In our data at least 8 belief systems have a ghost of a mother who died in childbirth, nearly all in Asia, while 3 honour such mothers like fallen warriors.
Yes, and they are more common in Asia than you might think. In our data at least 8 belief systems have a ghost of a woman who died while pregnant or giving birth. Thailand has Mae Nak and the phi tai thang klom; the Malay world has the pontianak and langsuir; Java and Sunda have the kuntilanak; India has the churel; Japan has the ubume; the Tagalog have the patianak; and the Aztecs had the cihuateteo. Seven of the 8 are in Asia; only the Aztecs are in the Americas.
But the answer does not run one way. Of the 7 belief systems whose sources say what becomes of a mother who dies in childbirth, 4 say she becomes a ghost or is punished, and 3, the Aztecs, the Maya and Islam, honour her, with the Aztecs doing both at once. Note that the dataset here is small, just 11 kinds of birth-related ghost from 7 belief systems, so we searched Wikipedia further, and everything found that way is marked as such.
Mae Nak of Phra Khanong, as the sources tell it
Our main data says only that Mae Nak is the ghost of a woman who died giving birth and can stretch her arms. For the full story we searched English Wikipedia, which says Nak was a young woman living by the Phra Khanong canal with an undying love for her husband, Mak. While she was pregnant, Mak was conscripted and badly wounded in war. While he was recovering in the capital, Nak and the child both died in childbirth. Yet when Mak came home he found his wife and child waiting. Neighbours warned him he was living with a ghost; he did not believe them.
The turning point is a lime. One day, making nam phrik, Nak dropped a lime off the porch and in her haste stretched her arm impossibly long to pick it up. Seeing this, Mak knew his wife was a ghost, slipped away at night and fled into Wat Mahabut, holy ground a ghost cannot enter. The endings vary. In one, a monk trapped Nak's ghost in an earthen jar and threw it into the Phra Khanong canal. In another, Somdet Phra Phutthachan (To Phrommarangsi) confined her spirit in the bone of her forehead and tied it to his waistband. Local tradition sets the events in the reign of Rama IV.
Was Mae Nak real? The same source says the historian Anek Nawikamul found an article by K.S.R. Kulap in the Siam Prabheth newspaper dated 10 March 1899. Kulap said the story came from Amdaeng Nak, daughter of Khun Si, a Phra Khanong leader, who died while pregnant. Her son, afraid his father would remarry and his inheritance would be shared with a stepmother, invented the ghost, dressing as a woman and throwing stones at passing boats. Kulap also said the husband was named Chum, not Mak. This is Kulap's explanation alone, and we cannot say how true it is.
Today Mae Nak's shrine stands beside the Phra Khanong canal at Wat Mahabut, Soi Sukhumvit 77. Most who come to ask for help are women seeking an easy birth or hoping their husbands will be spared military service, the two things that took Nak from Mak. Toys for Mae Nak's child are kept inside the shrine.
The phi tai thang klom of Thai and Tai peoples
Mae Nak is the most famous phi tai thang klom but not the only one. Our data treats dying tai thang klom as a form of tai hong, the sudden unnatural death, and the source on the phi tai hong includes it in the list. Thai Wikipedia, which we consulted additionally, says the term probably comes from tai thang klam, klam being a Khmer or archaic word meaning 'all, entirely', and that the common form phi tai thong klom ('round-belly ghost') is a mistake.
The image told is much like Mae Nak: a mother still caring for her child. Thai Wikipedia says people have seen a baby's cradle tied high in a tree fork, with the ghost sitting below singing a lullaby and her arm stretched up to rock it. So the long arm is not only for picking up a lime.
Other Tai peoples have this ghost under different names. In Lanna it is called phi phrai, a ghost who died giving birth, which may confuse central Thais, since Thai Wikipedia says the central Thai phi phrai comes from a village girl who drowned. The Tai Dam say this ghost cries 'pid pid' like a duck, and the Tai Khao say it is a malevolent ghost that can make people ill or kill them.
Around the world: from Java to the Aztecs
Head south across the sea and Mae Nak's nearest relatives are in the Malay world. The pontianak is a woman who died while pregnant; she lures men and turns into a bloodsucker. The langsuir, some say, comes from a woman who died in or after childbirth; she possesses and slowly drains blood until death. Java and Sunda have the kuntilanak, a pregnant woman who died, or died in labour before the child was born. The Javanese source says she troubles pregnant women and babies; the Sundanese source says she also drinks men's blood, and separates the smooth-backed kuntilanak from the sundel bolong with a hole in her back.
Further west, India's churel, according to English Wikipedia, which we consulted additionally, is the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth, while pregnant, or during the period of impurity after birth. Her feet are turned backwards, toes facing behind; she takes the form of a beautiful young woman carrying a lantern to lure men; and a woman who died very cruelly returns for revenge, especially on the men of her family. The belief reaches Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, and Indian communities in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.
To the north, Japan's ubume is the ghost of a woman who died in a difficult birth. English Wikipedia describes her soaked in blood below the waist, asking passersby to hold her baby, which grows heavier and heavier until it is heavier than stone and turns out to be a boulder or a stone image of Jizō. The ubume is equated with the Chinese guhuoniao (姑獲鳥). In the Philippines, Friar Plasencia recorded in 1589 that the Tagalog believed a woman who died in childbirth was punished together with her child and could be heard wailing at night, which they called patianak. The friar called it a false belief, so this is an outsider's view.
Across the ocean, the Aztecs had the cihuateteo, spirits of women who died in childbirth, who haunted crossroads at night, stole children, caused madness and seizures, and led men into adultery, so people built roadside shrines to appease them. The table below sets all 9 side by side.
| Ghost | Tradition | Cause | What she does | Protection or remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mae Nak | Thai | Died in childbirth, child died too | Stays on with her husband, stretches her arm | Shrine at Wat Mahabut (additional source) |
| Phi tai thang klom | Thai, Lanna, Tai Dam, Tai Khao | Died pregnant or in childbirth | Sings to her baby, rocks the cradle with a long arm · Tai Khao: causes illness or death | Not stated |
| Pontianak | Malay | Died while pregnant | Lures men, drinks blood | A nail in the nape turns her into a human woman · the azan |
| Langsuir | Malay | Died in or after childbirth (some say) | Drains blood slowly, lures men | Nail in the back of the neck · Ayat al-Kursi · the azan |
| Kuntilanak | Javanese · Sundanese | Died pregnant, or in labour before the child was born | Troubles pregnant women and babies · Sundanese: drinks men's blood | Pregnant women carry nails, knives, scissors (Java) |
| Churel | India (additional source) | Died in childbirth, pregnant, or in the impure period after birth | Lures men, takes revenge on the family's men · backward feet | Burial instead of cremation, thorns in the grave, heavy stones on top |
| Ubume | Japanese | Died in a difficult birth | Asks someone to hold her baby, which turns to stone | Cutting out the fetus (mi futatsu) · riverside rite (nagare kanjo) |
| Patianak | Tagalog (Spanish friar's record, 1589) | Died in childbirth | Wailing heard at night; mother and child punished | Not stated |
| Cihuateteo | Aztec | Died in childbirth | Honoured like warriors · yet haunts crossroads, steals children | Roadside shrines |
Why so many cultures fear the ghost of a mother who died in childbirth
Before answering, it is worth saying that behind every ghost on this page are real women who died giving birth. The sources do not state the reasons directly, but laid side by side, what the traditions tell repeats three things. The first is a death at the wrong time. Worldwide, unnatural death is the commonest cause of dead-human ghosts, found in 33 of the 101 belief systems that have them, and death in childbirth is counted in that group. Our Thai data likewise treats it as another form of tai hong.
The second is blood and impurity. The churel includes women who died in the impure period after birth, the ubume is described as soaked in blood, and China has the Blood Bowl Sutra, whose earliest version, English Wikipedia says, was probably composed around the end of the 12th or start of the 13th century. It says women are punished in a Blood Pool Hell because the blood from their bodies pollutes the ground. The same sutra was used in services dedicated to women who died in childbirth, and believers placed copies in women's coffins to save them from that hell.
The third is a bond cut off halfway. These ghosts go after what they lost. Of the 6 kinds of dead-mother ghost in our main data, 3 trouble children or pregnant women, namely the cihuateteo and the kuntilanak in both its Javanese and Sundanese forms, and 4 go after men: the cihuateteo, pontianak, langsuir and Sundanese kuntilanak. Mae Nak and the phi tai thang klom go after no one; they stay with husband and child. The ubume is still carrying her baby.
Overlapping this is another circle: ghosts that hunt the birthing room, which are not dead people at all. In our main data 3 of the 11 kinds are living sorcerers whose heads detach to seek the blood of women in labour or of infants: Thailand's krasue, the kuyang of the Dayak of Kalimantan, and the Malay penanggalan. Many traditions see childbirth as the moment when both mother and child are most exposed.
The defences look alike across regions too: sharp iron and thorns. Sharp iron appears for 4 kinds: nails are driven into the neck of the pontianak and langsuir, pregnant women in Java carry nails, knives and scissors, and scissors or a knife under the pillow ward off the penanggalan. Thorns appear as Thai jujube thorns under the house, Malay thorny mengkuang round the house, and thorns packed into the grave of a woman who might become a churel, who is buried instead of the usual Hindu cremation and weighed down with heavy stones.
The other side: mothers honoured like warriors
Not every tradition sees such a mother as a ghost. The Aztecs said a noblewoman who died in childbirth went to Cihuatlampa in the west, honoured like a male warrior fallen in battle, with the task of escorting the sun from noon down to the west. So the cihuateteo were at once honoured spirits and spirits whom people had to appease with roadside shrines, within the same belief. The Maya held that those who died of complications in childbirth were taken straight to heaven. And in Islam, a hadith in the Sunan of Abu Dawud says a woman who dies while pregnant is a martyr, a shahid.
So we found 3 belief systems that honour her. Notably, the pontianak and langsuir belong to the Muslim Malay world. The Malay source records that the Islamic view classes the pontianak as a kafir jinn or a devil, and the remedies it gives include the azan and reciting Ayat al-Kursi. Folk belief in the dead-mother ghost and a teaching that honours mothers who die in childbirth can share the same place.
What really is shared
What almost everywhere agrees on is that death in childbirth is not counted as an ordinary death, whether the response is fear or honour. The Aztecs honoured such women like warriors, Islam counts them as martyrs, Thais count it as tai hong, India switches from cremation to burial, Japan has a special riverside rite, and China has a special sutra to place in the coffin. Almost everywhere with data, this death is set apart and handled differently. And the image that recurs most in the ghost stories is a mother still bound to her child: Mae Nak holding her baby as she waits for her husband, the phi tai thang klom rocking the cradle, the ubume asking someone to hold her baby, and Mae Nak's shrine, which still keeps toys for her child.
What differs from what you might expect
Thais might think the dead-mother ghost belongs to Southeast Asia, but the most honoured figure in our data is in ancient Mexico, and the continents with the least data on this are Europe and Africa, where our dataset has no such ghost at all. That does not mean there is none, only that the sources we checked have not recorded it, and traditions with many texts, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Chinese religion, are recorded in more detail than others.
The second is the infant side. Southern Chinese folk belief has the infant spirit (嬰靈) of a baby miscarried or dead soon after birth, who cannot be reborn and brings bad luck to its parents unless a release rite is held. But the source says this is a Taiwanese belief that arose around the 1970s, drawing on a Japanese rite, and that traditional Daoism has no rite specifically for infant spirits. Meanwhile, the Bahá'í Faith teaches that children who die before their time of birth are in God's care and without sin.
Back at Wat Mahabut
Visit Wat Mahabut and you will see people do not come to Mae Nak out of fear. Most come asking for an easy birth and for their husbands to stay home. A ghost the legend says frightened all of Phra Khanong is visited today for the very things she lost, which is closer to the Aztec and Islamic honouring of mothers who die in childbirth than her ghostly name suggests.
Frequently asked
Was Mae Nak real?
No one can confirm it. English Wikipedia says K.S.R. Kulap wrote in the Siam Prabheth of 10 March 1899 that the story came from Amdaeng Nak, daughter of Khun Si of Phra Khanong, who died while pregnant, and that her son invented the ghost for fear of sharing his inheritance. This is Kulap's explanation alone.
When is the Mae Nak story set?
Local tradition sets it in the reign of Rama IV. The oldest written evidence our source mentions is K.S.R. Kulap's article of 1899.
How did Mae Nak pick up the lime, and why the long arm?
According to English Wikipedia, Nak dropped a lime off the porch while making nam phrik and in her haste stretched her arm down to pick it up, which is how Mak realised she was a ghost. Thai Wikipedia also tells of the phi tai thang klom stretching her arm up to rock her baby's cradle in a tree.
Who subdued Mae Nak, and was Somdet To involved?
Versions differ. In one, a monk trapped her ghost in an earthen jar and threw it into the Phra Khanong canal. In another, Somdet Phra Phutthachan (To Phrommarangsi) confined her spirit in her forehead bone and tied it to his waistband.
Where is Mae Nak's shrine and what do people ask for?
At Wat Mahabut beside the Phra Khanong canal, Soi Sukhumvit 77. Most who come are women asking for an easy birth or for their husbands to be spared military service, and toys are left there for Mae Nak's child.
What is a phi tai thang klom?
The ghost of a woman who died while pregnant or giving birth. Our data treats it as a form of tai hong. Thai Wikipedia says the term probably comes from tai thang klam, 'died entirely', and that phi tai thong klom is a mistaken form.
What is the Japanese ubume?
The ubume is a Japanese yōkai, the spirit of a woman who died in a difficult birth, who asks passersby to hold her baby. English Wikipedia says the baby grows heavier and heavier until it becomes a boulder or a stone image of Jizō.
Sources for the traditions cited (13)
Additional sources (6)
How we counted: 370 traditions from every continent, living and ancient, from sources in dozens of languages. One tradition, one vote, and only where a source confirms it. A tradition missing here is not evidence it lacks the belief, only that we found no document. Scriptural religions (Buddhist, Hindu, Chinese, Jewish, Christian, Muslim) are described in more detail than oral ones, and some records come through missionaries or outsiders. This page does not judge which belief is true.
Read next: Ghosts: how many kinds · After Death: all questions
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