Pocong

Pocong is an Indonesian ghost that is said to be the soul of dead person trapped in their suit. The pocong suit is used by Indonesian muslims to cover the body of the dead person. They cover the dead body with white fabric called mori and tie the clothing over the head, under the feet, and on the neck. According to the native beliefs, the soul of a dead person will stay on the earth for 40 days after the death. When the ties aren't released after 40 days, the body is said to jump out from the grave to warn people that the soul need the bonds to be released. After the ties are released, the soul will leave the earth and never show up anymore. Because of the tie under the feet, the ghost can't walk. This caused pocong to skips around.

Sumpah Pocong

The sumpah pocong (pocong oath) is a ritual that people use as the last way of investigation in a crime case. The participant of the ritual is covered with the pocong suit, with the other people (including the local religion leader) gather around the person, reading some Islamic prayers. It is said when the person in the middle doesn't tell the truth, the person will die as a concequence of what he has done. This ritual isn't used oftenly for the last several years.

Pocong in Modern Culture

Pocong is oftenly shown up is religion based movies (or TV serials). In early 2000's, TV stations in Indonesia captured ghost appearances with their camera and put the records on a specific show of their own. In these shows, the pocong appeareances could be seen very often, besides the kuntilanak. There was also a movie with the title "Pocong", which was banned due to the scary scenes. Not so long after it was banned, the director created the sequel, "Pocong 2" which is played on theaters.