"Orang minyak" literally means "oily man" in Malay and refers to a local evil being who covers himself in black oil and goes around burgling homes and raping virgins. Some people believe the orang minyak is a creature of black magic and that he needs to rape virgins in order to maintain his powers, which include being invisible to a vast majority of people. Others believe the orang minyak is nothing more than a petty criminal and that his oily coat is to help him slip away from his potential captors, literally.