| Aswang | |
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| Vampiric
spirit from the Philippines. It led a normal life at day
as a beautiful woman, but at night, it takes the form of
a monstrous fiend and is led by night birds to its
victims. It sucks the blood of humans, especially
children, and can always be recognized by its swollen
form after feeding, looking as if it were pregnant. If an
Aswang licks a person's shadow, that person would die
soon afterwards. Aswang are said to be extremely afraid
of metal, expecially guns. In other accounts, the Aswang is a Filipino version of the Penanggalan, where the head would leave the body at night to feed on sleeping people, returning before the sun rose. To kill an Aswang, one must spread ashes on the body when the head is away, preventing the head from returning. When the sun rose, shining its rays upon the head, the Aswang would perish. |