A Pontianak or Kuntilanak or Matianak (as known in Indonesia, sometimes shortened to just kunti) is a type of vampire in Malay folklore, similar to the Langsuir. The pontianak is usually a woman who died during childbirth and becomes undead, seeking revenge and terrorizing villages.

In folklore, Pontianak often appears as a beautiful and at times seductive woman, usually accompanied by the strong scent of frangipani. According to myth, men who are not wary will be killed or castrated when she morphs into a hideous being; she will also eat babies and harm pregnant women and has been said to cause miscarriages.^{[citation needed]}

People believe that having a sharp object like a nail helps them fend off potential attacks by pontianaks, the nail being used to plunge a hole at the back of the pontianak's neck. It is believed that when a nail is plunged into the back of a pontianak's neck, she will turn into a beautiful woman, until the nail is pulled off again.^{[citation needed]} The Indonesian twist on this is plunging the nail into the apex of the head of the kuntilanak.