Manananggal

One of the most popular monsters in Philippine folklore and a staple of Pinoy horror movies is the manananggal. Almost every Filipino knows what a manananggal is but to those who don’t, well, a manananggal is a variant of the aswang. By day, is just a normal person, usually a woman, but come sundown she…

Ungga-Ungga: The bloodsucking floating head

The ungga-ungga or ongga-ongga from Visayan and Mindanaoan folklore in the Philippines (also known as bog-bog, oka-oka, ug-ug, wowog, wuwug or wugwug, and yog-yog) is an aswang variant and a manananggal relative which appears similar to the penanggal or penanggalan of Malay folklore, the kuyang, balan-balan, leyak and palasik of Indonesian folklore, and the krasue…

Manananggal’s wingless cousin

The anananggal are self-segmenting aswang in the Eastern Visayan folklore of the Philippines. Unlike their cousins, the manananggal of Luzon, anananggal are wingless like the Indonesian penanggal, and can render themselves invisible – an ability which gives them freedom to enter any house unnoticed. Aside from preying on pregnant women and attacking children or those…

Monsters & other supernatural beings from Filipino folklore & myths

This list aims to reintroduce Philippine folklore and mythology’s myriad creatures and other beings that were obscured by centuries of colonialism and modernity.