What goes bump in the Filipino night? The Philippines has a rich tradition of legends, many of them spooky and macabre. Some, like the Aswang, the vicious, soul-sucking creature that roams the streets at night hoping to trap anyone walking alone, are known around the world but others are local to particular islands in the archipelago and known only to those communities. Here are a few of the hundreds that feature in local mythologies.
Be warned. If you don’t like the macabre, read no further.
Be warned. If you don’t like the macabre, read no further.
The Kibaan
In Ilocos the Kibaan takes the form of a bird-like creature with reverse fingers and toes who has a penchant for falling in love with girls from the villages. Finding his love unrequited, the broken-hearted Kibaan would seek his revenge by blowing a magic powder ion the girl’s direction to cause a harmful skin condition. However, the kibaan can be appeased by asking him for forgiveness.
Mangangatok
Filipinos say that when someone’s death is imminent, there will be a knock at the door. On opening the door, a young woman and two old men will appear. They are called Mangangatok or ’those who knock’. There is no way of warding them off or ignoring them. Once you hear the knock, someone in your family will die soon.
Matruculan
The Matraculan is one of the scariest Filipino monsters who impregnates women in order to make a meal of the baby at childbirth. Other stories claim it just preys on already pregnant women. In order to ward off the Matruculan, the women’s husband must place a sharp knife above the woman’s stomach during labour.
In Ilocos the Kibaan takes the form of a bird-like creature with reverse fingers and toes who has a penchant for falling in love with girls from the villages. Finding his love unrequited, the broken-hearted Kibaan would seek his revenge by blowing a magic powder ion the girl’s direction to cause a harmful skin condition. However, the kibaan can be appeased by asking him for forgiveness.
Mangangatok
Filipinos say that when someone’s death is imminent, there will be a knock at the door. On opening the door, a young woman and two old men will appear. They are called Mangangatok or ’those who knock’. There is no way of warding them off or ignoring them. Once you hear the knock, someone in your family will die soon.
Matruculan
The Matraculan is one of the scariest Filipino monsters who impregnates women in order to make a meal of the baby at childbirth. Other stories claim it just preys on already pregnant women. In order to ward off the Matruculan, the women’s husband must place a sharp knife above the woman’s stomach during labour.
Pasatsat
Just a few provinces away from Ilocos, in Pangasinenes, comes a tale from the Japanese occupation. Pasatsats are ghosts of war casualties buried in pamalisan, reed mats, because their families were too poor to afford a coffin. Desperate people often robbed the graves of these unfortunates, taking personal effects that could be sold, and the souls of the dead, angry at the desecration of their grave would roam the area appearing as ghastly apparitions to passersby. Anyone seeing such an apparition is required to stab the ghost repeatedly until they disintegrate, emitting a vomit-inducing foul stench, hence the name Pasatsat which comes from ‘satsat’ which means ‘to stab’. |
Berberoka
In Abra, Apayoa and Ilocos Norte, there live freshwater ogres similar to Greek naiads. These female creatures prey on fisherman by sucking water from swamps or lakes and leaving schools of fish on the water surface. As fishermen flock to take advantage of this windfall ther Berberoka then drowns them to feast on their dying bodies. To ward them off, simply carry a crab as they are terrified of crustaceans. |
Amomongo
Somewhere on Mt Kanlaon in Negros Occidental, a hairy white ape, reminiscent of the American Bigfoot, lives in a cave. The Amomongo has long razor-sharp nails with which to disembowel its victims in order to eat their entrails. |
Bungisngis
Dubbed the Filipino Cyclops, the Bungisngis is much less intimidating than its Western counterpart. Known for its unusual laugh, this creature got its name from the Filipino ‘ngisngis’ which means ‘to laugh’. However jovial it might sound its appearance is terrifying, having one eye dangling in the middle of its forehead, a huge upper lip, humungous teeth and two long tusks. |
Bal Bal
From Catanuan, Quezon, comes the story of a scavenger monster with a love for dead bodies. Also known as maninilongamong among the natives, this vampire-like monster snatches corpses from graves, cemeteries and funerals. It has long razor-sharp claws that enable it to easily snatch its lifeless victims. It can even smell cadavers from far away due to its keen sense of smell. They say that Bal Bals also emit a scent so pungent it puts the living to sleep while it takes the dead, eats the body and replaces it with a banana trunk. |
The Bakunawa
The Bakunawa is a serpent-like dragon believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system for ancient Filipinos and were part of the shamanistic rituals of the babaylan. It is usually depicted with a characteristic looped tail and a single horn on the nose. It was generally believed to be a sea serpent, but are also variously believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld. |
Anduduno
The Anduduno are monsters who target the sick, bedridden and paralysed. They have poisonous, snake-like tongues and often reside under houses, sneaking in through a window to lick their sick victims and hasten their deaths. When their victim is buried, they dig up the corpse to consume it. |
Amalanhig
Hiligaynon-speaking groups who live in Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique and Guimaras tell of a monster that greatly resembles the aswang of Visyan mythology. They rise from their graves to bite the necks of the unwary, chasing their victims to catch them and tickle them to death. To escape, you must run in a zigzag course as Amalanhigs can only run in a straight line due to their muscle rigidity and stiffness. |
