeated the incantation and entered the Prince’s
uninhabited body. The real Prince, now in the form of a bird, flew to tell his wife, who
destroyed the servant’s body before tricking him into vacating the Prince. After
leaving his body, the real Prince could reenter, leaving the servant unable to regain his
old destroyed body. This led to an angry spirit who inhabits people’s bodies and eats
them from the inside.
Quite a few deaths in the rural areas of Thailand have been attributed to Phi Pop.
Signs often associated with this possession include dreaming of having your organs
eaten, a wet earth small, general unexplainable illness, and sudden aggressive
behaviour.
PHI TAI HONG
The Phi Tai Hong spirits are known as being vengeful ghosts. These spirits experience
sudden, violent deaths, and often don’t receive adequate funeral rites. The anger and
grief the Phi Tai Hong feels for its life fuels its violence against the living.
It is believed that these spirits are most violent in the first week following their deaths,
especially in the location where they died. Another significant aspect of these spirits is
‘Tua Tai Tua Tan’, meaning ‘the substitute.’ Essentially, the angry spirit is trapped in
its anger on earth until it causes the death of another person, in the same location and
manner of their death. Monks have been known to visit sites of violent death to help
guide spirits home, preventing the Phi Tai Hong from becoming trapped in the
location of their demise.
While these ghosts are widely feared, the most feared among them is called ‘Tai
Thang Klom’, which occurs when a pregnant woman becomes a vengeful ghost. The
lives of two souls, mother and fetus, as well as the deep grief and maternal love
surrounding such tragedies make the spirits much stronger – and much more vengeful.