What Is “Pontianak”?
(27 votes)
Loading ...“Pontianak” is one of the most famous, scariest and violent ghost in the Malaysian culture. Primarily, the Malays believe that it originates from a still born child, women who dies while giving birth, women who were killed by the pontianak or their spirits captured by them. The phrase “Pontianak” was believed from the acronym of “Perempuan Mati Beranak” in the Malay language, meaning the woman death by childbirth. After such death, precautions are taken to prevent them from rising like
- Putting glass beads in the corpses mouth so that they can’t shriek
- Placing eggs under the corpses armpits so that they can’t fly
- Placing needles in their palms so that they can’t fly also (apparently the palm helps the pontianak to fly)
Pontianak usually announces its presence through baby cries or turn themselves into beautiful lady and frighten or kill the unlucky who enter or pass through their vicinity. It usually disguise itself as a beautiful young lady to attract its victim (usually male). Its presence sometimes can be detected by a nice floral fragrance of the ‘kemboja’ (a type of flower) followed by an awful stench afterwards. The distance of a pontianaks cries are very tricky. The Malays believe that if the cry is soft means that the pontianak is near and if it is loud then it must be far.
Want to know how a pontianak kills? It digs into your stomach with its long sharp fingernails and feed on it to survive. And want to know why we don’t hang our clothes at night outside the house? It’s because people believe that it sniffs your clothes to suck your blood.
It is also believed that the pontianak can be killed by plunging a nail down the back of its neck whereby it will transform the pontianak into a beatiful normal girl.
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My favorite type of Pontianak is the two-door Pontianak “Sunfire,” known for haunting bachelors and blue collar males going through mid-life crisises.
Commented by D-Max — November 10, 2005 @ 7:59 am
[…] Next morning, I told him before I met him, I heard footsteps following me. Sound of slipper being dragged. He said he saw a pontianak standing behind me about 10 metres away. She was smiling. She must have followed me from the carpark. Then I asked him about the dogs howling. He said not to worry cos if u can hear the dogs that can only mean that the “thing” is far away. But if the dog is whinning that means the “thing” is nearby. No more late nights for me. […]
Pingback by World Horror Stories » Someone follow me — January 3, 2006 @ 4:32 pm
Ok, that’s extremely creepy stuff. You can only find those things in Malaysia right? Not in the U.S?
Commented by Emily — July 9, 2007 @ 2:03 am
Ya, I think Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore only. The word “Pontianak” came from a Malay wording and only these 3 countries use this language. This type of ghost may exist in other countries but they use different term. ie. Dracula for Western.
Commented by Tony — July 9, 2007 @ 5:16 pm
Oh! Ok, that makes me feel a lot better. I don’t mind vampires. Just that pontianak thingy creeps me out.
Commented by Emily — July 10, 2007 @ 12:25 am
i have seen a pontianak
Commented by redsilk — September 22, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
freaky stuff man
Commented by juliejozor — December 1, 2007 @ 8:34 am
buset dah, kalau perempuan mati beranak itu bukan pontianak, tapi kuntilanak
Pontianak itu nama kota di kalimantan barat 
Commented by Freddy Hernawan — April 14, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
sometimes i’m a bit skeptical with anything about spirits but after accounting several incident like meeting them face to face,yes of course i was terrified but my fear was not for long cause i thought she was going kill me but instead she shook my hand and just dissappear right before my eyes. pontianak or kuntilanak does not killed but instead some died because of heart attack. folklore stories was made so that the youngsters will be afraid to go home late at night especially in village areas. don’t misjudged them by their scary looks but respect them as a super-natural being.
Commented by FUX — June 29, 2008 @ 2:34 am
The Philippines also have them… It’s called tianak (see similarity in names) here, but it preys on unborn children…
Commented by Patrick — September 3, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
OHH… IN MEXICO WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED “LA LLORONA” ITS PRETTY MUCH SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS BUT DIFFERENT HISTORY… SUPPOSEDLY SHE DROWNED HER BABIES AND SHE KEEPS ON LOOKING FOR THEM NOW
Commented by Jose — September 17, 2008 @ 9:43 am
ah not scary also
Commented by mourine jer kaur — September 19, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
actually in indonesia,that ghost women is called kuntilanak, not pontianak. Pontianak is name of the city in indonesia
Commented by kmartizzle — October 29, 2008 @ 9:44 pm
not too scary but it is preety scary.
Commented by Nazhif — December 10, 2008 @ 11:29 am
“A mind without purpose will wonder in dark places”
Gideon Ravenor
One should remember that there are things that a Human mind is to fragile to handle. Remain vigilant, Angels and Demons exist, regardless of your religious beliefs. to wonder in dark knowledge is to invite oblivion.
Christ within Us.
Commented by Codius — January 22, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
I just stumbled upon this website and would like to share my personal experience which happened many years ago in Singapore.
As newly weds in our 1st home in AngMoKio then, we had our 1st experience one night, a few months after we omved in at about 2am (how can I forget that?).
In my sleep, I heard shrieks and thought it was coming from the living room where my mother-in-law who was staying over that night might be watching TV and wanted to tell her to turn it down as we had to wake up for work later. Upon opening my eyes, I could see from the slits under and over the room door that everything was dark, she was not watching TV. Then, I heard it again. This time, I shoke my husband who was apparently already awaken by the cries and immediately covered my mouth with his hand (signalling that I should not be speaking of it, then). It went on and off till about 4.45am.
Thereafter, we hear it frequently and there was once when my husband decided to be a busy body and see for himself what it truely was from the bed room window. He told me later that he saw a very huge like thing, but cannot describe it to be of any bird known to men.
He has seen the Pontianak in its bird form.
We have sinced moved away from that place.
Commented by ViosAngel — February 25, 2009 @ 12:58 pm
cant b boverd 2 read everythin but sounds really gud and scary i lyk scry muveez
Commented by Najia — March 13, 2009 @ 10:26 pm
knew one that had a crush on me. Bloody thing followed me all the way to the uk. worse than having a clinging needy girlfriend.
Commented by poone — March 28, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
really gud stuffs to read ………….these things has really induced my interest towards parapshycology
Commented by chanda — April 8, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
For hispanics is called la llorona supposively children drown or lost her children but does the same sound and kills the same way..
Commented by Francis — April 22, 2009 @ 1:00 am
There is no Pontianak Ghost in Indonesia. It’s a city name. I’m Indonesian
Commented by s — May 28, 2009 @ 3:57 pm
this thing is like the our version in mexico…when i ust 2 go visit my grandma..but in sted it is call the lady who crys..i did it in inglish..because i know some people cant understand spanish writing..i will tell the sumery of it cuse it is very long…at night people say that she walks the streets over there in mexico crying over her lost child witch she killed in the river..and well some people leave water out side so she dosent look in the windos or so she wont clim in thro the windos.. and soposable u r not soppose 2 go out side after dark 2…
Commented by L3XI3 — June 18, 2009 @ 2:44 am
hei kuntilanak wa boleh kenal ma loekan……….
kamu itu imut tau makanya wa pengen kenal ma loe
oh ya wa lupa kamu kan sebenarnya cakep tau tapi…….!
rambut kamu bikin wa pengen bersin soalnya rambut kamu
berantakan .tapi bagaimanapun keadaan kamu aku tetap suka ma kamu
I love you
Commented by bah.rie — June 23, 2009 @ 11:35 pm
ummm i heard that pontianak do something to a 14 years old girl she tell me that pontianak is a vampire ghost well that confuse me more soo she tell me that pontianak talk to her and then pontianak draw the third eye in her house im soo confused one more thing a guy tell me that when he was in the bedroom pontianak kiss him and give him the apache eye can some1 tell me wut is the apache eye?
Commented by barthe1 — August 10, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
Can u guys tell me more about ‘pontianak’ dis really interest me
Commented by aisha — September 22, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
You guys really need to learn how to spell and start writing in English. All of these are interesting, but I also had a fun time reading your spellings. I shouldn’t be laughing when I read these things. What’s the matter with all of you people? Geez.
Commented by K — September 28, 2009 @ 9:30 am
what a scary story huh?..i like it…
Commented by hyatt tiey — November 6, 2009 @ 8:33 pm
For clarity’s sake, this creature is called a Pontianak in Malaysia but a Kuntilanak in Indonesia…no offence meant to places in Indonesia.
Commented by Malaysiangurl — November 14, 2009 @ 12:13 pm
That’s right MalaysianGirl.In Malaysia, we do call that kind of ghost as ‘Pontianak’ and the Indonesian call it as ‘Kuntilanak’.It is the same, only the matter of how the ghost is being called is different.
When i was a child, I didn’t believe on a such thing because I think it is so ridiculous and superstitious. But my mum keep warned me not to be arrogant whether I believe on such thing or not because acting like a brave girl won’t help me when the time comes for the ghost to approach me.I just laughed back then.And one day, when I was 9, it happened to me.I had a quarrel with my mum and I was like so angry with her so that I ran out from the house to hide in the bushes and it was Maghrib (dusk, the day already dark). I was crying and muttering blaming my mum for the quarrel.Then I looked up on the sky just to see how it’s turning dark slowly but what I saw then was totally freaky and shocking me. I saw a woman’s body with a very long hair in white flowed on the sky right away to Kekabu’s (cotton) tree.I was shivering didn’t know what to do so I like numb for a while but then, I was like realize I was in the bushes and the day was dark, so I collected my strength and ran as fast as I could towards my house’s kitchen.and when I saw my mum inside, I couldn’t stop myself from crying and hugging her so damn tight. My mum was wondering what has happen to me because I keep crying and sounds like a hysteric girl.she calmed me down and ask me to take a shower.after i was feeling better, i storied to her what I have saw and she only listened to me without interrupting me.and then she hugged me and explained to me that the thing i saw is call a Pontianak and she only flied to her house on the Kekabu’s tree.Maghrib’s (dusk) time is the supposed time for the Pontianak to fly it’s home as the Maghrib’s Azan will destroy the Pontianak and the Pontianak will get burn to vanish if it hear to the Azan.She said that I’am lucky that the Pontianak ignored me and didn’t harm me as she said no one can expect what will happen if the Pontianak notice me there.And that night, my family recited Surah Yassin to ask for the God’s protection to our family from any harm of those things.
Commented by Lily Ieda — January 24, 2010 @ 12:59 pm
That’s scary, Lily. I think many years ago, the sighting of Pontianak was reported in Malaysia’s major newspaper. I truly believe the existing of such spirit.
Commented by Tony — January 24, 2010 @ 3:58 pm
Tony: yep, kind of.the image of that thing still so vivid in my mind.but i guess, i just need to be courage so that the thing won’t come approaching me anymore.plus, i just lucky for not being harm by that thing.i kind of feel like a goosebumps when i mention P*******K, so i just referring it as ‘thing’.
Commented by Lily Ieda — January 27, 2010 @ 12:29 am
i love horror movie very5 much that we gonna have a feeling if we saw their movie and believe it was real.
Commented by VvyViolet — March 2, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
in thailand have something alike, it called maenak, a prenant women died and she hauted the whole city , every1 have heard of her story
Commented by jakk — March 14, 2010 @ 9:22 am
I dont know how it gets its name but “anak” itself means “child”. While Pontianak is a city located in west Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Kuntilanak or Pontianak are believed to kidnap children and eat them. They also haunt the expecting mothers. It’s a bit scary but in big cities, their ‘existance’ is not that popular.
Commented by Charlotte — March 15, 2010 @ 4:57 pm
Pontianak or Kuntilanak,whichever you call it,are real.To be honest really,although most people don’t believe of their existence.But of course,even I have encountered so many spirits…Yet,to be honest…I haven’t met up with Pontianak.Although,that sweet fragrance is sometimes..I’m not sure how to explain this one…But with all my knowledge it does exist…The information that was given is true of what its characteristics.
But,something that one has to be even more cautious I know is the Penaggal.Penanggalan is usually a female midwife who has made a pact with the devil to gain supernatural powers. It is said that the midwife has broken a stipulation in the pact not to eat meat for 40 days; having broken the pact she has been forever cursed to become a bloodsucking vampire/demon. The midwife keeps a vat of vinegar in her house. After detaching her head and flying around in the night looking for blood the Penanggalan will come home and immerse her entrails in the vat of vinegar in order to shrink them for easy entry back into her body.The victims are usually pregnant women {the Penaggalan hunts for the infant},
to protect against a Penanggal attack is to scatter the thorny leaves of a local plant known as Mengkuang which would either trap or injure the exposed lungs, stomach and intestines of the Penanggal as it flies in search of its prey. These thorns, on the vine, can also be looped around the windows of a house in order to snare the trailing organs. This is commonly done when a woman has just given birth. However this practice will not protect the infant if the Penanggal decides to pass through the floorboards. In some instances, it is said that months before birth, family members of the pregnant women would plant pineapples under the house(traditional malay houses are built on stilts and thus have a lot of room underneath). The prickly fruit and leaves of the pineapple would deter the penanggalan from entering through the floorboards. Once trapped, a Penanggalan who attacks the house can then be killed with parangs or machetes. As an extra precaution the pregnant woman can keep scissors or betel nut cutters under her pillow as the Penanggalan is afraid of these items.
Commented by Ilya — March 23, 2010 @ 10:48 am
As a little boy I was introduced to the legends of the Pontianak, would you believe it as bed time stories! The stories must have originated from middle and east Java were my dad lived. Yes he did use the name Pontianak for these spirit irrespective of the discussion about what the name should be. Bearing in mind that these stories as delivered by my father must be well over 80 years old. According to him these spirits are of girls or women who died at giving birth, hinting at that these unfortunates were left to fetch for themselves by husbands or lovers after becoming pregnant. Hence their vengance on men in general. There are however many spirits in the Malesian folklore, so I can understand the mix up and combination of features
of what originally were different entities rolled up into a new version. Well even my gran referred to them as Pontianak and she came from
what was then called Solo in middle Java.the presence Guessing that if she was the originator of my dad’s stories, these stories must be well over 100 years old. In these stories the victim is killed by the Pontianak who pushes the victim’s head into a large foul smelling hole the Pontianak has in her back where the victim then suffocates. The stories always include the presence of water (lake or river) nearby and a Waringen (described to me as a sort of weeping willow) tree.
The Pontianak shieks when she attacks and almost paralizes the victim with it, moving very swiftly through the air, leaving the victim very little time to escape as the victim is earth bound having to dodge obstacles, ditches, shrubs, sticky mud with only the hope that the moon will re-appear from behind the clouds to transform the Pontianak back into the state of the beautiful looking inactive spirit.
Commented by Ed — July 6, 2010 @ 3:59 am
Let me tell you that prior to the experience I am about to relate, I never believed in the supernatural. My unexplained encounter changed all that.
About 15 years ago, I was working as an expatriate in an Oil & Gas company in Malaysia. I was based in a small town called Kerteh, to oversee crude oil refining operations nearby. Because I was there on secondment for only three months, my family did not accompany me.
Living alone had its benefits, for I was free to explore the countryside, unfettered by familial restrictions. This I did every weekend, until I knew every inch of the countryside within a hundred-mile radius of where I stayed.
One Thursday night, after a long day’s work, I prepared to leave the office for home. It was already close to midnight, and I was looking forward to jungle trekking the following day, which was a holiday. I quickly jumped into my Mitsubishi Pajero and drove off, eager to get a good night’s rest before my big adventure the next morning.
The house where I stayed was a good 20 minutes’ drive away. Barely 10 minutes after leaving the office, I was out on country road, with nothing but occasional kampung houses dotting the landscape.
Then, some twenty yards ahead of me, I saw what looked like a hitch-hiker. Probably some Aussie student travelling through Asia in his gap year, I thought. But no, it was a woman - well-dressed and beautiful, carrying a small package.
It did not strike me as strange to see a woman out in the middle of nowhere at such an ungodly hour. The excitement of picking up a beautiful woman dulled my senses, I suppose. I slowed down to a stop and offered her a ride.
As she climbed into the car, I caught a whiff of her perfume. It was a beautiful scent, which I recognised was that of frangipanni. Even with my smattering of Malay, I knew where she wanted to go when she told me. It was along the direction I was going, with a slight detour, no more than 5 minutes’ drive ahead.
With only hand signals, she directed me. The area had pockets of marshland, so when a foul stench permeated the car, I didn’t give it much thought and dismissed it as smelly marsh gas. Soon we reached her house. It was pitch dark and I couldn’t see anything outside. When I expressed concern, she reassured me - with gestures - that it was okay and she was fine.
With that, I left her there and drove home.
Early the following morning, I got ready to drive to the jungle trek rendezvous point. When I opened the car door, I noticed that my passenger from the night before had forgotten her package and left it in my car. It was odd: the package was a cylindrical piece of granite.
I would have to return it, I thought. Anyway, it was a good excuse to see the woman again. I started the car and off I drove.
It took me just five minutes to get to the mysterious woman’s place. Except that it wasn’t a house.
It was a cemetery. And the granite cylinder, I later found out, was a tombstone.
Commented by Abraham Hammersmith — August 6, 2010 @ 4:08 pm
Interesting story, i ones saw a pontianak outside my new house, I was originate in Kuching, Sarawak. but now studying up road, as a Uni student, i got to the habit of sleeping at 3 to 5 AM, and one day i was smoking in my window about 3 am at the morning, i saw a white cloth flying opposite my house, it was dark and late at night and thought i was seeing things but deep down i already know it was a ghost, but not to worry about it cause it was quite normal because i have quite a attraction to this kind of things when i was young. i was just enjoying my smoke for about 5 minutes and i was watching it slowly flying away.
Ladys and gentlemen if next time you see a ghost do not scare of it, it is nothing to be scare of, it is just supernatural, always remember that our wisdom is stronger then supernatural thing by 70%
I am not telling you not to believe that a pontianak is a baby killer or a cheating husband killer, i am just saying, every morning when you wake up, while you reading the newspaper, did u read about a baby when missing?? or a baby is been dead for no pair of reason, not saying man dint get kill over the stupid reason, but BABY ????
I always heard that a person saw a ghost and how lucky that he or she got away BLA BLA BLA, but did we ever hear that a ghost really attack a person??? or kill a person by any change, yeap, i heard a lot about the lady been pick up at night, and asking man to drive them home, but i am asking you man, did the ghost hurt you? the story is all over Malaysia and Indonesia i heard it hundred of times,different time different place, same story over and over, “HOW LUCKY AM I TO GET AWAY” but i have never heard that a person was kill by a ghost by any chance, NEVER !
Commented by emmm — August 10, 2010 @ 1:20 pm