This is my second submission for ART EXPLOSION, Week #2 held by @juliakponsford. You can read her original post here. The theme for this week's contest is phantom. I submitted my day of the dead stencil watercolor painting as my first entry.

For this second entry, I decided to draw a 'penanggalan' - a ghost of Southeast Asian folk mythology. Penanggalan means "detach" or "remove". So what is this ghost exactly? It is a detached head of a woman that has the capability to fly about on its own at night. As it flies, its internal organs dangle below it with blood dripping. Those who had the misfortune to see it flying said it was a gruesome and chilling sight. You can read more about this ghost on Wikipedia.

Since this ghost is often depicted as ugly banshee I decided to draw a cuter version of it, sort of look like Betty Boop. I want her to be lovable instead of scary. Call me superstitious but I admit it was a bit frightening to draw this because growing up we heard stories about this ghost and how terrifying it was.

So here she is....