What is Indonesia without the occasional penampakan (ghost sightings) stories every once in a while? Some, like this one, may seem more genuine than others.
A CCTV recording of an alleged sighting of a kuntilanak recently went hugely viral on social media and was widely reported by local media outlets. The ghost was spotted hitching a ride on the backseat of a motorcycle, reportedly at 2am on Wednesday on a bridge in Cipayung district, Depok City, West Java.
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“At the hanging bridge in Kampung Utan, Depok… The story is that a vegetable seller was on his way to shop at the Citayam Market riding his motorcycle. He threw up once he got to the market. Someone at the market asked him which way he took… then he asked the CCTV recording from a security officer, and behold the appearance [of the kuntilanak],” the caption reads.
For those not well-versed in Indonesian folklore, a kuntilanak is said to be the vengeful spirit of a woman who died while pregnant. It commonly takes the form of a woman in a white night dress with long, straight but disheveled black hair covering her face. Sometimes, a kuntilanak is said to take the form of a bird and sucks the blood of virgins or young women.
Kuntilanaks have been depicted many times in Indonesian horror films, including in the aptly-titled Kuntilanak franchise released in the late 2000s.
A local resident named Fathur told Liputan 6 that he gets goosebumps when he crosses the same bridge — known as the Blue Bridge to the locals of Kampung Utan — at night. He also said the other motorists have experienced the same spooky dread when passing the bridge, which crosses the Ciliwung River and is surrounded by bamboo trees.
Many Indonesians associate bamboo trees with mystical occurrences, as they believe it to be the place where mythical creatures usually reside.
Officials from the Pondok Jaya sub-district, where the bridge is located, have since responded to the viral news. Wendy Noor, who heads the district’s government and public order unit, suggested that the sighting in the video might not be of the mythical creature at all.
“When we saw the video, she didn’t look like a kuntilanak, but a person who rode on the motorbike. But it depends on the public’s perception,” Wendy said.
“No need to exaggerate and change the stigma [of the place] which may cause the public to be afraid when they have to cross [the bridge], because I’m sure it was a human being.”
What do you think, Coconauts?
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