A small village in West Bali has been terrorized by a rice sack on the side of the road, posing as a ‘pocong’, a ghost that appears in Indonesian and Malaysian folklore.
A pocong is a ghost believed to be trapped in its burial shroud, that belief holds since it is tied up, it hops around warning people that it needs to be released.
While the pocong in Delod Berawah Village, Mendoyo is definitely no lost soul and nothing more than a scarecrow to tease people, the presence of the thing has apparently been a menace to the public, especially to those driving by at night.
The fake pocong made from a white plastic rice sack was hung from a tree with long ropes, made to look like it was actually jumping.
“I got a call from a resident that he said a motorcycle rider fell because afraid of the pocong,” local resident Mangku Suradana told Merdeka on Tuesday.
After a number of local residents finally ventured to check out the ‘scarecrow,’ the pocong was reported to Mendoyo Police.
“It’s a nasty, silly prank, but it endangers our drivers. We followed up immediately, but unfortunately as soon as we got there, the youth behind it fled,” Mendoyo Police Insp. Wayan Sudiana said.
Local residents apparently also tried to catch the pranksters behind the fake pocong as well, but were unsuccessful, Sudiana added.
Thankfully there were no reports of robbery or muggings related to the pocong, the police inspector concluded.
