Hantu Tinggi (Tall Ghost) is a being similar to '

Hantu Raya The Hantu Raya is a type of familiar spirit in Malay folklore that acts as a double for black magic practitioners. Roughly meaning "great ghost", it is supposed to bestow great power onto its master. Its true form according to folktale is humanoid ...

' or ' genderuwo' but so tall its body from the waist up is hidden by clouds. It only exists in the Western and Eastern regions of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. In Thailand, Hantu Tinggi likely resembles a closer myth called

Preta Preta ( sa, प्रेत, bo, ཡི་དྭགས་ ''yi dags''), also known as hungry ghost, is the Sanskrit name for a type of supernatural being described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion as undergoing suffer ...

Other names

Usually people in

West Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

call it Bajang Tinggi which means 'tall demon,' or otherwise Tinggi Puaka in modern culture of Malaysia. In Indonesia and Borneo, the common term would be 'Bapak Hantu' or 'Bapak Jin' which means 'Demon's Dad.' (Dad in this usage means bigger than the biggest.)

Nature

Hantu Tinggi may be mistakenly conflated with Hantu Galah, which is a spirit in the form of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

in the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. They are more similar to

or Genderuwo, and are possibly related. The Hantu tinggi is said to be so high it reaches the sun. They are considered ancient beings, predating even the existence of

lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

iblis Iblis ( ar, إِبْلِيس, translit=Iblīs), alternatively known as Eblīs, is the leader of the devils () in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven, after he refused to prostrate himself before Adam. Regarding the o ...

. People may be cursed with physical ailments such as broken spines or necks if they encounter Hantu Tinggi, or

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

if they make eye contact. If a nearby person approaches the spirit, they may find themselves in the

Ghaib Al-Ghaib is an Arabic expression used to convey that something is concealed (unseen). It is an important concept in Islam, encompassing not only the realm of the divine, including angels, paradise, and hell, but also future events, which only God k ...

Realm, or the demon realm. Parents advise their children to recite Qur'an, or quranic verses, coupled with du'a to protect against Hanta Tinggi, or for their children to avoid tall forests or hills and mountains. Someone cursed by one may go to a

Bomoh A ''bomoh'' ( sou, โต๊ะบอมอ; ) is a Malay shaman and traditional medicine practitioner. The term is used mainly in Malaysia and parts of Sumatra, whereas most Indonesians use the word ''dukun''. It is often mistranslated into Engl ...

Pawang A pawang ( sou, โต๊ะปะหวัง; ) is a type of shaman from Indonesia and Malaysia. The pawang deals with magic involving weather, wild animals and spirits, but they may also be employed for cases of sorcery. Pawang are usually ass ...

Dukun A dukun is an Indonesian term for shaman. Their societal role is that of a traditional healer, spirit medium, custom and tradition experts and on occasion sorcerers and masters of black magic. In common usage the dukun is often confused with ...

, or ustadz,

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

Ruqyah In Islam, the belief that spiritual entities—particularly, jinn—can possess a person, (or a thing or location), is widespread; as is the belief that the jinn and devils can be expelled from the possessed person (or thing/location) through ...

healers or any Islamic healer to cure them. They are described as similar to

Hantu raya The Hantu Raya is a type of familiar spirit in Malay folklore that acts as a double for black magic practitioners. Roughly meaning "great ghost", it is supposed to bestow great power onto its master. Its true form according to folktale is humanoid ...

, but thousands of times larger. It is said that a single hair strand from the leg of it is as big as a body builder's arm.

In popular culture

The Hantu tinggi is not as popular as Hantu Galah and

but they appear in Malaysian horror books or autobiographies of people who have experienced it first or secondhand. Most people will say not to believe you own any of the stories, because in Islamic Malay saying: "ghaib itu hanya tuhan yang tahu" ("only god knows of Ghaib").

External links

Singapore's first online ghost stories: Hantu Tinggi
{{Mythology of Malaysia Demons Malaysian mythology Trees in mythology

Other names

Nature

In popular culture

See also

External links