Kuntilanak

The Kuntilanak is a female ghost from Indonesian folklore. She is usually described as a woman with pale skin and long black hair covering her face, dressed in a long white gown. They say that instead of eyes, she had vacant black holes in her face. The Kuntilanak also has a hole in the back of her neck.

The Kuntilanak is the ghost of a pregnant woman who died before her child was born. According to the legend, she stalks women, especially pregnant women, and tries to steal their babies. She makes sounds like a baby crying. If the crying is near, it means she is far away. If the crying is far away, it means she is near. SHe usually lurks in tall trees, old buildings and by the edge of a river or lake. Some Indonesian people believe that the sight of a Kuntilanak can drive you insane.

In the ghost photo above, a group of Indonesian teenagers were having a party in their backyard. Supposedly, they took a photo and were horrified to discover the ghostly figure of a Kuntilanak lurking in the background.

According to one story, a young Indonesian woman was returning to her college campus late at night. It was dark and there were only a few cars on the street. She decided to get a taxi and flagged down a mini-bus. On a darkened street, the mini-bus suddenly stopped. The girl looked out the window, thinking that another passenger must be getting on. She looked in the front seat and saw that the driver was gone. He had run away. Outside the door of the mini-bus, stood a woman in a white dress with an extremely pale face and long black hair. The woman was staring directly at her. She was trapped inside the mini-bus and could not escape. The next morning, people found her still inside the mini-bus, cowering on the floor with a terrified look on her face. She was sent to psychiatric ward and never recovered from the experience.

They say that the Kuntilanak is afraid of sharp objects and will not attack a woman if she is carrying either a nail, a knife or a scissors in her handbag. She can be killed by driving a nail into the hole in the back of her neck.