Pelesit and Polong

In the darkest corners of Malaysian black magic, where practitioners dare to cross lines that should never be crossed, there exist spirits born from murder and bound by blood. The Pelesit and Polong are familiar spirits, creatures created through unspeakable rituals to serve as weapons against the witch’s enemies. The Pelesit enters first, appearing as a cricket that burrows into the victim’s body to prepare the way. Then comes the Polong, a more powerful spirit that follows the path the Pelesit has opened, possessing the victim and driving them to madness, violence, and death. These are not spirits summoned from some distant realm—they are made from human victims, bound to their creator with ties of blood that must be regularly renewed. Malaysian black magic at its darkest produces servants that were once human, and the price of their creation is murder itself.

The Pelesit

According to documented folklore, the Pelesit is the lesser of the two spirits, though no less horrifying in its nature and purpose. This spirit is created from the tongue of a murdered man, extracted through dark ritual and transformed into a supernatural servant. The Pelesit typically manifests in the form of a cricket, an innocuous appearance that allows it to approach victims without arousing suspicion. In its cricket form, the Pelesit enters the victim’s body, burrowing into flesh to prepare the way for its more powerful partner.

The Pelesit serves as a scout and pathbreaker, weakening the victim’s spiritual defenses and creating an opening through which the Polong can enter. It operates under the complete control of its master, the witch who created it, following commands with the mindless obedience of a creature that exists only to serve. The Pelesit cannot act independently or disobey its creator—it is a tool, an instrument of malice given supernatural form.

The Polong

The Polong is the more dangerous of the paired spirits, created from the blood of a murder victim collected during dark ritual. This spirit is described as roughly the size of a bottle, a small but potent entity that possesses terrible power when unleashed against its master’s enemies. Unlike the Pelesit, which merely prepares the victim, the Polong is the killing force, the spirit that drives its host to madness and death.

The relationship between the Polong and its master is maintained through regular blood offerings. The witch must feed the spirit from her own body, typically by pricking a finger and allowing the Polong to drink. This blood bond ensures the spirit’s loyalty and maintains its power, but it also creates a dangerous dependency. The Polong requires regular feeding, and a witch who neglects her spirit may find it turning against her. The blood that binds is also the blood that demands, and the Polong’s hunger is never fully satisfied.

Creation

The creation of Pelesit and Polong requires not merely dark magic but murder. The process begins with killing a man through supernatural means, a death that serves the dual purpose of eliminating an enemy and providing the raw materials for spirit creation. From the corpse, the witch extracts the tongue, which through ritual becomes the Pelesit, and collects the blood, which through further dark rites becomes the Polong.

The rituals involved are closely guarded secrets, known only to practitioners of the darkest Malaysian magic. They involve invocations, offerings to malevolent powers, and the binding of the murdered man’s spiritual essence to physical vessels. Once created, the spirits must be maintained through regular blood offerings from their master, a price that ensures only the most committed practitioners will undertake such creation. The Pelesit and Polong are not tools for casual malice—they are weapons of last resort, created through ultimate transgression for ultimate purposes.

Effects

When Pelesit and Polong are sent against a victim, the effects are devastating and unmistakable. The victim experiences sudden madness, their mind overwhelmed by the possessing spirits. They may become violent, attacking friends and family without reason or warning. They speak in tongues, their voice distorted by the entities that have taken residence within them. Most dangerously for the witch who sent them, possessed victims may reveal secrets, speaking truths that they should not know, including potentially the identity of the person who cursed them.

Without treatment, possession by Pelesit and Polong is fatal. The spirits consume their host from within, draining vitality and sanity until nothing remains. The victim wastes away, dies in violent convulsions, or is killed by their own possessed actions. The death is rarely quick—the spirits seem to enjoy their work, prolonging the victim’s suffering as long as possible before finally allowing them the release of death.

Treatment

Treatment for Pelesit and Polong possession requires the intervention of a bomoh, a traditional Malay healer with knowledge of both the natural and supernatural worlds. The bomoh must first identify the spirits, then perform rituals to weaken and expel them. This process is dangerous for both healer and patient, as the spirits will fight to maintain their hold and may lash out violently during the exorcism.

One remarkable aspect of the treatment is the spirits’ vulnerability to interrogation. Under the bomoh’s questioning, possessed victims may reveal who sent the spirits against them, naming their attacker while in the grip of supernatural possession. This information can then be used against the witch, either through further magical countermeasures or through more mundane means of justice. In traditional communities, being identified as someone who keeps Pelesit and Polong could result in severe social and legal consequences, making the spirits a double-edged weapon that might expose their master as readily as they destroyed their victims.

In the shadows of Malaysian nights, where the old magic has never fully faded, there are those who keep terrible servants. The Pelesit waits in its cricket form, ready to be sent against enemies. The Polong drinks its master’s blood and grows strong with hungry patience. They were made from murder, bound by blood, and they exist only to destroy. If you feel the Pelesit crawling beneath your skin, if you hear the Polong whispering in your mind, you must find a bomoh before the madness takes you completely. The spirits are inside you now. They are hungry. And their master has sent them to devour you.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “Pelesit and Polong”