Tradition / Region: Thai Mythology
Alternative names: Kong Koi, Phi Teen Diao (“One-Footed Ghost”), Phi Pong, Phi Pong Kang
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Phi Kong Koi is an ugly, child-sized spirit with dark skin, shaggy hair, and a swollen belly. Most accounts describe it as having only a single leg, moving by hopping through the forest while crying out “Koi! Koi! Koi!”. Some traditions portray it as monkey-like, while others describe it as a tiny woman with backward feet or a creature with a tube-shaped mouth resembling that of a giant fly. Nearly all agree that it cannot climb trees.
Deep in the forests of Thailand and Laos, travelers fear the Phi Kong Koi, a nocturnal spirit that stalks lonely camps and jungle paths. It approaches sleeping victims and sucks blood from their toes, which is why travelers traditionally sleep with their feet crossed or pressed together.
Its presence is often announced by eerie cries, strange splashing sounds, and childish laughter coming from the darkness. Many who investigate find nothing but empty forest.
Some stories portray bands of Phi Kong Koi armed with tiny crossbows, behaving almost like hidden jungle tribes, while others describe them as supernatural ghosts that vanish before dawn. Objects found abandoned in the forest are sometimes believed to belong to them, and anyone who takes such treasures risks attracting their wrath.
Thus the Phi Kong Koi is remembered as the one-footed ghost of the jungle—a blood-drinking phantom whose cries echo through the night while it searches for sleeping travelers.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Kong koi. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 21, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kong_koi