The Kuntilanak
In Indonesia and Malaysia, the scent of frangipani at night was said to announce a long-haired spirit in white.
What was reported
The kuntilanak, called the pontianak in Malaysia, is a female spirit of Malay and Indonesian folklore, said to be a woman who died in childbirth. She's described with long black hair and a white dress, and her arrival is announced by a baby's cry or the sweet smell of frangipani.
One story says the city of Pontianak, in West Kalimantan, takes its name from its founder, Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman, driving off kuntilanak while clearing the land in 1771.
Explanations offered
The figure appears in countless Indonesian and Malaysian films. Folklorists link her to fears around childbirth, once among the greatest dangers in a woman's life, and to the protective customs that grew up around it.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Witnesses
- Malay and Indonesian tradition
- Status
- Legend
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.