Sundel Bolong/Sundal Bolong

The Sundel Belong is a form of ghost from Indonesia. The name translates to “prostitue hole” referring to the large hole in their backs. Sometimes they’re ghosts of women who died while pregnant outside of marriage. As the baby is still inside her body when she’s buried, it is born in the grave and bursts out of her back. This action leaves a massive hole in her back. She often has long black hair reaching all the way down her back to cover the hole. They often take the form of a seductive woman in a white dress. They appear pale but entirely human aside from the hole in their backs. Sometimes they appear completely naked but more often, they wear white dresses. They lure men into secluded spots and then reveal their true form, that being a rotted corpse, then rip out the man’s throat and drain their blood. They may instead choose to infect their male victims with a disease that causes lesions, especially near the genitals. Then when the man goes to return home, the Sundel Bolong kills him just as he gets to his front door. Sometimes she lures men away to castrate them. Some legends say they can be trapped in special bottles prepared by priests. Some believe the legends of the Sundel Bolong were created to deter prostitution led by Dutch colonization. The Sundel Belong is one of the most well-known creatures of Indonesian folklore.

Citations:

A Book of Indonesian Ghosts. N.p., StoryTale Studios.

Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2006.