The Krasue is a creature of revolting beauty. She appears as the disembodied and floating head of an attractive young woman, with her entrails, usually the heart and lungs, hanging pendulously from her torn esophagus. Her tongue is an exceptionally long, sharp tipped proboscis used to consume carrion, farm animals, or her favorite: placenta sucked from the womb of a birthing mother. A soft, red glow surrounds the Krasue and is often said to pulse, like the pumping of her dead and dangling heart. It is believed that the head of the Krasue detaches from its body at night, leaving it vulnerable while she hunts. If the body is discovered and destroyed, the Krasue will be killed.
The origin of the Krasue is murky, stretching back centuries in southeast Asian culture. Commonly, in Thailand and Cambodia it is said to be a curse incurred by dabbling in witchcraft. Other, more modern depictions, describe her as a disgraced princess of the Khmer empire, burned alive, yet somehow survived by her head and organs.
Regardless of the origins, belief in this creature remains strong, and sightings persist to this day. Many cultures erect specific barriers to thwart the Krasue. Tall, spikey polls or thorny bushes are often employed as deterrents, particularly around the homes of pregnant women, in hopes that the Krasue will become entangled by its draping organs.
