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The Nightmarish Demon Child of Southeast Asian Folklore

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In a nod to the Halloween season, I’d like to talk about what I consider one of the creepiest creatures in Southeast Asian folklore—the toyol. Some of you may already know what that is. A toyol is the spirit (some say zombie) of a fetus who died before he or she could be born. To create a toyol, a bomoh (a witch doctor or shaman from Malaysia or Indonesia) searches for the grave of a woman who recently died in childbirth. The bomoh digs up the mother’s corpse and extracts the fetus. He enslaves the fetus through black magic and binds it to a piece of its body, such as a sliver of bone. The bone chip is placed in a bottle in a suspension of corpse oil. The oil is produced by burning the chin of the fetus’ mother with a candle. Once the toyol is enslaved, it has to do its master’s bidding. In folklore, toyols were used to steal from the neighbors, harass enemies or vandalize property. In more recent times, it is said a toyol may help you obtain valuable information such as winning lo...
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The Asian Myth of the Queen of the Night Cactus

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I couldn’t resist buying this little Easter cactus. I’ve never seen blooms this color on these plants. Aren’t the flowers pretty? I’ve got a thing about Easter and Christmas cacti because they remind me of a very special plant in Asia. It’s the “tan hua” or “keng hua” (in Hokkien, a southern Chinese dialect). The plant is a night-blooming cereus (epiphyllum oxypetalum) also known as Dutchman’s Pipe or Queen of the Night. You may have seen a reference to the plant in Kevin Kwan’s book, Crazy Rich Asians , or the movie . The main character’s future in-laws throw a party to celebrate the blooming of their tan hua. Epiphyllum Oxypetalum The tan hua has blossoms that can grow up to 6 inches across. The white flowers have a very heady scent (the better to attract moths and other pollinators). The flowers bloom only at night, and they last just for that night. The plant is special not only because its flowers are so beautiful. Some people believe your household will have good luck and pro...
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'Jiangshi': the Hopping Vampire in Chinese Folklore

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My latest book  The Corpse Ritual features a vampire-like Chinese folklore monster that some of you may recognize. It’s a “jiangshi,” which means “stiff corpse” in Mandarin. Those of you who’ve watched the Mr. Vampire Hong Kong comedy movies from the 1980s will be familiar with this creature. It’s basically a reanimated corpse. Its appearance depends on how long it’s been dead. It hops because its limbs are stiff from rigor mortis.  In Chinese popular culture, the jiangshi usually is shown wearing clothes from the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911). Although it’s called a “vampire” in the movies, there are major differences between a jiangshi and a vampire.  A jiangshi— doesn’t drink blood. It sucks a person’s life essence, or qi. isn’t good-looking or suave. behaves more like a zombie. doesn’t turn into a bat. doesn’t command other creatures of the night. doesn’t sparkle in daylight and won’t ever get the girl (or guy). The hopping corpse folklore supposedly dates b...
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