Pontianak

Aliens? Aliens? This article is about a subject that is from official sources but is not considered canon.

Pontianaks
Species	Creatures Humans (formerly)
Status	Extant
Portrayed by	None (book characters)

Pontianaks are a type of creature born from the spirits of women that died during childbirth.

History

Pontianaks are born from spirit of women that died during childbirth. However, not all women that die during childbirth will return as a pontianak.

Pontianaks are quite rare in nature, hence not much lore is recorded on them. The record mostly comes from Southeast Asia (in this case, Sam and Dean are using Filipino lore, based on Dean's suggestion). During the events in Supernatural: Cold Fire, following a killing spree targeting men and infants at Braden Heights, Indiana, Sam and Dean are unable to figure out what kind of creature is attacking the town. Lacking access to Men of Letters lore in their bunker due nobody being there, they resorted to using resources available on the web, in which information was scarce.

In 1962, Riza Nodd was killed by her father, Calvin Nodd. Some time later, her spirit returned as a Pontianak. Subsequent Calvin victims also returned as Pontianaks as well. However, they remained dormant and somehow trapped in Larkin's estate. In 2015, a relative of Larkin Family, Sally Holcomb returned to their ancestral land. Sally Holcomb, who was unexpectedly pregnant at that time, heading to the Larkin estate, echoing what happened more than 50 years ago, awakened all of the Pontianaks inside including Riza.

Characteristics

Pontianaks are capable shapeshifters, lore said they can shapeshift to beautiful women. In reality, their real form were quite pale and terrifying and possessed black eyes. When fully unleashed, their eyes become fully white and they transform into a monstrous form with a lack of humanoid features. Their faces become very distorted and their womb broken, revealing a monstrous black misshapen fetus with a lamprey-like mouth and sharp-tipped tentacle-like appendages. Their fully unleashed mode only is unleashed when they encounter a very intense situation.

For unknown reasons, they retain surreal features like a more real appearance instead of a ghostly apparition like common ghosts, and have carnivorous traits.

Pontianaks have a fondness in human flesh and blood, on any kind (including infants) and feed on it. Sam commented that Pontianaks which fed on infant are langsuirs, but in general are still treated as pontianaks. Sam noted that both Pontianaks and Langsuirs are the same.

When they're killed, they decay at an accelerated rate. Skin and muscle dissolve, along with the rotten contents of their wombs into black ooze, exposing pale bones. Less than a minute after that, the bones begin to collapse under their own weight, forming white piles of ash on the ground.

Powers and Abilities

Pontianaks are incredibly powerful creature with some rare and in some cases, unique abilities.

• Shapeshifting - Pontianaks are capable shapeshifters. They can change their appearance according to their will.
• Invisibility - As a ghost, they are invisible. Except when they want to appear.
• Intangibility - As a ghost, they are intangible. However, unusual for ghosts, once they appear and are manifested fully, their body is tangible and corporeal enough to be damaged by iron bullets.
• Invulnerability - Pontianaks are invulnerable against most harm, except when pinned in a hole behind the neck using an iron stake to weaken them and put them in sleep mode.
• Possession - As a ghost, they able to possess people. Unlike angry ghosts that normally secrete ectoplasm, the sign of Pontianak possession is fresh blood streaming from the nostrils.
• Memory Manipulation - Pontianaks are capable to manipulate memories of their victim.
• Mental Manipulation - Pontianaks are capable to manipulate mental state of their victim, causing irrational and uncontrollable anger to build up in their victim.
• Biokinesis - Pontianaks are able to inflict biological damage. They're able to extract the eye from anyone who saw them by consuming it. They're also able to choke their victim remotely, with no need to really present in the same room with the victim and leaving choking bruises.
• Teleportation - Pontianaks are able to teleport, even far away from their lair, and back again.
• Claws - Pontianaks possessed sharp claws to attack and use as offensive means against their attacker.
• Body Parts Fragmentation - Lore states that if not properly pinned before killed, the head and limbs of pontianaks can be detached from their bodies and fly away, making them very difficult to kill
• Scent Production - They can produce a sweet breeze scent, marking their arrival.
• Voice Mimicry - They're able to produce a wailing voice like a crying baby. If the sound's very loud, it means they are far away from their victim. However, if the voice weakens, they are very close to them.

Weaknesses

• Angels - Stronger beings like angels can effortlessly defeat them. Despite being in a weakened state, Castiel was able to hold their influence and defeat them.
• Iron - Like all ghosts, iron can affect them. However, they will not simply dissipate like other ghosts. If they are attacked in their corporeal form, iron bullets will leave a trace or wound as it hits the target. Despite that, it won't stop them, unless they are put to sleep.
  • Iron Stakes - Stabbing an iron stake to the neck hole behind their head will put them to sleep.
• Decapitation - Once a Pontianak is put to sleep, they can be killed through decapitation.

Known Pontianaks

• Riza Nodd (put to rest)
• Claire Pontianak Doppelganger (put to rest)

Appearances

• Supernatural: Cold Fire

Lore

A pontianak is a female vampiric ghost in Malay mythology. The lore of Pontianak is widely spread on South East Asia countries, particularly in Malay-speaking countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Pontianak is the name that is mostly renowned specifically in Borneo Island, while in other areas they are called Kuntilanak (in the rest of Indonesia) or Matianak (in Malaysia). The use of Filipino lore (as Sam and Dean use) referring to it as Pontianak, indicates that they use lore written by Sulu people, which were ruling the north east part of Borneo Island (now this region being part of Malaysia) and established the Sultanate of Sulu (now part of Phillipines). The kingdom itself was a Malay speaking country before being disestablished in early 20th century.

In lore, it was said that iron weapons can be used to defeat them. Some lore said they must stabbed in the neck by an iron nail. Others (mostly Indonesian lore) states that they must stabbed at the apex of head (crown). Some lore also said, instead of iron nails, brass, golden, or gilded nails can be used for the same effect. Once stabbed, they will be pinned down and unable to move. In Malaysian lore, it is true they can be killed by decapitation using an iron machete (parang). To avoid the deceased returning as a Pontianak, before burial a quantity of glass beads are put in the mouth of the corpse, a hen's egg is put under each arm-pit, and needles are placed in the palms of the hands.

In Filipino lore nowadays, Pontianaks are renowned as Tik-tik. However, Tik-tiks in Filipino lore do not have the capabilities to fragment their body and cry like a baby. In Filipino lore, the spirit that has that capability is renowned as: Manananggal (fragment their body) and Tiyanak (crying like baby). All of them (Tik-tik, Manananggal, and Tiyanak) are different creatures, but share similar fondness for human flesh and blood.

Trivia

• Pontianaks are the only known type of ghost so far to feed.