Belief in ghosts in Thai culture is both popular and enduring. In the history of Thailand, Buddhist popular beliefs intermingled with legends of spirits or ghosts of local folklore.
Thai spirits or ghosts are known generically as phi (ผี). A large proportion of these spirits are nocturnal.
Ghosts are believed to frequent, among other places, certain trees, burial grounds near Buddhist temples, as well as abandoned houses. (Source)
Today was a visit to the village “house of the guardian spirit” – san phra phum (ศาลพระภูมิ).
The following rules are sought in Thailand:
No wearing shoes indoors. Never contradict your mom. And don’t forget to feed the ghosts.
In Thailand, it’s common to believe in paranormal spirits. To appease the spirits in Thailand, skip the somber incantations or spells. These ghosts prefer snacks.
The spirit house is like a parlor where friendly ghosts congregate and receive free fruits and sodas.
Maybe you want to get to know a few ghosts?
Krasue (กระสือ) – probably the most feared ghost in Thailand, the Krasue takes the form of a beautiful woman who glides along mesmerizing their prey.
In Thai mythology, the Krasue was a Khmer princess who was sentenced to death by fire, before it could be carried out she begged a sorceress to protect her from the flames but sadly it did not take effect until she had only her head and organs remaining. She is cursed to be ever hungry, feeding by night on flesh and carrion.
She is a vampiric female ghost whose intestines hang out of her neck and trail behind her head. She is often seen in long flowing dresses to hide the fact that she has no lower body. The Krasue manifests itself as a beautiful woman, the appearance of the spirit can be young or old. Most believe the spirit flies around at night looking for blood or raw food and preys on pregnant women. In order to protect pregnant women, relatives often keep thorns around the house to scare the Krasue away. After the birth of a child, the placenta must be hidden from Krasue. It is a malicious and very dangerous spirit.
It is rumored that the Phi Krasue ate something in life which, although looked delicious, was not cooked sufficiently and subsequently ate away at them from their insides.
Mae Nak (แม่นาก) – one of the most popular phi in Thailand is Mae Nak.
Many years ago, a beautiful woman named Mae Nak lived on the banks of the Phra Khanong Canal in Siam (modern-day Thailand) with her husband, Mak. While urbanized now, Phra Khanong was a small village back then, and the couple hoped to raise a family and live a simple, peaceful life together.
Soon, Nak fell pregnant with Mak’s child. Unfortunately, Siam had just gone to war with the people of the Shan Tribe. Mass conscription soon followed, and Mak found himself at the front lines. At the front, Mak suffered a terrible wound and had to be slowly nursed back to health in Bangkok. But while Mak had escaped death, tragedy struck back home as both Nak and her child died during childbirth.
When Mak eventually returned home, he found his village in ruins thanks to the war. And almost all the houses were either abandoned or destroyed. But as if by some miracle, he discovered his home standing upright and untouched. And inside, he found Nak and his infant son unharmed and waiting for him.
If you want to creep out your neighbors, throw on a long black wig, a white dress, grab a baby doll, and wander around the streets barefoot howling “Phi Maak khaaa“!
Pret (เปรต) – an extremely tall hungry ghost. Two stories tall, very skinny and have needle hole for mouths.
Imagine being extremely hungry all the time, but having a throat so narrow that pain sears through your body when you make any feeble attempt to swallow. Such is the plight of the preta or ‘hungry ghost’, serving out the consequence of bad karma for being overly possessive and attached to material goods in their last lifetime.
Prevalent in Hindu, Taoist and Buddhist traditions, Preta are sentient beings with sunken skin, grossly distended bellies, and needle-thin neck and limbs who have been doomed to an existence of eternal starvation, with little means to satisfy it. And if the unwavering torment of unfulfilled desire seems like insufficient punishment, some of the lucky ones wind up with an insatiable hunger for particularly unenviable ‘foods’, which may be repugnant, humiliating or downright bizarre. Corpses and feces are obvious choices. And while rotting leftovers may be relatively innocuous, let’s not forget the mucous secretions, menstrual blood and other exudations.
Phi Kra-hang (ผีกระหัง) – Krahang uses two large Kradong (กระด้ง), round rice winnowing baskets, to fly in the night in rural areas of Thailand. It also often rides a Sak Tam Khao (สากตำข้าว), the long wooden pestle of a traditional manual rice pounder. It is rumored to eat filth and is seen at night with a glowing aura. Said to be an unpleasant and frightening spirit.
Phi Pop (ผีปอบ) – a malevolent female spirit that devours human entrails and children. In public if infested with Phi Pob the victim will pretend to be ill but when given the opportunity it will steal uncooked meat to eat at night.
Nang Tani (นางตานี) – a female tree spirit which lives in banana trees and appears on a full moon night. It is regarded as a good ghost and will give bananas as food and occasionally may fill the alms bowls of itinerant monks. She has green skin and wears traditional Thai clothes, and likes to seduce men. She can even have a relationship with a human man – but she takes terrible revenge on men who are cheaters and/or who abandon her.
Phi Am (ผีอำ) – a spirit that sits on a person’s chest or liver while they sleep to suffocate them or injure them.
Phi Tai Hong (ผีตายโหง) – the ghost of a person that suffered a sudden violent or cruel death. In certain cultures where funerals and burial or cremation ceremonies are important, such vengeful spirits may also be considered as unhappy ghosts of individuals who have not been given a proper funerary rite.
Phi Hong Nam (Phi Kee to adults if you want to make them laugh) – A being that lives in your toilet, and will remove bad luck from your excrement (before you flush) if you remember to ask. Kee, which translates to poop must be consulted before your toilet is used and after a bad dream, as doing so will see bad luck being removed from you via your excrement. Perhaps not the scariest of ghosts, it’s worth having a chat with it if you’re set on eating nothing but questionably-clean street food whilst you’re here, as there’s not much scarier than having food poisoning and access to only a squat toilet.
Kuman Thong (กุมารทอง) – spirits of young children caught by voodoo masters to do his biddings, usually dressed in Thai ancient clothing with traditional hair bun.
A one-legged ghost with a protruding proboscis that repeats “Kong Koi” whilst hopping around, Kong Koi dwells in forests and sucks blood from the toes of campers who are sleeping. It’s advised to either cross your legs or sleep with something on your feet if you’re planning to camp out under the stars.
