Heard about this ‘Kum kum’ during the 80s. The version I’ve heard is ‘Kum kum’ used to be a beautiful malay lady, who was punished by Heaven to roam the earth for eternity & her beauty taken away for her abuse of knowledge in occult arts, for she was using the blood of the virgin girls to retain her beauty. As a result of the divine punishment, she is unable to pronounce the full malay greeting ‘As-salaamu-alay-kum’, but the two syllabus ‘kum kum’ instead. While urban legend has it that this has-been beauty is still roaming the earth among the living to this very day, she continues to attack virgin girls in an attempt to get back her beauty.

In addition, before the current ‘pontianak sighted in female toilets, feasting on menstrual blood’, the popular ghost story circulating was ‘kum kum sighted in female toilets, feasting on menstrual blood’. I think the popularity of pontianak scared ‘kum kum’ away.

Another version was this lady taps your shoulder at your back and says “kum kum”, run as fast as your legs could carry or else you will be abducted and don’t know what will happen to you. and on occasion, she will knock on the door, asking for assistance. once the victim does that, then it’ll be the end of the person. i thought the newspapers came out this “kum kum” thingy as well. Anyway, this legend made my skin crawl and indeed, it inflicted fear in me and my friends. the fear subsided when rumors spreaded that “kum kum” left singapore for other countries. Haha… to think about it, i feel silly scaring myself during those days..”