Country file · Asia & the Middle East
Cryptids of Thailand
What cryptids are in Thailand? The best-known are Naga Fireballs and Krasue.
Thai folklore is crowded with spirits of rice fields, rivers and forests. The best known is the krasue, a floating head with trailing entrails that is said to glow in the night around villages, and whose sightings are regularly turned into viral videos before being explained as lanterns, drones or reflections. It has relatives in Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.
- 2 cryptids
- 2 recorded sightings
Cryptids reported in Thailand
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
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 Thailand
On the Mekong at Nong Khai, the Naga fireballs (bang fai phaya nak) rise from the river around the end of Buddhist Lent each October. Believers credit the Naga king, while scientists argue over flares, gas or something else. The event draws large crowds every year.
Hotspots
- Phon Phisai, Nong Khai
Best-known viewing area for the Naga fireballs.
- Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani
Provinces behind several modern krasue stories.