The Manananggal
The Manananggal is portrayed as frightening, frequently grotesque, typically presented as a female entity, and constantly possessing the ability to detach its upper torso, with its intestines trailing and unfurling enormous bat-like wings to soar into the night, hunting for its prey.
It is rumored that the Manananggal has a preference for targeting slumbering, expectant women, employing an elongated proboscis-like tongue to extract fetuses or the blood of individuals in a state of repose.
But, is it believable? Listen now.
Can colonization and large bats explain away an ancient fear?
Is there a demon in the skies of the Philippines?
What would you do if you saw a blood-sucking monster?
What is up, Bizarros?! This week we dive into the terrifying myth of the Mananaggal.
Let’s learn more about one of the most mysterious Filipino folklore creatures.
The Mananaggal Folklore
The mananaggal is an old monster that comes from a time we’ll before the Spanish colonized the country.
The names come from the word to separate in the native language of the Philippines, Tagalog.
They are a sub-type of Aswang. An Aswang is an umbrella term for different types of shape-shifting evil monsters in Philippine folklore.
These mythical creatures are said to be everyday things like pigs, dogs, cats, and even humans.
The several things that are considered to be Aswang are the vampire, the weredog, the witch, and the Viscera Sucker, also known as the Manananggal.
What Is The Manananggal?
In Philippine mythology, the Viscera Sucker presents as a woman during the day. It could be anyone. Your friend’s wife, your sister’s friend, anyone. She pretends during the day.
But during the night, she becomes her true self. She grows huge bat-like wings from her arms. She has an elongated proboscis-like tongue. Her teeth become daggers in her mouth. Her eyes glow red.
But the sickest part of her transformation is that she searches her upper body from her legs. She flies off with organs still dangling.
What Does The Manananggal Eat?
The Manananggal is said to survive by feasting off people. And not just of their blood like you’d expect a vampire to do. They hunt people and feast on fluids like phlegm.
With their long proboscis-like tongue, they shove it anywhere in the body that is an exposed hole.
They prefer to go for human organs like lungs, livers, and hearts. However, their favorite prey is unborn babies.
Expecting mothers are the biggest target of the Manananggal.
How To Stop The Manananggal
Some ways to stop the monster are sprinkling ashes, garlic, herbs, spices, or salt, and it will stop this fearsome creature.
The lower half is typically hidden while they are in search of prey.
If they somehow do stay disconnected that could mean death for the Manananggal.
A woman becomes a Manananggal if she takes a baby black chicken and keeps it alive in her throat.
Another way to vanquish them is to catch her upside down, hang her by the feet, and spin around her until she vomits. Until then, it is nearly impossible to kill her.
The last surefire way to vanquish the Manananggal is with a sharp bamboo stake in the back.
Where Did This Myth Come From?
The myth of this legendary creature comes from oral stories passed down.
Quote
“It serves as a cautionary tale and a reflection of societal values and fears. The legend is believed to be a symbolic representation of the dangers of vanity and envy, as the beautiful woman transforms into a monstrous predator.”
It’s also said that the wings may be representative of the bats in the area, the tongue may come from the large mosquito population, and the monster may be an explanation for why the favorite target, pregnant women, may have miscarriages or stillbirths. They also may be an explanation for death in the middle of the night.
Manananggal Encounters
Manananggal Encounter #1
From Reddit
A Manananggal tried to eat me in my mom’s womb.
I just remembered this story. Mind you, this didn’t happen to me; as you all can read in the title, I wasn’t born yet when it happened. My mom told me this story when I was about 12 or so, and it still gives me the heebie-jeebies whenever I remember it.
My mom and dad (who would later in life be estranged from us) were pretty young when they had me, Mom was about 20-21 at the time, and my dad was a couple of years older. Because of this, they were living with my dad’s side of the family (who would also be estranged from us later in life); the time the story happened was when my mom was about 7 months into her pregnancy with me.
It was night-time (she didn’t say the exact time it was, but she said that it was already pretty late), she was just relaxing in their room and was about to go to sleep when she heard something outside her room, something flapping.
Now, my mom at that time didn’t really realize it, but she was quite ‘sensitive’ in that kind of thing that she passed on to me and my younger brother.
She had this sense of foreboding, so she screamed to my dad, who was just downstairs drinking with a few of my uncles and his friends, of course, my dad quickly ran up to my mom (slight drunkenness be damned) and asked her what was wrong, she said that she heard something flapping and it was getting closer and closer and she was really scared.
Dad immediately called his brothers and friends and told them that a Manananggal (the horrible vampire-like monster that feeds on pregnant women, children, animals, etc.) was trying to kill his baby(me) and his wife, they immediately took anything that’s sharp and was vigilant throughout the night, keeping an out for the Manananggal.
My mom said she didn’t sleep a wink that night, no one did. That’s because the city they were in, that part of the city in particular, is notoriously known in my country as the hotspot for Manananggal and Aswang.
I suggest you look them up, it’ll be worth your while and might not let you sleep a wink at night.
Decades later, when I had rented a place in the same city (but different location from their old house), I was walking home from work at around 3-4 am (I worked as a call center agent at the time, and I was been going home at around that time for several months before that event happened to me),
I was just minding my own business when I felt something cold at the back of my neck. It was as if I was suddenly poured really cold icy water.
I ran home.
Once I was inside the safety of the gate in my place, I gripped the grills of the gate tight in my hands and glared in front of me, I still didn’t look up, I said these words with as much calm and protectiveness as I could, and imagines a very bright white light surrounding me and the rest of my house and some of my neighbors
“You’re not welcome here, get out, don’t even think of entering our home, get out, don’t follow me, get out. You are nothing; you’re not welcome here; get out. get out. get out”
I stood there glaring into nothing, but my hands were trembling, my knees were shaking, and there was a rumble of a horde of bees in my stomach at that point.
But I stood my ground; it took forever until I didn’t feel any of that sensation anymore. I took off and entered my house, and once inside, I swear to god I broke down in a cold sweat and fell down to my knees. I was shaking so hard I felt like a tornado.
I honestly don’t know how I managed to get in my bed and fall asleep.
Manananggal Encounter #2
This Redditor is being very honest and is not convincing this actually happened to him
Redditer Hollyxturnmeon
Filipino Folklores: the Manananggal.
It’s hard for me to write and/or tell about my experience since i really am not quiet sure if it really happened or just something a frightened child with an over-active imagination just made up.
But anyway, here goes my story.
I was born and raised in the Philippines, and growing up, my grandparents often told me and my cousins stories of our rich-fear-filled culture. One in particular, of the female monster we call the “Manananggal.”
Just a little background story, the Manananggal is a lady witch who can sever her body in half. The process is different among the places in the country, but the one my grandparents told us is that she has this magical oil she would massage onto her body, causing her to split in half and grow bat-like wings, leaving her lower half -from the waist down- in her house in the woods while her upper half flies around in search of fetuses to devour upon.
Now, in our village, stories went around that every once in a while, at around 3 am, Manananggal visits in search of pregnant ladies. An indicator would be the distinct and pungent smell of fish sauce and the sound of “tik tik tik” apparently made as they fly.
The thing about the ticking sound is that when it sounds faint or far, it means that the Manananggal is actually near. It is said that this was to confuse its victims.
Now the story begins.
I think I was seven at the time, and while everyone else in the family was asleep, I somehow couldn’t bring myself to follow suit.
I was restless, with nothing in particular in my head keeping me awake. I remember just laying there in bed, staring at the ceiling, when suddenly, I hear a noise. Confused, I sat on my bed and looked around. Nothing but darkness.
I listened again.
“Tik tik tik”
My eyes went wide open. If i knew how to swear at this time of my life, the F’s would be flying.
I slammed my head back into my pillow, and as kids would normally do, I covered myself up in my magic blanket, trembling in fear.
The noise kept on ticking, my heart was beating out of my chest, and I was on the verge of tears. I was weighing the options between screaming for my mom or not because screaming might alert something that might eat me that I’m wide awake. I can’t let that happen.
Yes, I know the Manananggal went for pregnant ladies, but at that age, I thought everything could just eat me up.
The ticking noise went away slowly as if the one making it was fleeing away. I sighed in relief, calmed a bit, and made the biggest mistake of my life: Forgetting that when the tiktik goes far, it means the Manananggal was near.
After I removed my cover, the bricks were shat. The bitch’s grinning face was on my window. Her bloodthirsty eyes looked into my frozen, wide eyes.
Mother of Jesus, I screamed and noped the fuck out of my room. I ran into my mother’s room, where she welcomed me into an embrace.
By then, I think I may have passed out of fear.
The next morning, my mother asked me what happened, and I told her what happened. She laughed at me and told me how imaginative kids were and how cute it was. This is why i still have my doubts even after her face scarred into my memory.
The thing though is, at that moment when my pregnant yaya (maid) served us our food and overheard our conversation, I saw her freeze, and her eyes went wide.
She looked at me and said, “You saw her too?”
I cried.
Is The Manananggal Real?
What do you think, Bizarros?
Is this scary monster from the Philippine Culture real?
Is there a creature with huge wings, searching the night to drink human blood, organs, and unborn children?
Or is this another version of vampires?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
Sources
Wikipedia
PBS storied
Vocal
Medium