Grouping Legendary creature Other name(s) Phi Krahang Region Southeast Asia | Sub grouping Nocturnal, undead Country Thailand | |
Mythology Southeast Asian folk mythology | ||
Krahang (Thai: กระหัง), also known as Phi Krahang, is a male spirit of the Thai folklore. It manifests itself as a shirtless man, wearing a traditional loincloth, who flies in the night.
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Krahang uses two large Kradong (กระด้ง), round rice winnowing baskets, to fly in the night in rural areas of Thailand. It also often rides a Sak Tam Khao (สากตำข้าว), the long wooden pestle of a traditional manual rice pounder.
Legends
Krahang is a type of nocturnal ghost that is said to haunt the same areas as Krasue, a female spirit of the Thai village folklore, thus these two spirits are often mentioned or represented together. Legends of the Thai oral tradition say that this is an evil spirit that may harm people walking at night in out of the way areas. Like Krasue it lives the life of a normal villager during the day.
In August 2012 villagers at Lat Bua Khao, Sikhio District, in the western part of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, blamed Krahang for some nightly attacks on local women.
Modern adaptations
Krahang is a popular folk spirit that has been featured in the 1991 Thai film Kahang (กะหัง) and film Krahang (กระหัง), as well as in a Sylvania light bulb commercial for Thai audiences.
Representations of Krahang, mostly humorous, are very common in Thai comic books. A benevolent Krahang has a role as well in the Nak animated movie.