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Toyol

Also called: tuyul, thuyul, kecit, kwee kia, cohen kroh
Folklore and mythUndeadRunsSorcery

The toyol is an undead child kept as a familiar in Malay and Indonesian folklore. Raised and controlled by a shaman, it is sent out at night to rob the neighbours, which makes it less a monster than a tool of its owner's greed. Related child spirits are known from Thailand, Cambodia and Chinese communities in the region. Like the Haitian zombi, it is a dead person turned into an unpaid worker by magic.1

⚔️ Battle it
Origin
Malay and Indonesian
Malaysia, Indonesia
What causes it
Sorcery
A shaman (bomoh, dukun or pawang) calls it up by black magic to serve an owner.
How you become one
An infant who has died is invoked as a servant spirit by a sorcerer.
How it moves
Runs
Small and quick; the Indonesian tuyul is said to scale walls and roofs.
Intelligence
Some intelligence
field notes

What the sources say

1

Described as an undead infant, usually a near-naked toddler, sometimes with red eyes and sharp teeth1

2

Kept mainly to steal money and valuables for its master1

3

Childlike in its tastes: it likes sweets, toys and clothes1

4

Popular belief says it takes only half of what it finds1

5

Sudden wealth is still sometimes blamed on owning one1

6

In 2006 a 'toyol in a bottle' found by a Malaysian fisherman was handed to a state museum1

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (runs), not a measurement.

You, walking about 5 km/h
You, jogging about 10 km/h
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h
Toyol about 24 km/h
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h

Sources

  1. Toyol - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@zombiewiki.app.

Folklore from the same lands

PocongJavanese / Indonesian and MalayLangsuyarMalay, 1891Toraja walking deadTorajan (Sulawesi, Indonesia), 2009

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