4 Spooky Southeast Asian Ghost Stories to Use in Your ESL Classroom

23 October 2025 • Cambodia

Halloween is here, and while every classroom knows Dracula and Frankenstein, why not give your students a truly unique cultural chill?

Teaching abroad is all about immersing yourself in the local culture, and Southeast Asia has some of the spookiest, most fascinating folklore in the world. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, these stories aren't just great fun—they're incredible teaching tools for grammar, vocabulary, and culture.

Here are four famous regional ghost stories you can use for a terrifyingly engaging lesson, featuring countries like Cambodia where we have over 190 teaching positions hiring now!

1. The Floating Fright: The Legend of the Krasue (Cambodia & Thailand)

The Krasue is one of Southeast Asia's most famous ghosts, appearing as a beautiful woman during the day. However, at night, her head detaches from her body, flying through the air with her glowing organs dangling beneath.

• ESL Focus - Descriptive Adjectives (glowing, dangling, beautiful, terrifying) and Verbs of Motion (floating, flying, detaching, haunting).
• Lesson Idea - Have students draw the Krasue and label the body parts (head, organs, torso) as you narrate the story.

2. The Devoted Wife: Mae Nak (Thailand)

Mae Nak is the ghost of a devoted wife who died in childbirth while her husband, Mak, was away at war. When Mak returned, he lived happily with Nak and their baby—unaware they were ghosts. The haunting only ended when a monk trapped her spirit.

• ESL Focus - Past Tenses (Simple Past for narrative, Past Perfect for Mak's time away) and Emotions/Relationship Vocabulary (devoted, grief, love, terrified).
• Lesson Idea - Use a simplified version of the story to practice retelling narratives and debate the ethical dilemma: Should the husband have stayed with the ghost he loved?

3. The Hungry Spirit: The Preta (Cambodia)

In Cambodian and Buddhist folklore, the Preta (or hungry ghost) are spirits condemned to suffer endless hunger due to their greed in life. They are depicted with swollen bellies and tiny mouths, unable to consume enough food.

• ESL Focus - Health & Body Vocabulary (swollen, starvation, appetite) and Moral Vocabulary (greed, suffering, karma).
• Lesson Idea - Discuss the cultural context of the story. How does this compare to Western moral tales? Use comparatives to discuss which ghost is "scarier" or "hungrier."

4. The Lady in White: Pontianak (Malaysia & Indonesia)

The Pontianak is the vengeful ghost of a woman who died during childbirth. She often appears as a beautiful woman, but if you look closer, she has long hair, red eyes, and feeds on the blood of men. She's often found near banana trees.

• ESL Focus - Appearance Descriptions (long-haired, pale skin, red-eyed) and Conditionals (If you look at her, she will turn into a monster; If you had stayed home, you would not have met her).
• Lesson Idea - A creative writing exercise where students finish the sentence: "If I met the Pontianak in a banana tree, I would..."

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