APIFantasy | Myth and Folklore Anthology

Thai Mythology - Legend #2: Krasue

Please note that there are different versions of this folktale and that it also exists in other cultural mythologies.

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KRASUE

There is a ghost known as Krasue in Thailand, though she has appeared in other Southeast Asian folklore. There have also been several movies and books that feature her because she is one of the most terrifying ghosts of Southeast Asia.

For those of you who may not know, Krasue is a noctural female spirit who appears as a young, beautiful woman. However, the problem with this spirit is that her entrails hang below her neck. As she moves from place to place, her head floats above the ground. Those who claimed to have seen her mention that they can see her heart, stomach, and intestines floating just below the head. She is also known for having vampire-like teeth and being covered in blood.

In this version, her origins come from Thailand. There once was a Khmer princess who was meant to marry a Siamese nobleman after her people were defeated in war. However, she was in love with a man who was of low status. Eventually, her and this man were caught together and sentenced to death by burning, precipitated by the Siamese nobleman she was engaged to. Before the execution, the princess cast a spell over herself so her body would remain unharmed by the fire. But the effect of the spell was delayed, so only her internal organs and head remained.

It is said she deals with a terrible curse - to feast on the blood of animals at night while living as a normal person in a body she stole during the day. Before daybreak, she must rejoin with the body.

There are three ways to kill a Krasue: (1) destroy the body when Krasue is hunting at night and replace it with the wrong body, (2) hide the body so she can't find it when daybreak arrives, or (3) the two parts of her body.

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