Philippine mythical

creatures are the mythical

beasts, monsters, and
enchanted beings of more
than 140 ethnic groups in
the Philippines. Each ethnic
people has their own
unique set of belief systems,
which includes the belief in
various mythical creatures.
An Agta is a tall mythical creature with
skin as black as charcoal, found in
Philippine mythology. These creatures
are known to reside in different trees.
They are known to climb down and roam
around the land warning fishermen to
stay on land instead of fishing. Then, the
Agta will push trees down so that the
timbers will prevent the fishermen from
going to the sea to fish.
The Agta is just like the Kapre, who likes
staying in its tree while smoking a rolled
cigar. They are usually depicted as naked.
 The Alan are deformed spirits from
the folklore of the Tinguian tribe of the
Philippines. They have wings and can
fly, and their fingers and toes point
backwards.

The Alan are said to take drops of

menstrual blood, miscarried fetuses,
afterbirth, or other reproductive waste
and transform them into human children,
whom they then raise as their own.
They live near springs in extremely fine
houses, made of gold and other
valuables.
Amalanhig are Aswangs who
failed to transfer their
monstrosity causing them to rise
from their graves to kill humans
by biting their necks. Another
version that has survived
through word-of-mouth recounts
that Amanlanhigs are said to
chase any living person they
found and once they reach them,
they would tickle the victim
until they die, both of laughter
and terror.
 The Anggitay is a creature
with the upper body of a female
human and the lower body and
legs of a horse from waist down.
They were the Philippine
counterpart to the centauride,
the female centaurs. They are
also believed to be the female
counterpart of the Tikbalang.
 Bal-Bal is a scavenger-monster that crave
for dead human bodies. This creature is also
known as “Maninilong” among the natives of
Catanauan, Quezon, a vampire-like creature
prefers to eat corpses.
It is described to have long, razor-sharp claws
and a sense of smell that is more sensitive than
dogs’. A Bal-Bal usually finds its next meal on
cemeteries and even funerals.
Aside from their unpleasant breath, a Bal-Bal
also has a unique power of hypnosis that is
used to make people (i.e. those in the funeral)
sleep while the monster feeds on its prey. To
deceive people, Bal Bal replaces the corpse
with banana trunk resembling the deceased.
 Some folks used to blame the
Batibat for the sudden unexpected
nocturnal death (aka bangungot).
According to stories, the Batibat
usually attacks people who sleep
near the post of the house made
from the tree that used to be her
home. She is often described as a
fat, old witch and her preferred
way of killing her victims is by
sitting on their chest while they
sleep.
The scary thing about the Batibat
is that it attacks without warning.
 The Berbalangs are
mythical creatures in
Filipino culture. They
have a human appearance,
but resemble the
characters of vampires
and have wings and
slanted eyes. They dig up
graves to feast on the
corpses.
 Busaw is a legendary creature that
resembles humans in appearance and
behavior, raising farm animals and planting
root crops. However, its favorite food is
humans, resulting in scattered human
skeletons on the grounds of its dwelling place.
The Busaw was a ghoul and corpse thief. An
evil spirit who looked and behaved like
ordinary human beings by day, it listened for
sounds of death in the evenings, and dwelled
in large trees near cemeteries. It had pointed
teeth, hooked nails and a long tongue. It took
banana tree trunks to replace the dead as it
stole the corpses out of their coffins.
Dalaketnons are a race of Elf-
like creatures in Philippine
mythology In Visayans they
were believed to be handsome
and beautiful creatures that
resemble nobles and monarchs
of the prehispanic Philippines,
They dwell on Dalakit trees
(Balete, Dakit)
Diwata are forest spirits,
protecting the vast
rainforests of the
archipelago. One such
nameless Diwata was said
to have eyes so beautiful
she could turn anyone she
gazes upon into wood and
stone.
 A duende is a spirit of the
hearth, typically appearing
in folklore, once considered
helpful but since the spread
of Christianity has often
been considered
mischievous.
 The kapre is a creature that
could be characterized as a
tree giant. It is described as
being a tall (7 to 9 ft), big,
black, terrifying, hairy,
muscular creature. Kapres are
normally described as having
a strong smell that attracts
human attention. They stay at
a branch of a tree smoking.
 Kulam or Barang are terms used for a
kind of black magic, specifically a
malevolent use of sympathetic magic, which
is associated with Indigenous Philippine
religions and practiced in the Philippines.[1]
Kulam has been present throughout the
Philippines before the Spanish colonization.
Today it is said to be centered in Pampanga,
Talalora, Western Samar and Sorsogon,
where many of the country's faith healers
reside. Kulam also exists in many of the
hinterlands, especially in Samar and Leyte,
however, Kulam is known and occurs
anywhere in the Philippines.
Santelmo is the shortened
form of the Tagalog words
"Apoy ni San Elmo " -"St.
Elmo's fire". Santelmo are
two balls of fire that fight
each other. They appear in
places where accidents
place or where big
arguments on land
boundaries happen
 Sarangay is a creature
resembling a minotaur
with a jewel or gemstone
attached to its ears. When
the Spanish first heard the
story in the 17th century,
they thought the legends
described the Greek
minotaur.
 The Sigbin or Sigben is a
creature in Philippine mythology
said to come out at night to suck
the blood of victims from their
shadows. It is said to walk
backwards with its head lowered
between its hind legs, and to have
the ability to become invisible to
other creatures, especially humans.
It resembles a hornless goat, but
has very large ears which it can
clap like a pair of hands and a long,
flexible tail that can be used as a
whip
 Tikbalang is a creature of
Philippine folklore said to lurk in
the mountains and forests of the
Philippines. It is a tall, bony
humanoid creature with the head
and hooves of a horse and
disproportionately long limbs, to
the point that its knees reach
above its head when it squats
down. In some versions, it is a
transformation of an aborted fetus
sent to earth from limbo.
Berberoka. It lures victims by
sucking water in the pond
enough for a number fish to
come to the surface. When the
potential victims get attracted
to the school of fish, the
Berberoka drowns them by
hosing water and swallowing
them afterwards. Despite all
their powers, these water ogres
have a morbid, ironic fear of
crabs.
The Kataw is one of the merfolk
in the Philippine Mythology. In
Visayan, Kataw was believed to
have higher rankings than other
water and sea creatures as those
of Sirena, Sireno and Siyokoy. It
is believed that the Kataws are
the reigning rulers of the
kingdom Bantay Tubig.
 The Sirena is a mythological
sea creature from Filipino
culture . In some regions of the
Philippines, particularly Bicol
and Visayas, Sirenas are known
as Magindara and portrayed as
vicious mermaids. Unlike Sirens
of Greek mythology, who are
portrayed as women/bird
creatures, Sirenas are often
portrayed as mermaid-like
creatures who live under the sea.
 The Siyokoy (Syokoy)
are creatures in
Philippine mythology
which were members of
Bantay Tubig (merfolk).
They are usually
illustrated as green-
skinned humanoids with
scales, webbed limbs,
and fins.
 The Bakunawa is a serpent-like
dragon in Philippine mythology. It is
believed to be the cause of eclipses,
earthquakes, rains, and wind.[1] The
movements of the Bakunawa served as
a geomantic calendar system for
ancient Filipinos and were part of the
shamanistic rituals of the babaylan. It
is usually depicted with a
characteristic looped tail and a single
horn on the nose. It was generally
believed to be a sea serpent,[2] but are
also variously believed to inhabit
either the sky or the underworld.[3]
The manananggal is described as scary,
often hideous, usually depicted as
female, and always capable of severing
its upper torso and sprouting huge bat-
like wings to fly into the night in search
of its victims. The word manananggal
comes from the Tagalog word tanggal,
which means "to remove" or "to
separate", which literally translates as
"remover" or "separator". In this case,
"one who separates itself". The name
also originates from an expression used
for a severed torso.
 Minokawa is a giant, dragon-
like bird in Philippine legends.
Early people believed this
creature is so big that it can
swallow (or cover) the sun to
explain the occurrence of
eclipses. It is even described as a
giant bird named Minokawa that
lives in outer space which can
devour the sun and the moon,
and would try to do the same
with the earth.
The Wakwak is a vampiric, bird-like
creature in Philippine mythology. It is
said to snatch humans at night as prey,
similar to the Manananggal and the
Ekek in rural areas of the Philippines.
The difference between the
Manananggal and the Wakwak is that
Wakwak cannot separate its torso from
its body while the Manananggal can.
Some believe the Wakwak is a form of
vampire. Other people contend that a
Wakwak is a Philippine night bird
associated with witches.