Together travels further into Asia, one would learn the legends of the Penanggalan and the Pontianak, from the parts of Malaysia and Indonesia respectively (though the Pontianak has been known to "migrate" from its native Indonesia to elements of Malaysia, where it is recognized as the Langsuir).

For anyone new to the Penanggalan, it can be an undead creature that assumes the shape of a strikingly beautiful woman, either young or old, and is supposedly one who had resorted to the utilization of black magic to acquire her extraordinary beauty. The Penanggalan is said to have the ability to detach her head, which in turn flies around looking for blood, especially that of women that are pregnant, after sunset https://mediaindonesia.com/megapolitan/536137/ini-rahasia-sukses-di....


The Pontianak, on one other hand, could be the reanimated, undead corpse of a female who had died during childbirth, and often appears as a beautiful woman with long, jet black hair. It is said that it could be driven off if a person has the capacity to fill the hole in the back of her neck with her hair.

It's interesting to notice however, that no vampire has been romanticised more compared to present day, New World vampires. Somehow along the way the horror stories and vampire superstitions that led to mass hysteria in Europe of early 18th century gave method to the more charismatic and sophisticated vampire. You start with the publication of John Polidori's "The Vampyre", it wasn't until Bram Stoker's quintessential 1897 novel "Dracula" that vampires became allegories and metaphors for repressed sexuality.