Pontianak
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- Pontianak is also a city in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
A pontianak or kuntilanak (as known in Indonesia, sometimes shortened to just kunti) is a type of vampire in Malay folklore. The pontianak is usually a woman who died during childbirth and becomes undead, seeking revenge and terrorizing villages. She often appears as a beautiful woman and there will be a strong scent of frangipani. She is also seen by the head and neck and the intestines dangiling to the ground when wanting to feed. Men who are not wary will be killed when she morphs into an ugly vampire, she will also eat babies and harm pregnant women. People believe that having a sharp object like a nail helps them fend of potential attacks by pontianaks, the nail being used to plug a hole in the back of the pontianak's neck.
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 Indonesian twist on this is plunging the nail into the apex of the head of the kuntilanak.
Also see Bajang, Langsuir, Langsuyar.
External Link
Singapore Paranormal Investigation Article About Pontianak: http://www.spi.com.sg/spi/spi_files/pontianak/