Fearsome Folklores : The Legend of Aswang

  Vampires, ghouls, and werewolves are all horror-striking, but what if they all came together to form into one creature? In the mysteries of Philippine folklore resides one such creature whose name is Aswang. As the darkness of the night falls, its hunt for human blood commences, trailing its prey by staying in the shadows. Its mouth waters, making a tick-tick sound from the daunting darkness.

 In accordance with Philippine folklore, an Aswang is an evil, shapeshifting creature with almost all the blood-curdling characteristics of werewolves, vampires and ghouls. It has no steady description because its appearance varies in keeping with the area. They have been frequently characterised on tattles, the reason for Aswang being used as a collective word for all Philippine nocturnal evil entities. The Aswang is specifically more popular in southern regions of Luzon, and some areas of Mindanao and Visayas, in particular, the Visayan province of Capiz, and it was the most feared creature of the Philippines, even during the sixteenth century.

 The Aswang’s most eerie power is its ability to blend in with its victims. All through the day, Aswangs look and act much like regular human beings. They are usually misanthropic, exhibiting magical skills and they can have regular jobs and friends. At night time, however, Aswangs transform into uncanny predatory forms.

 Along with shapeshifting, Aswangs also have the ability to change the looks of other objects. It is a habit for an Aswang to transform plant material into a clone of its victims in order to cover its feeding behaviour from people. These doppelgangers may take the place of corpses, which Aswangs frequently consume, or they might replace people who are alive. If the doppelganger replaces an alive human, it'll go back to the person’s home, get ill, and die soon.

 One more ability that Aswangs uses to hide itself, is the usage baleful vocal tricks. As the fearsome predator moves toward its victim, its sound becomes quieter and quieter, so its victim is tricked into believing that the monster is going further away.

 The Aswang’s hunting behaviour is as frightening as its power to cover itself in plain sight. Aswangs like to feast on corpses, fetuses, and small children. They regularly appear at funerals or at the bedside of pregnant ladies to devour. The Aswang uses its tongue to suck blood from its sufferers or suck a fetus from a pregnant woman’s womb. In addition, they have superhuman energy in the course of the night-time. Aswangs advance quickly and silently. They opt to go as far as possible from their residence for the hunt, so their real identities are not revealed to the locals as they could be killed by the locals during the day.

 Aswangs may be killed with garlic, salt, holy water, a crucifix, a rosary, prayer, or decapitation and they are in their weakest state during the day. They will also be destroyed if they get whipped by the tail of a stingray. A dying Aswang can pass its powers to someone else by holding its mouth near that person.

 You may tell whether or not someone is an Aswang by having a look into their eyes. If your reflection is the other way up, then they might not be human. Also, if a person appears different while standing upright when you look at them upside down, they could be an Aswang. An oil called Hintura can also be used to detect an Aswang as the oil will bubble if it is in close proximity to an Aswang. Aswangs do not have a philtrum, unlike humans, which is also a differentiating factor.

Appearance

Various different descriptions had been given of the Aswang’s appearance, however, some recurrent characteristics stand out among all the different accounts. Normally, the Aswang is a female with bloodshot eyes throughout the day and it covers its eyes with its long hair. During the night, it takes the form of various animals including birds, bats, and dogs.

 Irrespective of which animal form it takes, an Aswang will differ from the natural ones. Most Aswangs have long, proboscis-like tongues, and are often defined as strolling with their feet backwards like the PichalPeri. They've additionally been depicted as being so thin that they can disguise in the back of bamboo posts.

Types

• Danag: Danag used to be a supernatural race that lived along with humans according to Philphinne folklore. Legend says a human got a wooden splinter caught beneath his fingernail one day and a Danag offered to help by using sucking it out. Drops of blood followed the splinter when it exited the nail, a taste which the Danag took a liking to. The Danag eventually turned into Aswangs because of their liking of human blood.
• Bebarlang: They are basically ghouls who can be found in the graveyards feeding on the flesh of the deceased. When there isn’t sufficient dead, they feed on the living by going into a trance and using their astral body to enter the homes of unsuspecting victims for a ceremonial dinner on their organs.
• Mandurugo: A Mandurugo takes the form of a pretty woman who preys on one man after the other. They are said to lure men into their house at night and then suck all their blood, eventually killing them.
• Manananggal: The Manananggal is often a girl. At night, she grows wings, separates her torso from the other half of her body and flies off looking for a meal similar to the Malaysian Penanggalan. She prefers pregnant ladies whose nutrient-rich fetuses she can suck out like a raw egg. The Manananggal is occasionally followed by a tik-tik, the sound it makes. As told above, the louder it sounds the farther it is and the softer it sounds, the nearer it is.
• Weredog: Weredog is the Philippine version of werewolves and were-hyenas. They transform into a dog during the night and kill and eat people. Like the other kinds, they also have a liking toward pregnant women.