The Penanggalan

03/22/2023

By Samantha Shea, Grade 6

A supernatural monster derived from Asia, the Penanggalan is feared by young mothers and fathers alike. One of the earliest and most feared accounts of the Penanggalan goes like this:

A young mother, cradling her crying baby, paces beside an open window. The scent of flowers from her windowsill are wafted in by a cool, steady breeze. The thin curtains swish in and out of the open window– in, out.

Suddenly, the breeze is replaced by a stiff, warm air, and the scent of flowers is now an overwhelming smell of vinegar.

The young mother knew what this meant. Even so, she needed to confirm it. Shaking, she gently placed her baby in the crib, and hesitantly leaned out the window. Just as she had feared, there was the Penanggalan.

Outside of her window floated a severed head of a young woman, with greasy black hair and pupil-less eyes. There was nothing from the neck down. Immediately, the Pennanggalan started growing long, thin, black, slimy tentacles from its neck, and they started to reach towards the window.

They slid right past the mother, focused completely on another target: the baby.

The young mother tried to hit and fight the tentacles, trying to keep it away from her baby, but to no avail. They grabbed the child and slid back through the window. When the mother looked back, both the monster and her baby were gone.

This was the first witness account of the Penanggalan.

It is said that the Penanggalan has a body, it's just hidden away. Her organs, bones, and inside body parts are soaked in vinegar to shrink them (hence the overwhelming smell of vinegar), and then stuffed inside her head; that's how the monster became just a head. But, every so often, the Penanggalan must return to its body.

Also, don't worry! There are ways to keep this horrific monster at bay.

  1. Lock all of your doors and windows, and cover all the open spots in your house.

  2. If you can manage to find the body of the Penanggalan, then you can stuff it full of broken glass, so that upon the Penanggalan's return, it will die. To find the body, just follow the scent trail of vinegar and wait for it to leave its body behind and go in hunt of infants.

  3. If you suspect that a Penanggalan will come to your house, plant pineapple plants around the house. The Penanggalan might get snagged on the spiky fruit, and then it can be… dispatched.


(There are many different stories describing the monster, this is just one of them!)

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