| Grouping | Ghosts |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Vengeful ghost,undead |
| Similar entities | Tai Thang Klom,Tai Thong Klom |
| Folklore | Thai folk mythology |
| Country | Thailand |
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Habitat | Haunted houses, area where death took place |
Phi Tai Hong (Thai:ผีตายโหง) is aghost ofThai folklore. It is thevengeful andrestless spirit of a person who suddenly suffered a violent or cruel death.
Phi Tai Hong usually has its origin in a man or a woman who died suddenly, often without the observance of properfunerary rituals.[1] According to theRoyal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words,tai hong means "to die an unnatural and violent death, such as being murdered or drowning" andPhi Tai Hong means the ghost of a person who died in such manner.[2] The wordhong (โหง) has two components: "great suffering" and "suddenness or unexpectedness", with the latter component being more prominent because people who becomePhi Tai Hong are not able to prepare themselves for death. These types of ghosts symbolize how life can end unpredictably and anyone can become victims of death. Thus there is a distinction between them and for example, cancer patients, who do suffer greatly but are aware of their condition and potential death.[3]Suicide victims or prisoners who were executed also do not fall under the category ofPhi Tai Hong because their death was anticipated.
According to Thaioral traditionPhi Tai Hong are especially dangerous and aggressive because, due to their sudden death, they were unable to fulfill their dreams and desires while alive.[4] As such, their anger and sorrow are manifested into the form of a vengeful ghost. It is believed that the first seven days of a person's death is when their spirit is most actively seeking revenge and the living are advised to avoid the area where they had died.Phi Tai Hong will often try to kill other living people in the same manner of which they had died themselves, and as a consequence they are among the most feared ghosts in Thai culture.[5]
Thai culture blames these types ofvengeful spirits as one of the most difficult toexorcise. This is due to their particularly violent nature and because they actively haunt areas where their death took place, includinghouses. Exorcisms can be very complicated, involving arcane ceremonies. Stories about this kind of spirit and the exorcism ceremonies that are needed to be free from them are popular in Thai publications.[6]
There is another distinct form ofPhi Tai Hong known asTai Thang Klom (ตายทั้งกลม) orTai Thong Klom (ตายท้องกลม),[7][8] which is the ghost of a woman who died together with her child in her womb.[9]
The most violent and vengeful manifestation ofPhi Tai Hong comes in the form of ghosts calledTai Thang Klom (ตายทั้งกลม) orTai Thong Klom (ตายท้องกลม). They are ghosts of pregnant women who died along with an unborn child, typically due to childbirth complications. These ghosts are even more malevolent because two lives were lost, not just one, resulting in the power of two spirits.[10]
Written records going far back as to theAyutthaya period detail the power and fear associated with this particular type of spirit. According to the writings ofJeremias van Vliet, a director of theDutch East India Company in Ayutthaya during the 17th century, sacrificing pregnant women by burying them alive under city fortifications and buildings turned them into protective spirits rather than destructiveTai Thang Klom orTai Thong Klom.[11]
Phi Tai Hong is a ghost that has been featured in many movies of different types, such as 2003Thai comedy-horror filmBuppah Rahtree and the 2010 filmTai Hong.[12] It also appears in many other movies, but in a role less central to the theme. In itsTai Thang Klom variant this ghost is featured in the 2010 filmTai Thang Klom ("The Snow White").[13]
Phi Tai Hong is also a recurring theme inThai television soap operas(lakhon) such asThe Sixth Sense (สื่อรักสัมผัสหัวใจ),[14] the highly successfulRaeng Ngao (แรงเงา), and inFai Huan (ไฟหวน),[15] as well as in the more recentNang Chada (นางชฎา) withDavika Hoorne as thevengeful ghost[16] andWaen Sawat (แหวนสวาท) starring 'Pancake'Khemanit Jamikorn in adual role.[17]
ThePhi Tai Hong legend often provides a plot toerotic films, such asPhi Sao Tai Hong[18] andKhon Hen Phi,[19] in which the hero spends a night of pleasure with a woman, but then finds out later she was an apparition.[20][21]
ผีตายโหง : น. คนที่ตายผิดธรรมดาโดยอาการร้ายเช่นถูกฆ่าตาย ตกน้ำตาย. โหง ๑ : น. ผี; เรียกการตายผิดธรรมดาโดยอาการร้าย เช่นถูกฆ่าตาย ตกนํ้าตาย ว่า ตายโหง.
ทั้งกลม : ว. ทั้งปวง, ทั้งหมด, ทั้งสิ้น; เรียกหญิงที่ตายพร้อมกับลูก ที่อยู่ในท้องด้วยว่า ตายทั้งกลม คือ ตายทั้งหมด. ผีตายทั้งกลม : น. หญิงที่ตายในขณะที่ลูกยังอยู่ในท้อง.
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