Entry 07: Long Tongue Ghost (Ma Lưỡi Dài)

Excerpt From The Netherworld Book Chapter Of The Abyss Of Yin Souls

Amid countless wandering ghosts through Vietnamese countryside, from flickering Will o’ the Wisp flames leading lost paths to Water Ghost flesh wrapping beneath deep rivers, or the horror of Intestine Possessing Demons squeezing guts tight, exists a fainter entity in collective memory, a name rarely whispered anymore: Long Tongue Ghost. It is a demonic being with a tongue stretching so long it scrapes the ground, only appearing on freezing misty nights, when the boundary between the yang realm and shadow realm becomes fragile as a wisp of smoke. Ancient records, like in Paul Giran’s Magic and Beliefs of Annam, describe Long Tongue Ghosts as ghosts specialized in sticking out tongues to approach humans. Those who accidentally encounter them often have no idea, because its form is no different from ordinary mortals. It continues conversations, walks alongside on dark paths, even begs for a betel quid is normal. Yet instead of reaching out to receive it, it will stick out that tongue, long and dragging all the way to the ground, wrapping around the betel quid then pulling it back up to its mouth. That moment, when the writhing tongue reveals itself, witnesses realize they are facing a Long Tongue Ghost. Documents about Hue language and culture from old times, like Tran Ngoc Bao’s 2005 work, depict Long Tongue Ghosts as demons using long tongues to frighten the living. And Bui Minh Duc’s Hue Language Dictionary, published 2009, reveals a deeper layer of meaning: Long Tongue Ghosts are the souls of those who died from hanging, suicide, or being strangled to death, causing their tongues to stretch long outside their mouths. Hue people call them hanging ghosts, or Long Tongue Ghosts. From those pieces, folk weave beliefs that Long Tongue Ghosts arise from the choking of sudden death, where the last breath gets stuck in the throat and transforms into eternal resentment. They hide on tall tree canopies, along deserted trails, or right at places that once witnessed hanging ropes. By day, they disguise themselves under human shells, but when night falls, they expose their nature with gray faces, throats marked with strangulation scars, along with that dark red long tongue touching the ground, always wet and winding, accompanied by rustling sounds like torn cloth dragging on cracked earth. Those weak hearted encountering Long Tongue Ghosts will feel their spirits drained, tongues numb to the point speech becomes soulless gibberish. And anyone licked by that tongue will have limbs limp as if paralyzed, souls dragged from bodies. The ancients taught each other that if meeting someone asking for betel who refuses to use hands, look down at the shadow on the ground, because if no shadow appears, run away immediately, do not let it stick out its tongue in time.

Dark Origin Of Choking Souls

These entities do not randomly wander between the boundary of life and death, they are legacies of suffering from being suppressed, from noose loops tightening around throats of those who ended themselves or victims of cruel hands. Hatred from interrupted breath, blocked by knots, congeals into grotesque forms with tongues sticking out like curses for humanity. In Hue and Quang Tri, where ancient houses hide countless secrets, whispers say each ancient banyan root at village entrances, each red earth path leading deep into forests, could be hiding places for Long Tongue Ghosts, waiting for mist to cover so they can slither down. Old stories tell that during wartime chaos, when bombs fell like rain, many young souls were strangled by cursed ropes or enemy hands, and that very grievance nurtured Long Tongue Ghosts into immortal phantoms, wandering seeking the warmth of the living to soothe eternal thirst. Not just from suicide, sometimes they are born from sudden accidents, where tongues are stretched by sudden falls or curses from mouths of those about to pass, turning death into persistent whispers through long nights. At abandoned temples by the Perfume River, where wind carries the musty smell of the past, people still carve warnings on stone, reminding that resentment does not dissipate if not properly transcended with correct rituals, and from there, Long Tongue Ghosts continue multiplying in darkness, waiting for new victims to pull them into their own choking whirlpool.

Mark Of Darkness In The Night

When darkness swallows light, Long Tongue Ghosts do not rush to reveal themselves but silently weave among the few people still wandering. It can transform into an old man leaning on a cane by the roadside, hoarse voice telling old memories, or a young woman in four paneled dress with shy smile under dim moonlight. But when the betel invitation rises, that long winding tongue will slither out from between teeth, wrapping around the betel nut like a venomous snake ambushing, so long the tip scrapes the ground leaving glistening slimy trails under flickering light. The sound from it is not human speech but prolonged hissing, like wind whistling through rotten wooden cracks, making listeners’ flesh crawl, souls shrinking before invisible terror. The accompanying smell is that strong stench mixed with the sour taste of old resentment, spreading in humid air, making surrounding air heavy as cast lead, and sometimes, sensitive people will hear distant whispers, like distorted pleas echoing from the netherworld, telling of pain from being strangled that has never subsided. On crescent moon nights, when mist rolls from deep rivers, Long Tongue Ghosts often gather in groups, their tongues interweaving like dark red spider webs, waiting for the sound of lost footsteps to set traps, turning familiar roads into trails leading straight into the abyss.

Horrifying Consequences From The Poisonous Kiss

Encountering Long Tongue Ghosts is not just a passing nightmare but a curse extending into the next life. Victims initially feel bone chilling cold from the throat, as if invisible hands tighten around breath, making words choke into meaningless stammers. If the demonic tongue touches flesh, pain will spread like smoldering fire, limbs gradually paralyzed, blood thickening in vessels, and ultimately, the spirit is jerked from the body, lost drifting in the deep abyss of shadow souls. Those lucky enough to survive still carry permanent marks: swollen tongues, hoarse voices, along with horrifying dreams where Long Tongue Ghosts chase with chuckling laughter echoing from darkness. Moreover, that curse can spread, making victims’ relatives begin to hear strange hissing in night wind, or see distorted shadows wandering around houses, gradually pulling entire bloodlines into endless cycles of resentment. In villages by Quang Tri coast, where waves carry whispers of the past, there are families still telling of ancestors who once met Long Tongue Ghosts, and from then, their descendants must live with persistent fear, avoiding betel on misty nights, because just that one leaf can awaken phantoms from the deep sleep of memory.

Survival Secrets In Darkness

Through generations passed down, folk share ancient rituals to repel that horror. If suspecting a companion is a Long Tongue Ghost, do not look directly into its eyes, because that gaze will bind your soul into the whirlpool of hatred. Instead, lower your head to observe the shadow beneath your feet under moonlight, if the shape is distorted or disappears, rush toward the nearest light source, mouth murmuring names of protective deities like Saint Giong or Ba Chua Kho. Always carry fresh banyan leaves or handfuls of salt grains in your pocket, because their sour bitterness will make the demonic tongue shrink, forcing it to retreat deep into darkness. And above all, stay away from ancient hanging places, where night wind still whispers curses of those who have passed. Experienced shamans in Hue also advise using charms drawn with rooster blood, carved on yellow paper with sutras for salvation, burned so smoke carries away resentment, releasing Long Tongue Ghost souls from cycles of suffering. Or, if daring to face it, throw a handful of hot roasted rice toward that shadow, because crackling rice grains will dispel the disguise layer, forcing Long Tongue Ghosts to reveal true form and flee before dawn. Yet, no matter which ritual, all require iron courage, because just a moment of hesitation, and that long tongue will wrap around you, pulling you into the shadow realm where hoarse laughter echoes endlessly. Today, Long Tongue Ghosts seem to only remain faint shadows in stories adults use to scare children, like go out late, watch out for Long Tongue Ghosts with long tongues. Yet in lands around Hue, Quang Tri, there are still old people telling that sometimes, in silent late nights, hoarse laughter echoes from tall tree canopies, and when looking up, only see something dark red swaying with northeast wind. That is the tongue of the Long Tongue Ghost, still wandering, still craving, in the endless night of the netherworld.