1.

PONTIANAK

The myth of this evil spirit is that of pregnant women who died during labour then came
back to haunt the living. They usually prey on men and to lure them, they will look like
gorgeous young women.

However, their usual form is of a terrifying beast with red eyes, pale skin, eerily long
hair, and will be wearing a white dress stained with blood.

Legend has it that they tend to hang around banana trees or massive trees with lots of
shade.The pontianak also tends to appear during the full moon and they either mimic a
high-pitched baby’s cries or give loud shrieks.

2.HANTU POCONG

In accordance with the Islamic practice, the deceased are wrapped in a white cloth
called the kain kafan. To keep the cloth on the body throughout the ritual, strings will be
tied above the head, around the neck and below the feet.
Malays and Indonesians believe that if the knots are not released during the burial or
within 40 days, the body will rise from the grave to warn people to release their soul.Due
to their feet being tied, they cannot walk but can only hop around, teleport or fly. They
say that if you loosen up the pocong‘s knots, you will be possessed by them.

3.TOYOL

Toyol are spirits of stillborn babies or dead human fetus invoked by shamans. People
can purchase these little creatures from the witch doctors for various reasons.

Usually, owners of a toyol would use them to steal items or to do mischief. Southeast
Asians believe that if our money or jewellery keep disappearing mischievously, it is the
work of a toyol.
For owners to keep the spirit happy, they must feed them milk every morning, provide
them with toys, light a black candle and play mantras, and sometimes even smear a bit
of the owner’s blood on the statue. For others to ward off the toyol, we can place
needles or sharp items near our possessions which we don’t want to be stolen.

4.Penanggalan

The penaggalan are usually body-less heads of women with some internal organs
flying around. Indeed, they are probably one of the most gruesome-looking evil spirits in
this list.
They are believed to be women who suffered miscarriages and feed on human’s blood
to feed their dead babies. Some people even believe that they also died during
childbirth.
There is another version whereby the penanggalan are actually midwives who made a
deal with the devil to deliver babies to him in return for youthful looks. However, if the
midwife accidentally consumes meat within the first 40 days, she will be turned into
a penanggalan by the devil.
The Dayang people usually refer to this spirit as Kuyang.

5. Orang Minyak
The orang minyak, or oily man, is believed to be a person who made a pact with the
devil to obtain power or to win back their loved ones. In return for this, the person must
worship the devil and rape 21 virgins within a week.
The person would be naked and covered in dark oil so that they are hard to catch. The
scarier part of this being is how there have been actual cases!
Throughout the later half of the 1900’s, there have been sightings of the orang
minyak in various villages throughout Malaysia. The latest sighting was in 2012 at
Kampung Laksamana, Gombak for about 10 days.

6. Hantu Raya
The hantu raya is believed to be the ‘master’ of all ghosts in the underworld. No,
they’re not ghosts which haunt people during Hari Raya.
The hantu raya can take up any shape or form though they usually choose the image
of humans or animals. They feed on offerings from people such as yellow glutinous rice,
eggs, roasted chicken, etc. Sometimes, they even feed on animal blood.
There are people who believe that they have owners just like the toyol. These owners
are usually powerful bomohs.

Well, now that we know what they look like and their nature, we definitely should be
more careful when going out at night. Even if evil humans don’t bother us, perhaps one
of these unhappy spirits will.

Five Scariest Malaysian Ghosts - ExpatGo