The Jenglot - Diminutive Dog-Faced Demon

We've previously mentioned that nearly every culture has some myth about a tiny humanoid. These creatures can be mischievous, or helpful, depending on the culture. They vary in size and ferocity.

The Jenglot is a tiny humanoid creature that tore its way into Indonesian folklore in the late 90s. Most myths of the little folk are quite a bit older than that, their origins lost in the mists of time. What sets the Jenglot apart is the fact that several dried-out Jenglot corpses have been found, and paraded around Indonesia. This gives science the perfect opportunity to research these creatures.

Technically I'm a Gen-Z

Turn of the Century Creature

In Pulau Jawa, Indonesia, something incredible happened in 1997. People started finding the desiccated bodies of tiny humanoid creatures. These creatures somewhat resemble monkeys with demonic faces. Depending on how you feel about monkeys, they may already look demonic to you.

I am a dark reflection of the bestial nature you suppress

The myth of the Jenglot is new, but it has quickly been adopted into the local folklore. Practitioners of traditional magic have claimed that the Jenglot has always been around. There are no records of the Jenglot before 1997, though.

The Jenglot - Vampiric Pet

I want to speak to the manager

According to legends, the Jenglot can be found in all kinds of places. They lurk in dark caves, swing through the trees in the forest, hide in bushes, or wait in the eaves of houses, always ready to pounce.

The Jenglot looks like a tiny man with long hair, sharp claws that are longer than its fingers and a mouth full of fangs that would put Baraka to shame. They have long torsos and spindly arms and legs. Jenglot are mostly found when in their “dormant” state, looking like dried-out taxidermy dolls.

These beasts are similar to the Puerto Rican Chupacabra in their lust for blood. Another similarity is that they are a modern phenomenon.

Some people believe that the Jenglot makes a great pet. All you have to do is feed it a drop of your blood every day, or else it will destroy your family. So kind of like a cat.

Unlike cats, Jenglot don't move when you look directly at them. Okay, maybe that is also catlike. That's why, when feeding them blood, you place the blood near the Jenglot, and it absorbs nutrients from the blood “in its own way”. Which sounds a lot like it doesn't absorb the blood at all, and you have a self-harm problem.

Catching a Jenglot requires “knowledge of black magic”. Otherwise, they'll disobey you, like a Pokémon. I could find no evidence of underground Jenglot fighting rings, but one can only hope.

Becoming a Jenglot

Something's fishy here

Humans can transform into Jenglot after death. This usually happens to hermits who live apart from society. When they die, their body is rejected by the Earth. This is because they lived deliciously, and the dirt cannot absorb their sin.

The dead hermit then begins to shrink and dry out until they become a Jenglot. Thus begins their un-life of blood absorption and sitting motionless while observed.

Jenglot have proliferated in Indonesia, and many people are proud to display their own Jenglot. The creatures all look like dried out monkeys that have been turned into macabre dolls through taxidermy.

Many Jenglot have been taken on tours of Indonesia. Onlookers marvel at the tiny demons, some swear they can see it move.

Unfortunately for believers, every Jenglot that has been examined by scientists has proven to be some clever taxidermy. Artists combine the bodies of monkeys with fish, slap a wig on that bastard, and voilà! You have a Jenglot.

Others believe that, much like the Tokoloshe, the Jenglot can be created as a pet demon by a magic practitioner.

Unlike the Tokoloshe, the Jenglot doesn't seem to be created with a specific purpose. They just "exist" as an oddity, and like many modern myths, serve to bring elements of the mystic into a secular world.