The Jenglot
Tiny, dried-up figures with long hair and fangs are shown in Indonesia as living creatures that drink blood. What are they made of?
What was reported
Jenglot are small, mummified-looking figures, often just 10 to 15 centimetres long, with dark, dried skin, long hair, long nails and sharp fangs. In Indonesia and Malaysia, some are said to be living creatures, or people transformed by magic, which must be 'fed' with drops of blood.
They became famous in the 1990s and 2000s, when some were shown in exhibitions and on television and collected as mystical objects.
Explanations offered
When some jenglot were examined, they were found to be made objects, assembled from materials such as animal skin, resin and hair. Similar crafted 'creatures', such as the Feejee mermaid, were made and sold in many parts of the world. For some owners, they remain objects of belief.
- When
- Shown since the 1990s
- Where
- Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
- Witnesses
- Collectors, visitors to exhibitions and researchers
- Status
- Crafted objects
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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