Thai police called in to take on village's female ghost

Thais believe in a several ghosts, including the "Nang Nak", to whom devotees appeal for help

Officers of the Royal Thai Police Force have been called on to undertake a ghost-busting mission in eastern Thailand, where a malevolent female ghost has reportedly left villagers spooked for months.

Police were dispatched to a village in Amnat Charoen province to deal with the ghost, known locally as "phi pob", which villagers said had killed four cows and caused four border police officers to fall ill, Thai online media outlet Khaosod English reports.

Village leaders had requested a police presence to "strengthen civilian morale, prevent panic and boost residents' confidence in living their daily lives", the website said.

Police have already started their patrols to ward off the spirit, with local police chief Adul Chaiprasithikul stating that, at present, "more people believe in phi pob than those who don't".

Haunting history

The so-called phi pob is believed to have the ability to possess humans and wreak havoc on an entire village, with many rural communities reporting hauntings each year, the report says.

In 2016, three individuals reportedly possessed by a phi pob forced family members and neighbours to strip naked at knifepoint.

The spirit is the subject of a long-running Thai film franchise known as Baan Phi Pob.

But it doesn't appear to be the only ghost on the scene in Thailand, a country known for its superstitions.

According to online Thai newspaper Samui Times, at least 20 other spirits inhabit the country, but not all are malign.

The Phi Poang Khang spirit, for instance, is known to take the "shape of a black monkey that likes to hang out near salt licks in the jungle and suck the big toes of people sleeping there."

At the other end of the spectrum is the Phi Kra-sue spirit, described as the most feared ghost in the country.

The spirit is said to takes the form of a beautiful woman who mesmerises her prey and is "often seen in long flowing dresses to hide the fact that she has no lower body, just a mass of internal organs and intestines suspended from her head".

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