The Pocong
In Indonesia, people say that if a burial shroud isn't untied in time, the soul inside is trapped, and comes hopping along the road at night.
What was reported
In Islamic burial in Indonesia and Malaysia, the body is wrapped in a white shroud tied at the head and feet. Folklore says the ties must be loosened before the grave is filled; if they aren't, the soul can't leave, and rises as a pocong, still wrapped in its shroud.
With its legs bound, the pocong can't walk. It hops, or is said to float, and appears at night by the roadside or in graveyards, wanting someone to untie it.
Explanations offered
The pocong is a folk belief, not part of religious teaching, and it's a favourite of Indonesian horror films and pranks; in some places people have been arrested for dressing as one to scare drivers. It reflects the importance placed on proper burial.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- As told across Indonesia
- Witnesses
- Indonesian and Malaysian folklore
- 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.
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