When I first saw The Krasue, Dead by Daylight’s latest Killer to enter the Fog, my first thought was less of a coherent sentence and more of a wretched gasp of disgust and exhilaration. My next thought was to go, “Okay, what the hell is a Krasue?”
Dave Richard, creative director of Dead by Daylight, told Polygon in a Zoom interview that one of the first things the development team looks for when it comes to visiting a new area of the world is to find something that’s very recognizable for that specific culture.
“[The Krasue] is a well-known monster from Thai culture, well, from all of South Asia, really. Even within Thailand, there are various stories about the Krasue – it can take many forms and it’s a bit like our boogeyman.” Richard said. “We wanted to make something special for our Thai friends who love Dead by Daylight, something specific for their culture. And we know our fans all over the world love when we feature folkloric monsters from places that they don’t necessarily know about.”
I can’t disagree there. I knew nothing about the Krasue, but after seeing the Killer, a woman who initially appears humanoid but can transform into a floating head, leaving her entrails and organs floating alongside it, I knew I wanted to know more.
Richard explained that the Krasue manifests inside a cursed woman, often one who has committed actions that are frowned upon during their life. For this Killer, also known as Burong Sukapat, this curse leads to the woman roaming out at night to hunt for flesh, eating decaying carcasses, trash, live animals, anything, really. Eventually, they are no longer the person they were before, but a gruesome, visceral shell.
“Visceral” as an identifier of The Krasue is perhaps the understatement of the century. It’s not the first time Dead by Daylight has leaned into body horror elements, but The Krasue is a true embodiment of this subgenre with its sunken, floating head. But what makes The Krasue stand out within the Dead by Daylight roster, among other female Killers especially, is the level of juxtaposition of her design. She has two forms: a beautiful woman who could easily pass as another Survivor, and a floating mass of gore.
According to Richard, the contrast between the two forms was meant to shock players. Having watched gameplay firsthand, I’ll say that seeing a distinct, conventionally attractive woman chase after you with a knife is one thing, but to see her split in two to become a floating head, dripping with blood and viscera? That’s quite another. Interestingly, what shocked me the most about this Killer was its ability to pick up Survivors from the crowd and take them to a hook, even in its head form, without reverting into its human form.
It was a design and visual choice that almost didn’t make the cut, as Richard explained. “There is a parallel universe where [picking up the Survivors with The Krasue’s vocal chords and entrails] doesn’t exist and the Krasue reforms into a human. But it’s an image that is so striking, we really wanted to make it happen.”
It isn’t just the look of the Krasue that was important; also essential was making the two forms fundamentally different through the Killer’s voice and sound effects. Due to the Killer’s Thai, operatic background, Richard spoke about how important it was to bring that to life.
“We explored many different types of music here, in Thailand, it’s super interesting. They can have a very traditional culture that’s incredibly rich, and it’s still present for many generations, including the young. And then there’s a modernity that’s there too,” Richard said.
To reflect the Krasue’s origins, Richard explained that the team tapped into the more traditional layer of music in Thailand. “In the terror radius, we really went with this juxtaposition again, making sure that we have something creepy that uses Thai instruments to get that mysterious creepy vibe.”
“We actually worked with two different voice actresses, which was amazing. One is a Thai opera singer in life, who does the voice of The Krasue when she’s in human form. When you hear her sing in the lobby, that’s her.” Richard explained. “Then for the voice when she’s in a head. She’s a metal singer, one that can really get that extremely gnarly voice.”
Roxana B.L, who fronted the melodic death metal band Your Last Wish from 2008 to 2023, stepped into the shoes of The Krasue’s monstrous form and gave players some truly sickening sound effects. B.L. is also recognized as a creature voice specialist, and her work for The Monster Factory has involved bringing creatures to life in video games such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cronos: The New Dawn.
While B.L took charge of bringing the spitting, venomous head of The Krasue to life, her melodic counterpart, the human form that’s out to terrorize Survivors, was taken up by Dr. Fueanglada Prawang Carlson, a soprano opera singer in Thailand.
Previously, the team at Behavior Interactive had been careful in adding voices and dialogue to their characters in Dead by Daylight. During the early days, the most you would get from both Survivors and Killers was a grunt, scream, or a hummed lullaby that would work to scare the living daylights out of you. Now, however, characters have a lot to say – and even sing. The Krasue’s human form was originally an opera singer. With that in mind, Dr. Carlson was an obvious choice.
The Krasue may serve as an introduction to Southeast Asian horror in Dead by Daylight, but Richard hinted it may not be the last.
“There are all sorts of monsters, and we could revisit Thailand in the future and have other monsters as part of the roster for Dead by Daylight.” I hope so, especially if they’re all as stomach-churning as The Krasue.