Vampires are legendary beings that not only appear in the legends of the people of Central Europe. They also exist in the east. Maybe you know her from some horror movie, it’s Manananggal, the terrifying vampire of the Philippines.
Manananggal, the terrifying vampire of the Philippines
Philippines It is a land prone to legends about vampires, in addition to the Manananggal they have another creature with similar characteristics that terrifies the natives of the country, it is the Aswang, which we told you about in the post Ways to kill a vampire according to classic legends. The Aswang, unlike the Manananggal, can take any form it wishes and even coexist with humans, deceiving them.
He name of Manananggal comes from the language tagalog, specifically from tanggal which means «eliminate» or «separate.» In the specific case of the word Manananggal means «one who separates» and this is one of the peculiarities of this vampire: to attack his victims separates his body into two parts. The lower one is on the ground and the upper one flies to attack.
The Manananggal shares some of its traits with European vampires, but it also has other characteristics that make it a unique being:
It is almost always Female gender.
Has bat wings on the back that allow it to fly during the night until it finds someone to attack and. As we have said, it separates the trunk from the lower extremities at will.
Take advantage of the hours of sleep to attack and suck blood of their victims, as do the vampires of classic legends.
Prefers pregnant women, since it uses a kind of tongue/trunk that has for sip the hearts of fetuses. Creepy.
For take down a Manananggal It works practically the same as with a European vampire: they hate the garlic and flee from the light. They fear the salt, the daggers, the vinegar and especially some whips manufactured with the line of a certain kind of Stingray. But if you want it to disappear forever, the legends say that it is best to wait for him to separate his body in two halves and spread separation from the bottom with salt, garlic powder or ashes. When the trunk and head return from their flight, to join at the waist to the lower part that they have left behind, they will not be able to do so and the Manananggal will inevitably die as soon as the first ray of sun rises.
In Indonesia and Malaysia there are also legends about very similar beings and, despite modernization, stories continue to be told about people who have had contact with Manananggal in recent times.
If you like vampire stories, you might want to read the post about 6 HISTORICAL vampires that you may not have known about.