Krasue and Thai Accounts of the Flying Female Spirit

Record summary

Krasue is a Southeast Asian female nocturnal spirit commonly described in Thai tradition as a floating head with entrails, associated with childbirth, corpses, impurity, or attacks on vulnerable people. Early twentieth-century Thai folklore and later popular media helped standardize the image, while related traditions have neighboring names and distinct local meanings. The lead is useful for comparing pollution beliefs, female danger, illness narratives, and accusations of witchcraft or spirit attack. It is a tradition rather than a verified incident, and pre-1946 wording and imagery should be established from period ethnography or print sources.