Manananggal

The ''manananggal'' () is a mythical creature in the Philippines that is able to separate its upper torso from the lower part of its body. Their fangs and wings give them a vampire-like appearance.

Mythology

The word ''manananggál'' is derived from the Tagalog word ''tanggál'', meaning "to remove" or "to separate", and literally translating to "remover" or "separator". In this case, it may be interpreted as "one who separates itself". The name is also associated with an expression referring to a severed torso.

In Philippine folklore, the ''manananggal'' is typically portrayed as a fearsome and grotesque creature, most often depicted as female. It is known to detach its upper torso from its lower half, with its entrails exposed, and grow large, bat-like wings used to fly at night in search of victims.

The ''manananggal'' is commonly believed to prey on sleeping, pregnant women by using an elongated, proboscis-like tongue to extract fetuses or draw blood. Folklore also associates the creature with targeting newlyweds, lovers, newborn children, and occasionally grooms who were abandoned before marriage. During its nocturnal hunt, the creature’s severed lower torso remains stationary and is its point of vulnerability. Traditional practices for killing a ''manananggal'' include applying salt, garlic, ash, or fire to the lower half, thereby preventing the upper torso from reuniting with it. If it fails to recombine before sunrise, the creature is believed to die.

The myth of the ''manananggal'' is widely recognized in the Visayan regions of the Philippines, particularly in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Bohol and Antique. Descriptions of the ''manananggal'' vary across different accounts, but it is generally associated with characteristics similar to those found in other folkloric beings such as vampires, Visayan folklore entities, and '' aswangs'', as ''manananggals'' are also believed to be repelled by garlic, salt and holy water. They are also thought to avoid daggers, light, vinegar, spices and the tail of a stingray, which can be fashioned into a whip. Capiz, in particular, is frequently cited as a focal point for manananggal lore and other supernatural folklore involving beings such as ghosts, goblins, and ghouls, collectively referred to as ''aswangs''. Despite the influence of modernization, belief in and reports of encounters with such creatures reportedly persist in certain areas. Comparable mythical figures appear in neighboring Southeast Asian cultures, including those of Indonesia and Malaysia. The ''manananggal'' also shares certain traits with European vampire folklore, particularly those from the Balkan region, such as aversion to garlic, salt, and sunlight.

Historical accounts

Appearances in film and other media

* ''Manananggal'' (1927), directed by José Nepomuceno, was the first-ever Filipino horror film. It is a silent film starring Mary Walter portraying the ''manananggal'' in its current form, with the upper torso detaching. Little is known of the film's plot.
* ''Manananggal vs. Mangkukulam'' (1960), directed by Consuelo Osorio, is a Lea Productions horror comedy starring Pugo, Lopito, Patsy, Chichay and Aruray.
* ''Mga Bata ng Lagim'' (1964), again by Consuelo Osorio, features 1960s teen matinee idols "Sampaguita-VP All-Stars". It feature a prominent scene where German Moreno and Boy Alano turn into ''manananggal'' after applying oil to their bodies, and then perform the popular folk song ''Paru-parong Bukid''.
* In '' Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973), directed by Maning Borlaza, Gloria Romero plays the respectable teacher Miss Luna, who is secretly a ''manananggal''. It co-stars Vilma Santos.
* In ''Pagsapit ng Dilim'' (1975), Perla Bautista plays a mother who tricks her daughter Gina Pareño into becoming a ''manananggal'' as part of her coming-of-age rites.
* '' Shake, Rattle & Roll'' (1984) is the first of the horror film anthology. In one episode, directed by Peque Gallaga, Herbert Bautista plays a teenager in a faraway province. A ''manananggal'' is said to live within the vicinity and is out to eat people. He is given the task by his grandmother to kill this creature. Having found a way to prevent it from returning to its body, he must now survive the night to protect his family from the creature's attacks. It co-stars Irma Alegre and Mary Walter.
* In '' Impaktita'' (1989), Jean Garcia plays the role of a young girl whose mother is a ''manananggal''. When she turns 18, she transforms into a wild, bloodsucking creature at night by the eerie sound of a bat and preys on any living person she can find. Other stars include Richard Gomez, Aga Muhlach, Gloria Romero, and Nida Blanca.
* In one episode of '' Shake, Rattle & Roll IV'' (1992), a homeless family and their neighbours in Manila are plagued by attacks from a ''manananggal''. A little boy ( IC Mendoza) suspects a nun ( Aiko Melendez) to be the creature, but no one believes him. He finds himself racing to prove his suspicions before he becomes the monster's next victim.
* '' Takot Ka Ba Sa Dilim?'' (1996) features a brief scene where Marjorie Barretto plays a young woman who turns into a ravenous ''manananggal'' at night, hunting for unsuspecting victims. Other cast members include Angelu de Leon, Rica Peralejo, Bobby Andrews, Red Sternberg, and Amanda Page.
* In '' Manananggal in Manila'' (1997), an English-speaking ''manananggal'' ( Alma Concepcion) spreads terror in Manila.
* '' Banzai Girl'' is a 2002 graphic novel series created, written, and drawn by Filipino artist and model Jinky Coronado. Its main character (also named Jinky Coronado) is a seemingly ordinary schoolgirl, but has a mysterious connection to two other realities. When her worlds begin to collide, she is forced to battle various monsters, including a vicious ''manananggal''.
* '' Dayo: Sa Mundo ng Elementalia'' (2008) is an animated film directed by Robert Quilao whose plot revolves around Bubuy ( Nash Aguas), out to save his abducted grandparents in the land of Elementalia. It features a friendly vegetarian ''manananggal'' named Anna ( Katrina Legaspi), relating her to a different species of bat which is a fruit bat, as opposed the bloodthirsty ones of folklore. Pokwang co-stars.
* In Episode 5, "Island Lights" (The Island of Fire) of '' Marvel Anime: Blade'' (2011), Blade and his partners encounter a mutant ''manananggal'' and its victims while hunting down Deacon Frost in Siquijor, an island province in the nation’s south.
* '' The Aswang Phenomenon'' (2011), directed by Jordan Clark, is a documentary on ''aswang'' folklore and its effects on Philippine society. The evolution and history of the ''manananggal'' is explored from anthropological, sexual and pop culture views. Produced by High Banks Entertainment Ltd., the cast includes Peque Gallaga, Rodolfo Vera, and Maricel Soriano.
* In the erotic novel ''Melania: Devourer of Men'' (2018), Melania Trump is depicted as a ''manananggal'' who must keep her identity hidden after her husband becomes President of the United States. The novel has been discussed in several podcasts.
* In the TV series '' Aso ni San Roque'' (2012), directed by Don Michael Perez, Fatima ( Mona Louise Rey) is a blind girl with a heart of gold, and is the offspring of a mortal and a ''manananggal''. Her fate is to end the devastation of the ''aswang'' in the human world with the help of Anghel, the dog statue at the feet of Saint Roch, which miraculously comes to life. It features Kanlaon ( Gardo Versoza), the ''manananggal'' leader of the airborne Aswang of the Wind. He once loved and failed to Lourdes ( LJ Reyes), a ''manananggal'' herself, and the mother of Fatima.
*''Fresh Meat'' (2013), a novel tie-in to the television series ''Supernatural'' by Alice Henderson, features the main characters battling an ''aswang'' in the Sierra Nevada during a blizzard. The creature in this novel sucks human organs out through its proboscis, inserts the body parts of other humans into the victim, then seals the hole. The main characters make the traditional stingray-tail whip amulet, coated with spices, and use it to kill the creature.
*In ''Midnight Blue-Light Special'' (2013), the second volume of the ''InCryptid'' series by Seanan McGuire, the protagonist Verity Price slays a ''manananggal'' in a hospital.
* The episode "''Si Esperanza, Ang Rebeldeng Manananggal''" ("Esperanza, The Rebel Manananggal") of the 2014 television series '' Elemento'' is about the ''manananggal'' Esperanza ( Glaiza de Castro), a pediatrician with two mortal sons. Her desire is to protect them from adopting the life of being a ''manananggal''. The episode is directed by Topel Lee and co-stars Valerie Concepcion and Maria Isabel Lopez.
* '' Nightfall: Escape'' (2016) by Zeenoh is the first-ever Filipino horror game, a first-person survival horror video game featuring a ''manananggal'' as the main antagonist.
* In Mommy Dearest (Grimm), the 14th episode of Season 3 of the supernatural drama television series ''Grimm'' and the 58th episode overall, which premiered on March 7, 2014, on the broadcast network NBC, features an ''aswang'' attacking Wu's pregnant childhood friend from the Philippines. It turns out Wu's friend married into a family of ''aswang'', and the attacker is her mother-in-law, who claims she will die if she does not eat her first grandchild.
* '' Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B'', a horror-romance movie made in 2016 and had its cinema screening in 2017, focuses on the love life of a woman who is a ''manananggal'' by night. It features the actress Ryza Cenon as the protagonist and actor Martin del Rosario as her lover.
* ''Deadly Vows'' by Keri Arthur has a ''manananggal'' terrorising newlyweds in the Castle Rock Reservation.
* In the game Shin Megami Tensei V, Manananggal was revealed as a new demon and the first representative of Filipino folklore for the Shin Megami Tensei series.
* In the short story ''M'' by Sarah Hall, published in ''Sudden Traveller'' 2019, the protagonist turns into a creature that fits the description of the ''manananggal,'' though this is not overtly stated.
* In the multimedia franchise Monster High, a doll based on the ''manananggal'' named Corazón Marikit was released in March 2025.
* A coffee table book released by CANVAS titled ''Where are my legs?'' features a manananggal as its main protagonist.https://walalang.substack.com/p/where-are-my-legs?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Other terms and versions

* Aswang: However, ''aswang'' is a generic term and can refer to all types of monsters (usually ghouls, werebeasts, and vampires) and witches ( mangkukulam), etc.
* Tik-tik: Manananggals are sometimes referred to as tik-tik, the sound it makes while flying. Folklore dictates that the fainter the sound, the nearer the manananggal is. This is to confuse the victim. Black cats and crows often signal a tik-tik's presence, and deformed faces or bodies in children are allegedly signs of the aftermath of a tik-tik attack.

See also

* Chonchon – Mapuche creature that also detaches its head
* Krasue – Floating vampiric female head and entrails that is similar to a manananggal
* Nukekubi – Japanese creature that also detaches its head to feed on victims
* Penanggalan – A vampire akin to Manananggal from the Malay peninsula
* Leyak – Similar creature from Balinese mythology
* Philippine mythology
* Soucouyant – a Caribbean blood-sucking hag
* Tiyanak – Blood-sucking creature in a form of a baby that turns into what is known to be the child of the devil

References

Further reading

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External links

Filipino Folklore: ManananggalMananang Game Official Website

{{Philippine mythology

Female demons
Female ghosts
Malaysian ghosts
Mythological anthropophages
Mythological hematophages
Philippine demons
Philippine ghosts
Vampires
Visayan mythology