🔍 Episode Summary:

Tonight, we unravel one of the most chilling figures in Filipino folklore, the Aswang. Equal parts myth and monster, the Aswang isn’t one creature: it’s many. A shapeshifter. A deceiver. A cultural phantom that hides in plain sight.

From flying torsos with blood-sucking tongues to corpse-eating ghouls with backward feet, this episode exposes the layers of horror behind the Philippines’ most infamous supernatural entity—and how colonization, gender politics, and diaspora shaped its enduring legend.

📚 In This Episode:

👹 What Is the Aswang?
A cultural shapeshifter that reflects colonial fear, gendered shame, and ancient animism. Learn how the Aswang evolved from a village terror into a global symbol of Filipino horror—and why its myth followed migrants across oceans.

🧛 The Five Types of Aswang:
From seductive vampires to flying viscera-suckers, we break down the five major categories of Aswang found in regional folklore:

🦇 Deep Dive: The Manananggal
One of the most iconic creatures in the Aswang pantheon. We explore her grotesque transformation, disturbing appetite, and surprising influence on modern pop culture, from rural Filipino villages to global horror media.

🕊️ The Tik-Tik

A flying creature known for its deceptive tik-tik sound — the quieter it gets, the closer it is. By day, it appears human or animal. By night, it hunts pregnant women. A symbol of hidden threats.

🦅 The Wak-Wak

Named after the sound of its wings (wak-wak), this Aswang rips victims apart with its claws and beak. It often lives a normal life by day, transforming into a brutal predator at night.

🧟 The Corpse-Eater

Also known as Balbal or Ungo, this Aswang digs up graves and devours corpses. Some replace bodies with leaves to trick mourners. They are skeletal, foul-smelling, and hunt under the cover of night.

🐕 The Animal Shapeshifter

Takes the form of pigs, dogs, or cats to move unnoticed. Strange behavior, like walking backward or having human eyes, may reveal them. Some create body doubles to hide their victims’ deaths.

🌑 The Transformation Ritual

Becoming an Aswang involves a dark ritual: a black chick enters the body via a fertilized egg. The shell is buried with oil and dung. The person slowly becomes something… inhuman.

🐥 The Chick Transfer

Before dying, an Aswang transfers the chick and its powers, mouth-to-mouth, to a chosen successor. A twisted inheritance that ensures the creature lives on.

🧙 Witches, Priestesses & the Babaylan

Spanish colonizers redefined Babaylan—pre-colonial Filipina spiritual leaders—as witches. These women were demonized; their roles twisted into Aswang myths to discredit their influence and suppress native beliefs.

🥚 The Egg & the Chick

The chick-transfer ritual reflects corrupted fertility symbolism. The egg, once a vessel of life, becomes a curse. Some even believe over-fertilized balut eggs can trigger transformation. Salt and vinegar, once just condiments, became protective tools.

🧬 Other Ways to Become an Aswang

Beyond the chick ritual, one can turn Aswang through dark rituals, contact with one, eating cursed food, or inheriting the curse. In some stories, transformation happens unknowingly.

👀 True Stories & Encounters

Modern believers still report sightings.
• Lola Emelia saw a red-eyed beast under her house.
• In Capiz, teens saw a pig walking backward.
• A pregnant woman in Iloilo heard Tik-Tik sounds above her home—claw marks were found the next day.
• A Fil-Am couple heard scratching on their rooftop after a strange woman sensed the wife’s pregnancy.
• A man killed a black pig under his house, which turned into a human corpse—he was arrested.
• In Cavite, girls heard wings and saw a Tik-Tik. There were no pigs nearby, yet the sound persisted.

🧠 Symbolism & Social Commentary

The Aswang represents fear of outsiders, disease, death, and non-conforming women. It became a colonial tool to enforce norms and suppress rebellion, especially among powerful women.

📺 The Aswang in Modern Media

Documentary: Aswang (2019) uses the myth to explore real violence during the Philippine drug war.
Films: Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, Kubot, and Shake, Rattle & Roll reimagine Aswang for horror fans.
Comics & TV: Trese turns Aswang into supernatural criminals. Grimm and Lost Girl offer Western takes.
Culture: The Capiz Aswang Festival turns fear into cultural pride through art and celebration.

🔮 Final Thoughts

The Aswang may not be real in body, but it’s alive in culture, memory, and fear. When you hear a faint tik-tik in the dark, listen closely. The quieter it is, the closer it may be.

🎙️ Outro

Thanks for joining this deep dive into one of the Philippines’ most chilling myths. Subscribe, review, and share if you loved this episode.

🗣️ Featured Pronunciations

Aswang — AH-swahng
Herminia Meñez — her-MEE-nyah MEH-nyez
Babaylan — bah-bye-LAHN
Manananggal — mah-nah-nahng-GAHL
Animism — AH-nih-miz-um
Penanggalan — peh-NAHN-gah-lahn
Krasue — KRAH-soo (Thai origin; also sometimes krah-SOO-ay)
Wakwak — WAHK-wahk
Tik-Tik — TIK-tik
Balbal — bahl-BAHL
Ungo — OONG-oh
Proboscis — proh-BOH-sis or proh-BAH-sis (both accepted)
Tagalog — tah-GAH-log
Tanggal — tahng-GAHL
Zamboanga — zahm-BOH-ahn-gah
Apayao — ah-pah-YAH-oh
Wirwir — WEER-weer
Plasencia — plah-SEN-syah
Balut — bah-LOOT
Bahay kubo — BAH-high KOO-boh
Buntot pagi — boon-TOT PAH-ghee
Capiz — KAH-pis (not “kay-piz”)
Albularyo — ahl-boo-LAHR-yoh
Iloilo — ee-loh-EE-loh
Teniente Gimo — teh-NYEN-teh GEE-moh
Dumaguete — doo-mah-GEH-teh
Cavite — kah-VEE-teh
Duterte — doo-TEHR-teh