Case file · Folklore / legend
Penanggalan
A Malay vampire spirit in the form of a floating woman's head trailing its organs, which glows at a distance like a will-o'-the-wisp.
1845 CE · 2.33, 102.29 · status: legend
The account
It is mentioned in the Hikayat Abdullah (1845), whose author recorded Stamford Raffles's amusement at the belief. Similar beings exist across South-East Asia, such as the Ahp in Cambodia and Kasu in Laos.
The sceptical view
It is a traditional spirit belief, reinforced in modern times by horror films.