by Oregon Chang
Shortly after midnight, when all the village people are sound asleep, she would pull her head and all her internal organs out of her body and slip out through the window of her house, leaving behind her empty figure that is separated from the neck down. She would fly from house to house, sometimes from rice paddy to rice paddy, looking for some dirty and unpleasant stuff to feed herself. A villager-if he’s not yet asleep- could spot her easily since there is a bright green light emanating occasionally from her lungs as she goes from place to place.
Perhaps you haven’t heard of this kind of grotesque creature before. Ask any Cambodian what it is called.
Everyone knows it is called Arb, although I believe not many would claim to have seen Arb in real life, except in TV series or in movies. I’ve heard stories of people seeing Arb in my hometown a few times while I was a kid. But I have never been lucky enough to meet and talk to those people.
Usually, in Khmer, the word Arb is followed by the word Thmob. We say Arb-Thmob, meaning witchcraft or sorcery. A Guru Arb-Thmob (a witch) is believed to possess evil power that can cause harm, disease, bad luck or even sudden death to anyone he or she dislikes.
P.S. : It is an South East Asian Vampire basically known differently.
Arb = Cambodia Malevolent Spirit
Krasue in Thailand
Phi-Kasu or Kasu in Laos
Ma Lai in Vietnam
Penanggalan or Hantu Penanggal in Malaysia & Indonesia
Manananggal in Philippines
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