According to Malaysian folklore a women who dies in childbirth is in danger of becoming Pontianak. (Pontianak means child-bearing ghost). The Pontianak haunts graveyards or old trees. She lures her victims by crying like a baby. At first she appears as a beautiful woman or a lost child, but once her victims are close she transforms into an ugly crone with fangs. Sometimes only her head appears, with entrails dangling from her neck.

The Pontianak is one of the most violent spirits in folklore. Motivated by jealousy, she tears her victims apart with her sharp claws and devours their entrails. Her favorite prey is pregnant women or babies but she occasionally takes her revenge out on men. When attacking men she rips out their sex organs with her hands before slashing them open.

The spirit announces her presence with a cloud of fragrance from the kemboja flower followed by the stench of the grave. She can be tricky though. If her cry is loud she is far away, but if it’s soft she is close by. Pontianak locate their prey by sniffing laundry left outside to dry. Some Malaysians refuse to leave clothing outside.

A sharp nail helps to fend off Pontianak attacks. When a nail is plunged into the back of a Pontianak’s neck, she turn into a beautiful woman. She stays this way until the nail is pulled out.

With the Pontianak prevention is often the best medicine. When a woman dies in childbirth some Malaysians believe in taking precautionary measures to prevent her from turning. Glass beads are placed in the corpse’s mouth to prevent shrieking. Eggs are placed under her armpits and needles in her palms to prevent her from flying.

Should you ever find yourself faced with a Pontianak and all else fails, try reciting this charm.

“O Pontianak the Stillborn,
May you be struck dead by the soil from the grave-mound.
Thus cut the bamboo-joints,
the long and the short,
To cook therein the liver of the Jin Pontianak.
By the grace of ‘There is no god but God,
…etc.

note:  I find the etc.  at the end of the charm a little troubling and can’t guarantee it’s effectiveness.

Posted by: Kate Jonez

The nora is a Hungarian sprite or imp. When not invisible, he appears as an unusually small bald man who runs on all fours. The nora sucks the breasts of women who are of less than perfect moral character. The nora’s attack makes the women’s breast swell painfully. Covering the affected breasts in garlic cures the swelling and prevents the nora from attacking again.

After an extensive search I was unable to find an image of the nora. If anyone has one, please let me know.

Posted by: Kate Jonez

Not all of Santa’s helpers are cute and friendly. In Austria Saint Nicholas forgoes elves in favor of a creature that really gets the job of scaring children done – the Krampus.  The Krampus is a horned cloven hoofed demon with sharp claws and glowing red eyes. He wears chains and bells around his neck. The Krampus is able to spot bad children even when St Nicholas can’t. He is happy to point them out and make sure that Saint Nicholas passes them by. He’s also famous for stealing back the gifts that St. Nick has left. The Krampus carries a birch whip. While he will whip any child, he prefers young girls. Austrian girls are notoriously evil and it’s the Krampus’ custom is to beat them just in case. The Krampus carries bad children off to hell, or if he’s in a hurry he’ll drag them out in to the woods and eat them. Thank you Krampus for putting the fear back in Christmas where it belongs.

Posted by: Kate Jonez