The Pontianak, Kuntilanak, Matianak or 'Boentianak' (as known in Indonesia, sometimes shortened to just kunti) is a type of vampire in Malay folklore and Indonesian mythology, similar to the Langsuir. Pontianak are women who died during childbirth and became undead, seeking revenge and terrorizing villages. The name 'pontianak' is reportedly a corruption of the Indonesian or Malay 'perempuan mati beranak', or 'she who has died in childbirth'

What is Pontianak?

In Malaysia, the creature "Pontianak" is believed to exist in real by certain individual and it is considered a legend by some. The origination of the word "Pontianak" is unknown. In Malay "anak" means child but the word "ponti" is unknown.

It is in general believed that "Pontianak" is the soul of a lady died of child birth. "Pontianak" is basically a female vampire who appears at night. Sometimes she is accompanied by a baby. Normally she is seen at the road side or under a tree. She has long hair. Sometimes she appears young and beautiful to attract male victims. After the victim falls in her trap, she will turn ugly and old with sharp teeth. Attacks would be based on claws, and defense probably on leaping or footwork. She is believed to feed on intestines and blood. "Pontianak" is believed to be attracted by child birth when there is a plenty of blood flowing out from human body. In the olden days, measures are taken by the people to prevent the vampire from coming during child birth. She is believed to be scared of thorns.

The legend

It is said that a woman who dies while she is with child will rise again as a "Pontianak", a fearsome nocturnal undead being who will bring violent death on anyone she meets. Such a being resides inside the trunk of ancient trees, but will revert to her old human nature if an iron nail is driven into her neck. The nail remains in the woman's neck until she dies and is buried with it ... should the nail ever be removed, she will once again become a Pontianak and embark on a killing spree. Due to the frightening fighting prowess of one of these creatures, few are willing to attempt to tame one. For this reason, it is considered unlucky to strike a woman, especially a married woman.

Appearance

In folklore, a Pontianak usually announces its presence through baby cries or assumes the form of a beautiful lady and frightens or kills those unlucky enough to come too close. It disguises itself as a beautiful young woman mainly to attract its victim (usually male). Its presence can sometimes be detected by a nice floral fragrance identifiable as that of the Plumeria, followed by an awful stench afterward. In his 1977 short story collection The Consuls File Paul Theroux posits that the phantom is an invention of Malay wives who wanted to discourage their husbands from random sexual encounters with women that they met on the road at night.

It is also believed that a Pontianak is very likely to want to target certain female victims (in particular, those who are pregnant or in the childbirth process), and attempt to cause miscarriages as a form of revenge, due to that fact that they may have died as a result of dying during childbirth themselves.

Gauging how far away a Pontianak is by its cries is very tricky. The Malays believe that if the cry is soft, it means that the pontianak is near, and if it is loud, then it must be far. Some believe that if you hear a dog howling, that means that the pontianak is far away. But if a dog is whining, that means the Pontianak or demon-vampires is nearby.

Some also say that mistaking a 'flash' of someone passing by may actually be the Pontianak 'moving' around. They are often described as a woman having very long black hair covering their faces, and wear a long white dress, while their legs and feet are not visible.

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