Pontianak

A creature from Malay, Indonesian and Filipino folklore, representing a female vampire spirit.

Variants of the names Matianak, Pontianak, Puntianak, Khantu Pontianak.​‌‌​‌‌​ ​‌‌‌​‌‌ ​​‌‌‌‌

In folklore, it is believed that the spirits of women who died during pregnancy become pontianaks (the word Pontianak is supposed to be a corruption of the Malay perempuan mati beranak — "a woman who died during childbirth") or the ghost of a child who died at birth (another theory suggests that the word is a combination of puan (woman), mati (death) + anak (child), where the term matianak means "death of a child").

In legends, creatures are depicted as pale women with long hair and in white clothes, but supposedly able to take the guise of beauties. Many stories tell that they lie in wait for lonely male travelers on the night roads, seducing them and then brutally killing and drinking their blood.

In Indonesia, a very similar creature is called kuntilanak, however, according to legends, it kills only young virgin girls.

A similar creature in Filipino folklore is called a tianak, but there it represents the ghost of a child who died at birth.