The
Aswang is a flesh-eating, shapeshifting monster. During the day, Aswangs appear
as regular townspeople. Although they’re shy and somewhat reclusive, they can
have jobs, friends, and even families. It’s at night people have to
worry, for Aswangs shift into eerie predatory forms and go hunting for human
prey, preferring children and pregnant women for their flesh and blood.
The Aswang is a cryptid born out of Philippine folklore. Stories of this terrifying creature date
back as far back as the 16th century, when Spanish explorers created the first
written record of the monster. The explorers noted that of all the monsters in the
Philippine folklore, the Aswang was the most feared by native people.
The creature’s name comes from the Sanskrit word “asura,” meaning
demon. This terrifying monster is also sometimes called the tik-tik or the
wak-wak. These names come from the sinister sounds the monster is said to make
while hunting.
It can take the form of a woman during the day,
but at night, it might appear as a bird, a pig, or a dog. Different regional
versions of the creature are said to take different forms. The tik-tik and
wak-wak become large birds, while the zegben (sometimes described simply as a
companion of the monster) takes on the form of a Tasmanian devil. And as I stated
earlier, these monsters have also been reported shifting into pigs and dogs.
No matter which animal form it takes, the Aswang differs from a regular animal
in various disturbing ways. Most Aswangs have long, proboscis-like tongues, and
are frequently described as walking with their feet backward. They have also
been depicted as being so thin that they can hide behind bamboo posts. Both
the wak-wak version of the Aswang and the manananggals, a different monster,
leave behind half of their human torso when they transform into a predatory
form during the night.
Another tactic Aswangs use to disguise themselves is to use sinister
vocal tricks. The closer fearsome predator draws to its victim, its call grows quieter
and quieter, so its victim is tricked into thinking the monster is getting
further away.
The Aswang’s hunting prowess is
almost as frightening as its ability to hide itself in plain sight. Aswangs do
like to dine on corpses, fetuses, and small children. They often appear at
funeral wakes or at the bedside of pregnant women to eat. The Aswang uses its
proboscis like tongue to suck blood from its victims or suck a fetus from a
pregnant woman’s womb. They also have superhuman strength during the nighttime.
A dying Aswang can also pass its
powers along to someone else if it wishes. The Aswang holds its mouth close to
a chosen person, and the chick inside the monster’s stomach hops into the mouth
of the new person.
The first step towards ridding a
town of this deadly assailant is identifying the monster. There are several
ways in which you can do this. Aswangs generally have bloodshot eyes, since
they have been awake hunting all night. In addition, it is said that if you
look directly into an Aswang’s eyes, your reflection will appear upside-down.
The most common method of detecting Aswangs, however, involves using albularyos
oil, a special oil made of coconuts and holy plants. This oil is said to boil
whenever an Aswang is near.
Aswangs are repelled by garlic
and religious artifacts like western vampires are, and are at their weakest
during the day, while in human form. They can be killed by decapitation or by
being struck with a whip made from a sting ray’s tail.
