A pontianak or kuntilanak (as known in Indonesia, sometimes shortened to just kunti) is a type of vampire in Malay folklore.
Main Belief
The pontianak is usually a woman who died during childbirth then returns as a revenant, seeking revenge and terrorizing villages.
People believe that having a sharp object (such as a nail) will help them to ward off potential attacks by pontianaks. It is believed that when a nail is plunged into the back of a pontianak's neck, she will turn into a beautiful woman, until the nail is pulled off again.
The pontianak is a viscera sucker; she prefers to kill pregnant women, by stabbing the woman with her talons.
Appearance
She often appears as a beautiful woman, usually accompanied by the strong scent of frangipani. Men who are not wary will be killed when she morphs into a hideous vampire, she will also eat babies and harm pregnant women.
Langsuir
Langsuir is a version of pontianak, popular in Malaysia as one of deadliest banshee in Malay folklore.
Langsuir differ from a pontianak because sucks the blood off their victims from the inside, slowly causing a fatal end. It is believed that langsuir are from women who had laboring sickness (meroyan) as a result of suffering the death of their children and who themselves died afterwards.
See also
References