Phi Am
- A ghost which sits on the chest or liver of people whilst they sleep causing discomfort. It can be harmful.
Phi Braed
- A giant ghost which can be either male or female and sports a sucker like mouth. Is feared in Thailand as it is said to kill parents.
Phi Chamob
- This ghost is said to haunt the place where a woman has died in the jungle. This spirit does not do any harm.
Phi Duat Leut (aka Phi Kang Kaw)
- A ghost that resembles the western Vampire in that it sucks the blood of it's victim.
Phi Ha (aka Phi Tong Kom)
- The spirit of a woman who has died in childbirth. This ghost is considered to be very violent.
Phi Hai (aka Phi Tay Hong)
- These spirits inhabit places or areas where someone has died an unanutural or violent death. In search of victims to possess they are easily offended and will possess people at every given opportunity. They can be tempted to leave from their victim by making an offering however if this is not sufficient for the ghost then an exorcism will be required involving incantations and lustral water. Should this fail then a whip will be used to drive the ghost from its host.
Phi Ka
- These spirits dwell inside women and unless treated by eating raw eggs can be passed onto others without their knowledge. Can be violent and attack people. Similar to Phi Pob.
Phi Phrai
- This unfortunate spirit is of a woman who has died during childbirth. If that was not enough of a burden their body has been used in a ceremony to extract Phi Thai Hong lotion - this lotion is said to provide the magical ability to drive men wild and attracted to the woman that administers the concoction. The lotion is obtained by a sorcerer who will extract essential oils from the corpse by putting a lighted candle under the deceased persons chin.
Phi Kee
- After waking from a bad dream and going to the toilet you should ask your excretement to go peacefully before flushing so the spirit can take away any bad luck.
Phi Khamod (aka Phi Kaserg)
- A spirit that misleads travellers and takes the form of a red star.
Phi Kra-hang
- This ghost appears as a man with feathers and a tail like a bird which it uses to fly around. It is rumoured to eat filth and is seen at night with a glowing aura. Said to be an unpleasant and frightening spirit.
Phi Kra-sue
- Probably the most feared ghost in Thailand the Kra-sue takes the form of a beautiful woman who glides along messmarising their prey. Often seen in long flowing dresses to hide the fact that they have no lower body, just a mass of internal organs and intestines suspended from their head. They are malicious and very dangerous spirit. It is rumoured that the Phi Kra-sue when alive ate something which, although looked delicious, was not cooked sufficiently and subsequently they were eaten away from their inside.
Phi Krasy (aka Phi Sing)
- Said to live inside the body of a witch. A witch can be recognised in the daytime by having a glazed look about them, are unable to blink and will not look at anyone in the face. Like the legend of a Vampire, the witch does not cast a reflection in a mirror. The ghost itself will escape through the mouth at night whilst the witch sleeps, and will feed on dirt and occasionally entrails, which ,if they are yours, will result in death. Krasy have a head the size of a tennis ball which is the colour of fire and a long bluish tail about half a metre in length. Before the witch dies their spittle must be consumed by someone else for the Krasy to be passed to their new host. Not regarded as a very harmful unless it eats your entrails....
Phi Lok
- A roaming ghost which haunts various localities. Its aim is to scare, frighten and mislead people. They can be seen as well as felt.
Phi Nang Ta-kean
- The ghost of a beautiful young lady that haunts the Hopea tree - as a result many Thai people do not like to have a Hopea tree growing in their garden.
Phi Nang Tani
- A female tree spirit which lives in banana trees and appears on a full moon night. It is regarded as a good ghost and will give bananas as food and occasionally may fill the alms bowls of itinerant monks. Similar to Phi Nang Ta-kean and for same reasons the Thais do not like this type of tree if haunted.
Phi Pa
- A spirit that dwells in the forest. Hunters may leave a piece of their catch to appease and show respect to the spirit, normally a bit of the eyelid, lip, tongue or foot of the killed animal.
Phi Pawb
- The spirit of someone that has died violently and sits on the shoulders of their victim causing the victim to appear lop sided.
Phi Peta
- A hungry ghost. It is said that anyone that is more preoccupied with material attachments and exclude the spiritual will be reborn as a Peta once they die. They have a giant belly and a mouth as small as the eye of a needle with an enormous appetite for almost everything, food, money, power or sex. A Peta ghost can sometimes be heard whistling at night, looking for someone to make merit for them. This ghost is ill tempered and agressive as they constantly remain unsatisfied.
Phi Poang Khang
- A spirit in the shape of a black monkey which likes to suck the big toe of people sleeping in the jungle. It is said to live near salt licks.
Phi Pob
- A devious ghost which will infest it's victim and eat away their entrails before leaving their victims body. In public if infested with Phi Pob the victim will pretend to be ill but when given the opportunity it will steal uncooked meat to eat at night.
Phi Tai Ha
- The spirit of a woman who has died of malaria, the ghost also has the ability to spread the deadly disease.
Phi Thuk Khun
- The lifeforce of a living person which has to leave the physical body and be sent out on astral journey on a weekly basis. If this does not happen then harm will come to its owner.
One of the most popular Thai Ghost Stories
The Story of Nang Nak
Centuries ago in a rural village in Thailand Nang Nak lived happily with her husband, Mak. Everything seemed to be going well for the couple as Nang had just fallen pregnant and they were both looking forward to the birth of their first child. However, their cirumstances changed when Mak was called away to fight in a war leaving Nang to tend for herself alone.
Many months passed before Mak eventually returned home after being injured and barely surviving the war. As he travelled closer to his home he noticed that many of his fellow villagers did not speak to him or acknowledge him. This was soon forgotten when he reached his home and was greeted by his beautiful wife, Nang and their new baby. Life soon returned to normallity for Mak and Nang dutifully undertook the tasks of caring for her husband, their baby and cleaning their wooden Thai style stilt house.
Mak soon felt that something was not quite right, and strange things were occuring in the village. It was not until a friend of Mak visited him that things took a more sinister twist. His friend, along with the other villagers, knew that Nang had died along with her child in childbirth yet Mak was living with the ghost of his departed wife seemingly unaware of what had happened. The ghost of Nang, unable to accept her early death and thought of losing her much loved husband, was projecting an alternate world, disguising the real events from Mak.
After returning home Mak's friend decided to go the next day to tell Mak that he is living with a ghost, however, the ghost of Nang would not allow this and killed him before he could tell the truth. The ghost of Nang became increasing protective over her husband, and killed anyone that appeared a threat to her or who would tell her husband what really happened to his wife.
It was not until Mak witnessed a strange occurrance that he began to realise that the world he thought he was living in was actually a charade implemented by his wife. Whilst upstairs preparing a meal for them, Mak witnessed a lemon fall through a gap in the floorboards and his wife's arm distend and stretch down to the floor below to pick up the fruit. Shocked by what he witnessed he began to see cracks appear in his world and that his house was not a nicely kept home but was now a derelict shack. Fearing for his life he fled to the local temple.
Mak along with the terrified villagers decided to rid the village of the ghost of Nang and burned down the now delapidated house however this failed to have the desired effect and only angered the ghost of Nang more. After an unsuccessful attempt by the local shamen to exercise the ghost it was evident that they could not tackle the ghost alone as she was simply too powerful, such was her devotion to her husband, so it was decided to summon someone more powerful who could exorcise the ghost.
The countries most revered Buddhist monk was located and arrived to tackle the spirit of Nang. After many attempts by Nang to evade the monk he overpowered her spirit and she finally repented allowing her husband to break free of her and start a new life. The body of Nang was exhumed and the monk retrieved a piece of bone from the forehead of Nang's skull as this would destroy not only the ghost of Nang but also her soul. Her body was again laid to rest and the ghost of Nang disappeared.
The legend says that the piece of skull was made into a broach and worn by the monk until his death. It later arrived into the possession of His Royal Highness Prince Chumbhorn Ketudomsak and subsequently passed through the hands of many people. Today the whereabouts of the broach is unknown, but the sad story of Nang Nak continues to live on in Thai culture.
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