In Malaysian folklore a Langsuyar is the malevolent ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. She resents having her life and her child taken from her and wants others to share her fate.

She appears in the form of a sad owl with long claws that she uses to disembowel her victims, especially pregnant women.

She may also appear as a woman in a green robe with extremely long nails and hair. In the form of a woman she uses a hole in the back of her neck to suck the blood of children.

To tame a Langsuyar, cut her hair and nails short, then stuff the hair into the hole in the back of her neck and never allow her to dance.

To guard against a Langsuyar, hang a thorny branch across the entrance of your home. She will believe that she cannot enter without being horribly scratched.

To prevent a woman who has died in childbirth from becoming a Langsuyar, place an egg in each armpit and press the arms close to the body. She will not spread her arms to fly out of the grave for fear of dropping the eggs.

As an extra precaution, stick needles in the palms of the hands so that she cannot grab anyone without driving the needles further in, place an additional egg under the chin, place ashes or glass beads in the mouth, and nail the hands, feet, and hair to the coffin.

In many ways the Langsuyar is similar to the Pontianak, which is the ghost of a child that died at birth. The two are often confused.

She is able to become pregnant and may give birth to an "elfin child," she is also known to drain men of their vigor or castrate them.

When they are not feeding on blood they enjoy eating fish.

Also described as a demon-vampire, and a familiar related to the bajang. She may also be related to the "white-lady" and the banshee.

Also known as Langsuir, or Langsuior.

See Also: Creatures by Type » Vampires

References

Folk-Lore Vol. 13. London: Published for the Folk-Lore Society by David Nutt, 1902.

Hastings, James, & Selbie, John A., & Gray, Louis H. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915.

Summers, Montague. The Vampire, his Kith and Kin. First published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Treubner, and Co., 1928, republished by Forgotten Books, 2008.