| Krasue | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Others | Ahp Kasu Penanggalan | ||
| Original | กระสือ | ||
| Romanization | Kras̄ụ̄x | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Disembodied head and entrails | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | Extreme | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Southeast Asia | ||
| Diet | Blood and internal organs | ||
| Locomotion | Floating | ||
| Related species | Manananggal | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Real | ||
The Krasue is a female undead entity featured in the folklore of Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. They're also known as Ahp in Cambodia, Kasu in Laos and Penanggalan in Malaysia.
Biology[]
These strange and voracious beings typically appear as a beautiful woman's floating, disembodied head, with internal organs and viscera hanging from her neck. The organs usually include the trachea, heart, sometimes the lungs, and parts of the digestive tract. Traditionally, they also emit a luminescent glow.
Krasue are strictly nocturnal and roam the country by night feeding on the blood and organs of both people and animals. If that's not available, they may feed on carrion or even feces. Like the unrelated Aswang, they also have the habit of seeking pregnant women and extending a long tongue or proboscis into their womb to feed on the unborn fetus and the placenta.
Krasue can appear human during the day and only shift into their monstrous form at night. They do it by separating the head and entrails from the torso, leaving a headless and hollow body behind. If that body is destroyed or if the Krasue cannot find it again before sunrise, the entity will die, for its disembodied form cannot stand sunlight. Spikes and thorns can be used as protection against Krasue, as they tend to avoid them due to the danger that their intestines may get stuck, leaving them helpless.
History[]
A famous legend regarding the origin of these creatures tells that the first Krasue was originally an Angkorian princess who refused to marry a Siamese nobleman due to her love for a soldier. The Siamese government condemned her to death by burning. The princess sought help from a sorceress, who produced a spell to make her body immune to the fire. However, the spell started to act too late and most of her body was consumed by the flames, leaving only her head and internal organs intact.
See also[]
- Aswang
- Manananggal
- Rokurokubi