It’s been one of those kinds of weeks, so busy that you don’t know if you’re coming or going. So, it’s Thursday night, and I am scouring the internet for something for Freaky Friday. So, I decided to go to Reddit and look at stories from Law Enforcement Officials. They usually have great stories, and because they are trained observers, their stories are credible.
As I flipped through the stories, I found this one from two years ago:
I was an NS Policeman back in 1989. I was posted to the ECP Police Post.
During one of the night shifts, together with one Regular and two other PNS, we went on a patrol in a Police Jeep. It was around 3 to 4 am, and it had been drizzling the whole night.
We were driving along the bicycle path just after the “notorious” yellow lighthouse when the Regular stopped the jeep.
In front of us, there was a fallen tree trunk. We were told to move the trunk aside as it was blocking our path.
All of us got out of the jeep. I went to the trunk’s bottom to lift it while my teammates tried to lift it from the top.
As we were lifting the trunk, my teammates screamed and dropped the trunk. I heard rustling in the leaves from nearby tree branches. My Regular shouted at me to hurriedly get back into the jeep.
Once we were all aboard, the Regular did a speedy reverse and sped off from there and into the ECP expressway.
I am Chinese, but I did understand a bit of Malay back then. The Regular and the other 2 PNS are Malays, and they were speaking in their language. I could sense the seriousness, fear, and tension in their voices. I asked the Regular, Hamzah 3634 (he had since passed away in the late 90s due to kidney failure), what happened, and since I am a part of the team, I should be kept in the loop.
Hamzah asked me if I saw anything. I said I didn’t see anything, but heard the rustling of tree leaves from the nearby trees.
Hamzah told me that as he and the other 2 PNS were lifting the trunk, a Pontianak emerged from the fallen tree and jumped up into a nearby tree. They saw it with their own eyes.
I have to admit that at the moment I heard the rustling of tree leaves, the hair on my back stood up.
This was my first encounter with the supernatural, and it was not my last.
NS : National Service Regular : A career officer
Wow! Scary, right?
Well, it would be if I knew what the heck a Pontianak was!
So, I looked it up. And, yep, it’s scary. This is from Google AI: The Pontianak (or Kuntilanak) is a vampiric female ghost from Malay and Indonesian folklore, originating from women who died tragically during childbirth, often with a stillborn child. She appears as a beautiful woman with long black hair, red eyes, and a white gown, luring men to disembowel them or steal newborn babies, signaled by crying infants or sweet floral smells that turn rotten. She is a vengeful spirit, often residing in banana trees during the day and vulnerable if a nail is driven into the nape of her neck.
So, let’s break that down a little. We have a vampiric ghost – if just being a vampire or a ghost alone isn’t enough. Then we have her luring men in order to disembowel them. Or, if there are no men to disembowel, she’ll just steal your newborn baby.
Then, she lures you over by acting like a crying baby or smelling like a floral bouquet. However, if you happen to find her during the day, hiding in a banana tree, you can get rid of her by driving a nail into the nape of her neck.
Okay, now that we know we should be frightened, I went back to Reddit to see if I could find any more examples.
I live in a Southeastern country, and Pontianak is a common supernatural being, especially in the rural village areas. I have never seen one up close, but if you look up videos, you can usually see it as a woman in white with very long hair covering her face. Common places it resides in are in the trees, roofs, and other high areas since it can fly. One common knowledge amongst us is that when you sense a fragrant, flowery smell, it means the thing is far away, but if you smell a very pungent, awful smell, it means it is very close, less than 50m away from you. You can hear its cries or laughter, as they are very distinct. Too many stories and experiences of Pontianak sightings for me to say it doesn’t exist
I’m not sure whether it was a Pontianak or something else, but based on the clues, it’s likely a Pontianak. It happened when I was in Form 1. I joined Bulan Sabit Merah and the club camp at school that year, even though it is usually only open to those in Form 2 and above. Anyways, on one of those nights, we were walking around the school, looking for clues our seniors hid in a game of treasure hunt. The prizes were ingredients we were going to use for breakfast the next day. In teams of 5, we were walking around when I suddenly smelt heavy perfume and vague soft sounds of babies crying from behind our club building. Driven by a 13-year-old’s curiosity, I walked over to check it out. Behind the building were a few rooms. One was a janitor’s storage room; the others were a small room for the Muslim teachers and a few Muslim students to pray in, with a tap outside for washing. Behind them were also a few slim trees. I don’t know or remember what type of trees they are, but they were slim and definitely not banana trees. I saw a figure of a beautiful lady under the tree. I don’t remember much, but she was smiling gently and looking at me. Not moving towards or away but just staying there. I forgot if I was about to speak or something, but one of my seniors came over and asked if I found anything. I said no and said something like I was about to ask the lady about it or something. My senior face changed, put his palm behind my head, and made me look at the floor, saying, “Let’s go somewhere else.”
I just followed because I’m just a Form 1 student, while that senior was in Form 4. So, I just quietly did as I was told. After walking back to the main building with the lights on, he just looked at me and said not to say anything about what happened back there and to ignore any further encounters if they happen. I had no idea what it was back then, and I asked my other group members if they smelled perfume or heard the sound of crying babies that time, and all of them said no. The senior also said he didn’t see the lady under the tree, even though during that time, the sky was clear and bright due to the moon (not sure if it was a full moon, but it was bright).
When I was in Form 5, I encountered the same scenario at the exact same place: it was my form’s turn to organize the camp, and I was patrolling the school alone at night. I just pretended I didn’t see anything and carried on.
Most members of my form know I encountered something there, so they usually avoid that place even during the daytime. It’s been a decade, but I still remember it. Although that encounter has really made me interested in the other world a lot more than I should, though.
This reminds me of an old World War II song, made famous by the Andrew Sisters. “Don’t Sit Under the Banana Tree (With Anyone Else But Me.)”
Happy Friday!!!
To read more of Terri Reid’s stories, please click here!