In part 1 I spoke of the four general categories of Thai ghosts. In part 2 I’ll talk about the types of ghosts, and many of these types can fit into any of the part 1 categories. Keep in mind that this will be a short-list of the most famous types, as there are plenty more.
pee5 gra1sue5 ผีกระสือ – This is one of the most feared of all Thai ghosts. During the day, this female ghost will appear like any other ‘normal’ person. She’ll have friends, flirt with guys, etc. And she’ll be very pretty. Your only clue would be that she won’t eat, giving excuses as to why. But at night, her head and vertebrae and perhaps some entrails and internal organs will separate from her body and float around looking for raw meat to eat. She’s considered a very dangerous ghost, and can sometimes have a glowing aura. The joke is that since she doesn’t have hands to wipe her mouth after eating, she’ll float around your clothes (that are hanging out overnight to dry) and stain them with blood from her mouth. It’s said that by eating raw meat any woman could be infected and become a pee grasue. A few decades ago there was a Thai soap opera (now available on youtube) where one of the main characters was a pee grasue, but looked too boring for me to watch. This below video talks about ‘the very first time a pee grasue was caught on video tape’. Believe it, or not.
pee5 gra1hang5 ผีกระหัง – I’ve seen various versions of this terrifying ghost, but it’s basically a flying bird-like man. Appearing only at night, he may or may not have a glowing aura, and could be benevolent or evil. He eats ‘filth’. A few years ago a B-quality movie called GraHang was released, where the grahang always seemed to fly in to save the day from ‘bad guys’. The theme music was pretty good, too. But I couldn’t find it anywhere on youtube to show you. Instead, this old video is an example of a more evil version of a grahang.
pee5 bpaa2 ผีปา – The pee bpaa, or ‘forest ghost’, comes in many different shapes and forms. If you’re roaming the forest at night without a flashlight, they’re sure to be all around you. Supposedly some hunters may leave a piece of their catch to appease and show respect to these spirits, like an ear or a foot.
