This article aimed to analyze the sociocultural characteristics reflected in modern storytelling culture by examining cases of ‘The Vanishing Hitchhiker' in Indonesian and Vietnamese folklore. By exploring the identity and cause of ‘the vanishing entity' in these stories, the collective consciousness and particularities of these societies could be understood. In Indonesia and Vietnam, the vanishing passenger is often a young woman who died in connection with a crime or accident and is regarded as having experienced ‘a bad death,' which is not accepted by society. These spirits are denied by the community and left to wander because they died without completing the rites of passage given to individuals in their society. Additionally, this story reflects the societal awareness of communal scars, as it sometimes features women who were victims of colonialism or war, or, in exceptional cases, the disappearance of modern means of transportation such as trains