Who would win in a haunted showdown: Thai ghosts vs global ghosts?

Kumanthong, or ‘golden boy’, is a child spirit who died in the womb and was raised by a sorcerer in Thai folklore. It is believed to bring protection, good luck and some much-needed supernatural assistance to its caretaker. If you’ve spotted the little spirit houses around Thailand, they usually have red Fanta which is an offering to the child spirits.

Casper the Friendly Ghost lives up to his name with a sweet smile and gentle nature. The 1995 film Casper gives him a sadder backstory: a boy who falls ill after spending too long sledging in the cold and dies of pneumonia.

Fear factor: Kumanthong’s traditional Thai clothing, shaved head and distinctive topknot earn 1/5. Casper’s plump white body, large blue eyes and friendly smile get 0/5.

Kill power: Devotees credit Kumanthong with influencing events, warning of danger and even supplying lottery numbers: 1/5. Casper wouldn’t hurt a fly: 0/5.

The last ghost standing: Kumanthong

Pee Pob is a malevolent spirit in Thai and Lao folklore that possesses living hosts. Its diet consists of human internal organs, raw meat and animal blood. Forget checking for bite marks: the damage is on the inside.

Vampires are blood-drinking undead creatures from European folklore, often depicted as nocturnal and effectively immortal. Unless you’re one of the vegetarian vampires like the Cullens in Twilight, whose diet is strictly animal blood.

Fear factor: Pee Pob can pass for an ordinary person in its host’s body: 1/5. Vampires range from decomposing corpses to pale, dark-haired charmers with sharp fangs: 2/5.

Kill power: Forget just blood, Pee Pob goes straight for your organs: 4/5. The vampire’s superhuman strength, speed and hypnotic powers earn 3/5. 

The last ghost standing: Pee Pob

Krasue is a floating female head with glowing internal organs trailing beneath her neck. She roams the night searching for blood, raw flesh and other bodily matter. It’s quite the anatomical reveal.

The Headless Horseman rides through European ghost lore and Washington Irving’s American story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with its famous pumpkin imagery. For this fight, we’re using the murderous incarnation in Tim Burton’s 1999 film Sleepy Hollow where a headless rider gallops through the darkness wielding a weapon of choice.

Fear factor: Krasue is basically an X-ray in flesh and blood: 4/5. A headless rider galloping through the darkness still earns 3/5.

Kill power: Krasue’s hangriness, flight and taste for human entrails score 4/5. The Horseman’s bladed weapons and habit of decapitating victims get 3/5. 

The last ghost standing: Krasue. One is a floating head, the other has no head. All bets on the one with the brain.

Ee Pancake is the loud-mouthed dormitory ghost from the Thai horror-comedy Hor Taew Tak (Haunting Me). Her premature death comes from slipping on soap and hitting her head on a toilet. Undignified doesn’t begin to cover it.

Beetlejuice is the chaotic, vulgar ‘bio-exorcist’ from the 1988 film Beetlejuice, specialising in removing living people from homes occupied by ghosts.

Fear factor: Pancake’s short bob, bouncy fringe and white student uniform bring more laughs than scares: 1/5. Beetlejuice has mould-patched skin, a black-and-white striped suit and a forehead that never ends: 3/5.

Kill power: Pancake is more likely to kill us with laughter: 0/5. Beetlejuice’s shapeshifting and reality-warping tricks get 3/5. 

The last ghost standing: Beetlejuice

Pee Tai Hong are restless spirits who died suddenly or violently. In Thai ghost stories, these spirits may linger where they died, haunting the living rather than finding peace. 

Sadako Yamamura is the vengeful spirit that suffered an agonizing death from Japan’s 1998 film Ring, whose curse spreads through a mysterious videotape.

Fear factor: Pee Tai Hong’s appearance is linked to its cause of death but all are driven by rage and suffering it wants to pass on to others giving it our first full 5/5 stars. Sadako’s long black hair covering her face, eerie movements and emergence from a television are also textbook nightmare: 5/5. 

Kill power: Pee Tai Hong tries to kill even those unrelated to its death, making them suffer the same tragic fate. That earns a 4/5. Sadako’s cursed tape starts a seven-day countdown to death, unless you find a way to pass on the curse. Those that can’t die from sheer terror: 5/5. 

The last ghost standing: Sadako Yamamura

Pret are hungry ghosts in Thai Buddhist belief, suffering the consequences of wrongdoing in life. Its enormous hands are a result of striking one’s parents, while its tiny mouth is due to disrespecting elders. Often used to teach children moral values and respect for their elders, Pret is used as an example of what an ingrate would become in the afterlife.

Slender Man is a faceless, unnaturally tall figure who stalks people in forests and isolated places. Created online by Eric Knudsen in 2009, he grew into a collaborative internet legend that then appeared in horror games and films.

Fear factor: Pret’s emaciated body, long neck and tiny mouth is cursed with endless hunger and thirst: 4/5. Slender Man’s black suit, elongated limbs and, in many versions, tentacle-like appendages get 4/5.

Kill power: Pret is condemned to eternal suffering in the afterlife and is not capable of harming humans so 0/5. Slender Man’s teleportation, psychological torment and reaching limbs, drawn from his evolving fictional lore, earn 5/5.

The last ghost standing: Slender Man. Both tall and skinny, but one has a much nastier toolkit.

Krahang is a male spirit in Thai folklore who takes to the night sky with two large rice-winnowing baskets as wings. Often paired with Krasue because they haunt similar rural territory, he looks ready for a very odd double date.  Cute.

The flying witch brings spellcasting and broomstick travel from European folklore and popular fantasy. We’re judging the familiar storybook villain here, complete with green skin, a hooked nose and menacing features. 

Fear factor: Shirtless Krahang wears a traditional loincloth, basket wings and a wooden rice-pounding pestle as a tail: 3/5. The storybook witch’s green-faced glare gets 3/5. 

Kill power: We’re not convinced basket wings offer Krahang much of a combat advantage: 2/5. Spells, curses and enchanted potions give our witch plenty of ways to brew up trouble: 4/5. 

The last ghost standing: The flying witch

Mae Nak dies in childbirth while her husband, Mak, is away at war. In the familiar Thai legend, she waits for him as a ghost, concealing her death when he returns. This Phra Khanong tale has inspired numerous adaptations, including the hit horror-comedy Pee Mak.

The White Lady is a ghostly figure in European folklore, often linked to heartbreak, murder or the loss of a child. There’s no single White Lady with one fixed backstory or set of powers.

Fear factor: Mae Nak’s long black hair, traditional wrap skirt and ghostly baby earn 3/5. The White Lady’s pale skin, flowing white gown and sudden appearances in lonely places also get 3/5.

Kill power: Mae Nak terrorises anyone threatening her reunion with Mak, with unnaturally stretching arms among her best-known tricks: 2.5/5. We’re awarding the White Lady’s ominous appearances 2/5 for this match.

The last ghost standing: Mae Nak. Those arms could settle things before her opponent gets close.

Nang Tani is a female spirit believed to inhabit banana trees. Usually portrayed as a beautiful woman in green traditional Thai clothing, she is often benevolent, although some stories say she punishes men who mistreat women. Girls help girls. 

Annabelle is a real haunted doll believed by the owners to be possessed by the spirit of a little girl and later turned into the movie The Conjuring where it is possessed by a demonic entity seeking a human soul.

Fear factor: Nang Tani’s beauty and banana-green outfit earn 2/5. Annabelle’s porcelain-like face, unsettling smile with reddish hair in braids and old-fashioned white dress get 4/5. 

Kill power: Nang Tani’s punitive supernatural reputation scores 2/5. The demon in Annabelle earns 4/5 for its manipulation of objects, terror tactics and deadly attacks.

The last ghost standing: Annabelle

Suea Saming is a shapeshifting tiger from Thai folklore. Some tales describe it as a person using sorcery to become a tiger; others tell of a tiger taking human form. Either way, that apparently harmless stranger may be very bad news.

Werewolves are humans who transform into wolves or wolf-like beasts in European folklore and horror fiction. 

Fear factor: Is a tiger not another version of a cute kitty? Is a wolf not another version of a fluffy dog? We may regret this scoring system but 3/5 for both.

Kill power: From what we’ve seen in nature documentaries, a tiger’s attack looks far more ferocious so 3.5/5 for Suea Saming and 3/5 for werewolves.

The last ghost standing: Suea Saming. We’re backing the big cat on this one: scientifically, a tiger can weigh up to 260kg, while a wolf may weigh 30-80kg so they’re not even in the same weight class.