Find me here:
  The Paranormal Guide
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Atlas
  • Glossary

Penanggalan

7/6/2015

Comments

 

Detached Head and Entrails...

Picture
During the day the Penanggalan will appear as a normal woman, but when darkness falls her head will detach from the body, trailing her internal organs behind her, as she hunts for food.

The Penanggalan will seek the homes of pregnant women, waiting for their child to come into the world, then she will strike with a long, invisible tongue, to feed on the blood of the newborn and the mother.

Picture
As well as having written over 300 articles about all things paranormal, strange, dark and bizarre for The Paranormal Guide, Ashley is also the producer and director of the sites videos, and is the producer and host of The Paranormal Guide Podcast.

"Researcher, Investigator, Writer, Director, Film Maker, Folklorist... Basically I love a good story and even better if it has a dark or paranormal twist!"

Find Ashley on Facebook HERE!
Ashley founded, owns and operates The Paranormal Guide.

PicturePenanggalan.
Origin: Malaysian Folklore

Next time you or someone close to you is pregnant, keep a close eye on the midwife. If she smells of vinegar this can be a bad sign. If after you have given birth the midwife's detached head and entrails visit you in the night, to feed on you or your newborns blood, well you have got yourself a problem – a Penanggalan is paying a visit.

The Penanggalan is a type of vampire written and spoken of in Malaysian folklore. It is a woman who has made a ritual pact to gain supernatural powers. The pact itself is not what creates a Penanggalan but rather the breaking of said pact. For the woman to receive these powers she makes several promises, one of these promises is that she will not eat meat for forty days, and if this rule is broken she will become the cursed vampiric creature.

During the day she will appear as a normal living person but when darkness falls her head will detach from the body, trailing all of her internal organs behind her, as she seeks out food. She will wait near the houses of pregnant women for their newborns to come into the world, then she will strike. She will either herself enter the building if possible or will insert her long, invisible tongue through a window, door or a crack in the roof, and will feed on the blood of the newborn and the mother. The Penanggalan will not just take the blood but also the flesh if possible.

Those who a Penanggalan have fed on (and survived) will suffer from a wasting disease that only a Bomoh (shaman) can cure.

Before sunrise the Penanggalan will return to its hollow body. Before resuming its human guise it will soak its trailing organs in a vat of vinegar that it keeps in its home - this both cleans and shrinks them making for a much easier entry through the open neck.

Due to its preferred food a Penanggalan will seek out work as a midwife or any other job that will bring her closer to pregnant women and newborn children.

There are several ways to protect oneself from a Penanggalan and most of these take the form of hanging thorny vines and leaves around doorways and windows. This is said to ensnare the trailing entrails of the Penanggalan, leaving it an easy target for a machete or other sharp weapon.

If you happen across the hollowed out body of a Penanggalan you can fill it with broken glass which will cause the internal organs to rupture when they return home, killing the creature.

(Several people and cultures in the region have their own versions and some with different names)



Comments
comments powered by Disqus

    The Paranormal Guide Articles

    Here you will find all of the articles written for The Paranormal Guide on all things paranormal, strange, dark, macabre, weird, strange and bizarre!

    All photos with the blog posts remain the property of their respectful owners. If one of your photos is featured here without attribution please leave a comment on the blog and full credit will be given.

    Categories

    All
    Bizarre Experiments
    Conspiracy
    Cryptozoology
    Cursed And Haunted Objects
    Curses Demons And Exorcisms
    Earth Mysteries
    Fakes Frauds And Hoaxes
    Ghosts And Hauntings
    Ghosts Ghouls And Demons
    Interesting And Inspiring People
    Investigations
    Miracles
    My Paranormal
    Paranormal Photos
    Paranormal Vocabulary
    Phobias And Philias
    Post Mortem Practices
    Psychics Predictions And Seers
    Questions And Discussions
    Reviews
    Spirituality And Miracles
    Spirituality And Miracles
    Strange And Macabre Places
    Strange And Tragic Deaths
    This Week In Dark History
    Tragedy
    True Crime And Punishment
    Ufos And Aliens
    Unsolved Mysteries
    Urban Legend Superstition And Folklore
    Weird Odd And Bizarre


    Ashley Hall -
    The Paranormal Guide

    Ashley Hall explores The Paranormal, True Crime, Strange Deaths, Dark History, The Weird, The Strange and The Bizarre! Fact or Fiction? You decide!

    Picture

    Contributors

    Picture
    Matty Sweeney
    Picture
    Peet Banks
    Picture
    Nic Hume

    Picture
    Check out The Paranormal Guide Podcast and join three paranormal investigators and researchers for honest and raw discussions on all things paranormal, strange, dark and macabre HERE!

    Archives

    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Please note that dates are from when the article was originally made.
    The Paranormal Guide does have posts all the way up to the current date.


    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.