Pontianak (folklore)

The history about Pontianak, are relate to the horror stories which are said to be the spirit of a woman who died while pregnant, unable to have a child. Similar stories are many have said that she is the most terrifying Kuntilanak whereabouts that was first emerged from mythical and violent legends vary in the city of Kalimantan province. It is one of the most famous place before their place use for the construction site of the independent palace in the forest.

In Indonesian mythology, the Kuntilanak (or another term: Pontianak) are said to be the spirits of women who didn't have a chance to give birth to a child. The Kuntilanak has emerged from myths and folktales, some of which are particularly popular in Kalimantan (Borneo). Being one of the most famous pieces of Indonesian folklore, it inspired the name of a city in the Kalimantan region of Borneo (Pontianak, that was founded on 23 October 1771). The city it refers to story about ghosts that some people in Western Kalimantan refers to Pontianak (a vengeful vampire female ghost in Malay Mythology ); It was a ghost nest until Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie which built his foundation near the exact spot. (1771–1808), the first sultan of the Pontianak Sultanate, It was haunted by this creature.

Then sultanate of the country Kalimantan mostly, built the place before the site to be his palace, to sweep off away this freaking sounds of these ghosts who make noises by shooting the cannonballs right after the palace nearly constructed. On the swamps, creeks and forests within the west coast of Kalimantan in spite of the forest inhabitants’ advice to build elsewhere. In Southeast Asian cultures, swamps are considered eerie places where nature spirits dwell. In the early centuries, the city was before it was first building, it was built on swampy ground that is regular flooding by the river, requiring buildings to be constructed on piles to keep them off. Where the island now covered with trees, lush trees and banana trees that is subjected to believed by locals that is a haunted place.

A Pontianak or Kuntilanak is usually depicted as a beautiful, red-eyed, pale-skinned woman with long black hair and a hole at the nape of her neck, dressed in a blood-smeared white dress. It is also described as changing into a more monstrous form upon having captured suitable prey, typically men or helpless people. Due to its bloodthirsty and carnivorous nature, a pontianak can also appear as a beast or a ghost. This figure resembles of the (Dracula) vampire in the vampiric form.

Pontianak may only appear under the full moon and typically announce their presence by imitating the cries of infants or feminine laughter. If the sounds are quiet, she is nearby, but if they are loud, it is far away. Some sources also state that a dog howling at night indicates that a pontianak is present, but not too close; if the dog whines, then a pontianak is near. Its presence is also said to be heralded by a floral fragrance, identifiable as that of the Plumeria flower, followed by a stench similar to that of a decaying corpse.

A pontianak kills its victims by using its long fingernails to physically remove their internal organs for consumption. In cases where the pontianak desires revenge and retribution against a man, it is said to eviscerate the victim with its hands. It is also said that if a victim has their eyes open when a pontianak is near, it will suck them out of their head. The pontianak is said to locate its prey by the scent of their drying laundry. For this reason, some Malaysians refuse to leave any piece of clothing outside their house overnight.

The pontianak is associated with banana trees, and its spirit is said to reside in them during the day. According to folklore, a pontianak can be fended off by driving a nail into the hole on the nape of its neck, which causes it to turn into a beautiful woman and a good wife until the nail is removed.

The Indonesian Kuntilanak is similar to the pontianak, but commonly takes the form of a bird and sucks the blood of virgins and young women. The bird, which makes a "ke-ke-ke" [1] sound as it flies, may be sent through black magic to make a woman fall ill; the characteristic symptom being vaginal bleeding. When a man approaches it in its female form, the Kuntilanak suddenly turns and reveals that its back is hollow, much like the Sundel bolong. A Kuntilanak can be subdued by plunging a nail into the top of its head.

Signs are very scary including the sounds and noises that this figure make, people claimed that the figure resembles as the "Samara Morgan" or "Sadako" In Japan and in USA,

In scary stories and horror films on Malaysian television, Kuntilanak or this figure is depicted as killing prey by sucking blood at the nape of the neck, more like a vampire.

• Kuntilanak (1962)
• Kuntilanak (1974)
• Lawang Sewu (2007)
• Casablanca Tunnel (Red Kuntilanak) (2007)
• Kuntilanak's Nest (2008)
• Kuntilanak (2006), Kuntilanak 2 (2007), Kuntilanak 3 (2008)
• Kuntilanak's Morgue (2009)
• Kuntilanak Beranak (2009)
• The Nail of Kuntilanak (2009)
• Santet Kuntilanak (2012)

• Indonesian Video Games:
  • DreadOut (2014)
  • Pamali: Indonesian Folklore Horror (2018)

• Malaysian films:
  • Pontianak (1957)
  • Dendam Pontianak (1957)
  • Sumpah Pontianak (1958)
  • The Pontianak Child, also known as Anak Pontianak (1958)
  • The Return of Kuntilanak (1963)
  • Pontianak Musang Cave (1964)
  • Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam (2004)
  • Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2 (2005)
  • The Scream of Pontianak (2005)
  • Help Me, I'm a Pontianak (2011)
  • Pontianak vs Oil Person (2012)
  • The Nail of Kuntilanak (2013)

• Singaporean films:
  • Return of Pontianak, also known as Voodoo Magic (2001)
  • Dendam Pontianak, also known as Revenge of the Pontianak (2019)[2]

• Hong Kong films:
  • The Demon's Baby (1998)

• Malaysian fiction:
  • The House of Aunts (2011) by Zen Cho[3]

• American fiction:
  • Supernatural: "Cold Fire"

• Churel
• Hun and po
• Keres (Κῆρες), spirits of violent or cruel death in Greek mythology
• Lang Suir
• Madam Koi Koi
• Malay folklore
• Mavka
• Onryō
• Sundel Bolong
• Tai Thong Klom
• Ubume
• White Lady (ghost)

• Kuntilanak ("Pontianak"): The Ghost of a Woman Who Died While Pregnant | Dukun Indonesia
• Article by Singaporean paranormal investigators about pontianaks
• "Pontianaks and the Issue of Verisimilitude in Singaporean Cinema" (requires a login and password) — an essay by Dr. Timothy White of the National University of Singapore about the important role played by 1950s and 1960s horror films in the evolution of Pontianak mythology (Microsoft Word document)
• Stillborn – The Legend of Pontianak – a novella based on the legend of the eponymous Pontianak by Dr. Elmi Zulkarnain Osman