Manananggal

The Manananggal is a terrifying creature from Philippine folklore, described as a vampiric woman who can sever her upper torso from her lower body, sprouting bat-like wings to fly through the night in search of victims. Often depicted preying on sleeping pregnant women by using a long, hollow tongue to suck out blood or unborn children, it’s one of the arch-types of Southeast Asian shape-shifting ghouls. Villagers traditionally protect themselves by sprinkling salt or ash on the creature’s hidden lower half—preventing it from reuniting and causing it to perish by sunrise. While clearly a mythic being rooted in cultural anxieties about childbirth, infidelity, and death, the Manananggal continues to haunt rural storytelling, embodying primal fears that transform the vulnerabilities of night and home into grotesque supernatural threats.