The Malaysian Book of the Undead

by Danny Lim

A compendium of Malaysia's multicultural ghosts, spirits and emanations. Discover their origins, characteristics, and, whenever possible, how to make sure they stay away from you. Among those featured are the Hantu Kopek, Toyol, Pontianak, Datuk Gong, Mohini Pisasu and dozens more. This chatty and occasionally ironic guide is sure to come in handy each time you hear something go bump, or even kak-kak-kak-kak-kak , in the night.

115 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2008

Reviews

[Saskia (Smitie)]

It was a bit difficult to follow some descriptions as a complete newcomer to Malaysia folklore. Still, it was very interesting to read about all the spirits and ghosts.

[Zen Cho]

Bit lightweight, but good for a very quick read, and useful if only for the bibliography at the end. And it was definitely educational -- I'd heard of some of the hantu in the book, of course, but not known, e.g., how the langsuir and the pontianak were connected, or even that Dato Keramat wasn't just some dude.

My favourite hantu is the Dato Keramat or Dato Gong. It is so funny and so revealing about the pragmatic way our forebears approached the issue of living in a multicultural society.

[Aziff]

Short and quirky, The Malaysian Book of the Undead is perfect for light-reading and to fuel idle times. It documents popular anthologies and myths of Malaysia's (and South East Asia's) well-known supernatural; think of it as a compressed encyclopedia of the supernatural and mystic. The entries range from shamans to vampires, and my personal favorite which referenced a newspaper article, Elves. The faint-hearted may not want to read it at night though.

[Johnny B. Rempit]

Just a short book and a wee bit too light for my taste. But still, quite enjoyable. A bit too Malaysian though. Might be a bit difficult for non-Malaysians to comprehend. A glossary section would have helped.

[Khairul Hezry]

A handy guide for those who want to know the popular (and obscure) ghosts, spooks, spirits and emanations that used to fly or are still flying around Malaysian airspace, highways and alleys.

[Senderslime]

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