Country file · Asia & the Middle East
Cryptids of Laos
What cryptids are in Laos? The best-known are Naga Fireballs and Krasue.
Laos shares the Mekong and a rich body of Naga lore with Thailand. The river’s fireballs are seen on the Lao bank as well, and Lao authorities rejected claims that soldiers fire flares. The Lao version of the floating head spirit is the kasu.
- 2 cryptids
- 1 recorded sighting
Cryptids reported in Laos
Other · Before the 1980s
Naga Fireballs
Red lights that rise from the Mekong at the end of Buddhist Lent, credited by locals to the Naga serpent and by sceptics to flares or gas. Regional legend
Spectral · Pre-modern
Krasue
Mainland Southeast Asia’s floating female head with trailing entrails, said to glow at night in rice fields and hunt for blood and raw flesh. FolkloreThe legends of Laos
Much of the country is remote forest and mountain, and local beliefs about spirits, the Naga and forest beings continue alongside Buddhism.
Hotspots
- Mekong riverbank
Lao side of the stretch where the Naga fireballs are reported.
Sightings timeline
- 2021Lao lockdown inquiry Naga Fireballs
Lao authorities investigating during a COVID-19 curfew said it was very unlikely anyone could have fired flares unnoticed.