The Hairy Demonic Kid (魔神仔)

There is a type of very special entity lurking in the wild with many names. It looks like an orangutan with hairs but it is only about 3 feet tall. If I were to describe it, it would be the Asian miniature bigfoot. The Taiwanese calls the entity as ‘the hairy demonic kid’, the Chinese calls it ‘small mountain’ (小山) or ‘small ghost’ (小鬼). I would just call it as ‘demonic kid’ for simplicity.

Demonic kids may be seen by people frequently enters the forest. They normally live by the edge of the forest and at times their traces could also be found in rubber or oil palm plantations. They are said to possess certain magical skills and these demonic kids are believed to be responsible for mesmerizing and misleading travellers by creating the ‘ghostly maze (鬼打墙). And, they are believed to be able to make themselves invisible too.

Normally demonic kids don’t kill and they only play pranks on unwary travellers. A lonely travellers at night or at dusk would be a good target for them to play at. Usually this unfortunate traveller would first be led into the ‘ghostly maze’ and walked in circle until he/she loses concentration. Then demonic kids would pull the victim’s legs from behind to make him/her fall. Once the person is successfully toppled, then they would quickly stick some muds or weeds into the person’s mouth and nose. After that, the victim is normally leave to lay on the ground alone. Although demonic kids don’t kill; their pranks of may cause suffocation. Hence, villagers and those rubber tappers would usually bring one or two dogs to travel along if they know certain stretch of the journey is haunted by these demonic kids. The locals believed dogs are the only thing these demonic kids afraid because dogs could pick up the scent of demonic kids even though when the demonic kids are invisible.

When I stayed in my grandparent’s rubber plantation, I used to hunt for lizards and small wild boars with my cousins. Our modus operandi was first to let go 5 to 8 dogs into the bush in rubber plantation. As the dogs rushed into the bush, we would use a stick to strike onto an empty metal can or something like that to make noises. The noise would normally startle whatever animals there might be to rush out. As soon as an animal is noticed, the dogs would chase after it to a corner and we would make the kill. Small wild boar was our favourite prey of that time since pork were pretty expensive then. The only time for us to eat pork was during the New Year.

So said, one day the kids and dogs were chasing after a wild boar. We saw a small creature rode on the back of the wild boar: it looked like a hairy kid! As the wild boar was being cornered by the dogs, the hairy kid suddenly jumped off the back of the boar and rolled itself into a fur ball in the mid of the air, and as it fell onto the ground; it continued roll at high speed into the bush.

Since our target was the wild boar and not the unexpected creature, we left the fur ball alone. Later, I told grandpa about the creature. He later confirmed that was the notorious demonic kid. He said that he was once the victim of demonic kid when he returned home one night after attending a relative’s wedding. While he was passing a swamp area, suddenly something bumped his back and he subsequently lost balance and fell face down on to the ground. As soon as he was on the ground, some hairy creature started to push mud and weeds into his nose and mouth. Strangely speaking, grandpa could not resist as he found himself as stiff as a rock. Luckily, another acquaintance passed through the area and found grandpa on the ground. He later sent grandpa back or else grandpa believed if he was not helped, he would be suffocated to death in the morning.  

Now that I have not seen traces of demonic kids for a long time as I have not gone back to the rubber plantation… maybe they are still there playing pranks on unwary passer-by.