Ma Phae Wah, also known as the “Yellow Ribbon Lady” from Myanmar folklore, is the ghostly guardian of graveyards. She is depicted as a pale phantom woman with long black hair dressed in yellow attire.
When night descends, she is said to wander through the streets, carrying a wooden coffin on her head. If she places her coffin in front of a house, it is believed that someone, particularly a young child, will soon perish. In this sense, she is the Myanmar equivalent of a grim reaper.
In the late 1990s, a rumor spread across Myanmar that Ma Phae Wah had appeared in a monk’s dream, expressing a desire to devour children. Feeling deeply disturbed, the monk allegedly advised her to consume dogs instead.
This rumor triggered a wave of mass hysteria, which led to the emergence of even more unsettling tales about Ma Phae Wah.
More information about this sinister spirit is available in Ghosts, Spirits, Monsters and Paranormal Entities from Asian Folktales and Mythology (Book 1).