User:TeaGirl004/phitaihong

Phi Tai Hong (Thai: ผีตายโหง) is a ghost of Thai folklore. It is the vengeful and restless spirit of a person who suffered a violent or cruel death.

Legends
Phi Tai Hong usually has its origin in a man or a woman who died suddenly, often without the observance of proper funerary rituals. According to the Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, tai hong means "to die an unnatural and violent death, such as being murdered or drowning" and Phi Tai Hong means the ghost of a person who died in such manner. '''The word hong (โหง) comprises of two components: "great suffering, and suddenness or unexpectedness", with the latter component being more prominent because people who become Phi Tai Hong are not able to prepare themselves for death. These types of ghosts symbolize how life can end unpredictably and anyone can become victims of death. Thus there is a distinction between them and for example, cancer patients, who do suffer greatly but are aware of their condition and potential death. Suicide victims or prisoners who were executed also do not fall under the category of Phi Tai Hong because their death was anticipated.'''

'According to Thai oral tradition Phi Tai Hong'' are especially dangerous and aggressive because, due to their sudden death, they were unable to fulfill their dreams and desires while alive. As such, their anger and sorrow are manifested into the form of a vengeful ghost. It is believed that the first seven days of a person's death is when their spirit is most actively seeking revenge and the living are advised to avoid the area where they had died. Phi Tai Hong will often try to kill other living people in the same manner of which they had died themselves.'''

As a consequence Phi Tai Hong are among the most feared ghosts, especially in the form known as Tai Thang Klom (ตายทั้งกลม) or Tai Thong Klom (ตายท้องกลม), which is the ghost of a woman who died together with her child in her womb. These ghosts are even more violent and malevolent because two lives were lost, not just one, resulting in the power of two spirits.

Thai culture blames this lethal spirit as one of the ghosts that haunt houses and one of the most difficult to exorcise. Exorcisms can be very complicated, involving arcane ceremonies. Stories about this kind of spirit and the exorcism ceremonies that are needed to be free from them are popular in Thai publications.

Tai Thang Klom
'The most violent and vengeful manifestation of Phi Tai Hong comes in the form of ghosts called Tai Thang Klom (ตายทั้งกลม) or Tai Thong Klom'' (ตายท้องกลม). As mentioned in the previous section, they are ghosts of a pregnant woman who died alongside with an unborn child, typically during childbirth. Written records going far back as to the Ayutthaya  period detail the power and fear associated with Tai Thang Klom. [I have more to add to this section] '''