Growing up in England I was always scared to go back to the Philippines (where I was born)-- thanks to my mother emotionally scarring me by telling me stories about the following freak ass creatures...

Aswang: name translates to "To be detached from one part of the body". This creature flies around at night sucking blood and attacking animals and people. It is said that during the daytime, the aswang takes on the appearance of a dog, whose front legs are longer than the back legs.

Manananggal: The female aswang. Some say her head and stomach fly out at night, others say all of her upper body flies out while her lower body remains. She flies with her arms which turn into bat-like wings, perching on a roof to suck out the internal organs and blood of those in the house. Or she hangs beneath the open floor and sucks the rectum or sputum of the sick with her tube-like tongue which she can extend and control at will. She especially craves the unborn children of pregnant mothers.

Sigbin: The Sigbin is said to be the pet of witches and warlocks.Their front limbs of this quadruped are shorter than their hind limbs thus giving them the impression of standing upside-down (and to most Filipinos, standing upside-down is one of the hallmarks of a supernatural creature). They are said to be fond of the flowers of the red squash and of piglets. Sightings of this creature have been described as a little bit smaller that a two-year-old goat with grey skin.

Tikbalang: The tikbalang is a harmless being, but when he took a fancy to someone, he would lure him to his haunts and tease him with frightening looks and antics. The tikbalang is sort of like a "reverse-centaur" -- its lower body is human while its upper body is that of a horse.

The Dwende : Elves, or dwendes are divided into two kinds. There is the "puting dwende" (white elf), who were good beings and quite harmless. You could play with them and make them your friends. Then there is the "itim na dwende" (black elf), which you should fiercely avoid. Itim na dwendes are evil creatures who delight in tormenting those poor hapless human beings who had, unfortunately, trespassedon their homes. Homes include fruit trees, grassy plains, gardens, and termite mounds (among all others). Once you had violated their territory, you'll develop an illness, which is incurable by modern medicine. Symptoms include severe stomachaches, high fever, strings of diseases, sudden coughs, severe migraine, etc… The only cure is to seek the help of a witch doctor.

Busaw: the Busaw was a ghoul who was also a corpse thief. An evil spirit who looked and behaved like ordinary human beings by day, it listened for sounds of death in the evenings, and dwelled in large trees near cemeteries. It had pointed teeth, hooked nails and a long tongue. It took banana tree trunks to replace the dead as it stole the corpses out of their coffins. Then, spiriting the corpse off after first turning it into a pig, the busaw would feast on it and even try to feed it to their human neighbors during the day in order to turn them into ghouls like itself

To ward the busaw off, all corpses should be washed completely with vinegar and strong-smelling herbs. Salt is also a busaw repellant.

Bungisngis: A giant who lives deep in a cave and has one eye on his forehead. Two long tusks stick out of each side of the giant's mouth like an elephant. When the giant smiles, his upper lip would cover his eye. If one were to ride a carabou by his cave in the woods one day, you might run into this giant, who is fond of smirking and giggling. He is happy to see someone he can deceive. You mustn't stop to laugh with the giant or you will go insane and spend the rest of your life in a fit of mad giggles.

Bangungot: a demon who appears to people in their dreams and snatches their breath away. He appears as an 18 foot fat man with legs like tree trunks, long black hair and red eyes. He smells foul like a goat. When he comes to you in your dream he will sit on your chest and suffocate you.
In order to get rid of the Bangungot you must bite your thumb, and wiggle your big toe and it will leave you and go back to where it came from.

Nuno sa Punso: Nuno sa Punso is a 'dwende' that appears as a very old bearded man as short as a boy of three, but with comparatively large joints, belly, head, eyes, nose and mouth. He usually lives underground, under caves and anthills, which is how he got his name; nuno sa punso means "old man under the anthill."
He is harmless unless provoked.In that case he could pinch your skin, which subsequently would turn blue, or pull the toes and make them twice as long. Nuno could also give fever or chills, or worse cast an evil spell.

..Update: March 2003- Ok, I'm never going back there again.

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