Hantus

Hantus are believed to originate from Man himself. That is, men who partake in black magic and other occult practices. These men can be considered to be in league with the Devil, as they call upon and even keep evil spirits to do their bidding. When these men die, they in turn become hantus. Another common belief is that hantus are the ghosts of the victims of injustice, violence and even sudden death. These wandering and disturbed spirits then roam the earth in a vengeful state of mind, wreaking havoc wherever they go. This belief in Hantus have been a part of Malayan folk-lore from time immemorial. There are many different types of hantus but the most fearsome among these is known as the Hantu Penanggalan, a vampire ghost which posses blood-short eyes, long flowing unkempt hair and a very long tongue. This dark-skinned monster does not have a body. It appears as a flying head with its heart and intestines hanging down. The entrails glow in the dark, like some huge firefly. Women in labour and babies are its preferred victims. The placenta of a newborn baby is said to be its favorite meal. The only known way to fend off this hantu is to hurl a sharp iron or steel object at it. Also, because of this monster's unusual body sculpture, it is said to be afraid of most kind of thorns. This spirit will appear as an ordinary woman by day and only turns into a ghostly terror at night.

Another type of vampire is the infamous pontianak or langsuir. it is said to be the ghost of women who die while giving birth. It usually appears in the form of a beautiful woman to lure, seduce and finally kill men in lonely or deserted places. In popular legend, the presence of this female vampire is usually detected by the fragrance of the frangipani flower. This ghost can also change its form to that of an owl or burung hantu. One way of avoiding an attack from this hantu is to always carry a small mirror since this ghost is said to be terrified of its own appearance. Another novel way is to completely disrobe when confronted by this vampire, but for this to work, one must possess an extremely ugly body. There is also much expert opinion and theories on how to best capture this hantu, but as to why anyone would possibly want to capture such a monster, is best left to the imagination.

The Hantu Raya or Big Devil is a well-known hantu which is kept by people to safeguard their property. This male demon is adept at shape changing - it can take on a form that can resemble anyone that it chooses. But most of the time it prefers to remain invisible. When instructed to attack an enemy by its master, it can cause excruciating pain to the victim. There is no known way of warding off an attack by this demon, apart from apologising to it for causing offence. Unsolved cases of arson are sometimes blamed on this spirit.

Another famous hantu is the Toyol. This spirit is a naughty imp kept by a human owner to steal money from other people in the neighbourhood. But it has to be fed a little blood every day by its owner, otherwise it will run amok and cause all kinds of problems. There are many more kinds of hantus and spirits, the array and varieties of which can be quite mind-boggling.