The Batibat is a vengeful demon found in
Ilocano folklore. In
Tagalog folklore, the creature is called Bangungot. The batibat takes the form of an ancient, grotesquely obese, tree-dwelling female spirit. They usually come in contact with humans when the trees in which they reside are felled and are made homeless, especially when their tree is made into a support post for a house. This causes them to migrate and inhabit what is left of their tree. The batibat forbids humans from sleeping near its post. When a person does sleep near it, the batibat transforms into its true form and attacks the person by suffocating their victim and invading their dream space, causing sleep paralysis and waking nightmares. This condition lends itself to the Ilocano word for nightmare, "batíbat" (or
bangungot in Tagalog). To ward off the batibat, one should bite one's thumb or wiggle one's toes. In this way, the person will awaken from the nightmare induced by the batibat.
In popular culture
* The creature appears in the fifth episode of the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series ''
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', played by
Megan Leitch. This version of Batibat is depicted in the episode "Dreams in a Witch House" as a demon that is unintentionally released by
Sabrina Spellman from a puzzle belonging to her father. Trapped in the house, Batibat proceeds to vengefully torture the Spellman family by inducing their dream states. The demon preys on their nightmares in the hopes that one of them will free her from the house, but is ultimately thwarted by Sabrina and
Mary Wardwell / Madam Satan.
* A Batibat named Maganda is referenced in the eleventh episode of ''
Lost Girl''s
second season, titled "Can't see the Fae-Rest" as a
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
nese
tree nymph.
* The 2020 horror film ''Evil Takes Root: The Curse of the Batibat''
EVIL TAKES ROOT: The Curse of the Batibat
IMDb, Genre Labs, Elevate Pictures features one of these creatures.
See also
* Brugada syndrome
*Incubus
An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...
*Lietuvēns
Lietuvēns or lietonis (in Latgale also can be called “lītūņš”, similar to Slavic Mare (folklore), mara (Russian language, Russian: ''Мара'') or Lithuanian language, Lithuanian “lauma”) is a mythological creature in Latvian folklore ...
* Pesanta
*Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea (sleep apnoea or sleep apnœa in British English) is a sleep-related breathing disorder in which repetitive Apnea, pauses in breathing, periods of shallow breathing, or collapse of the upper airway during sleep results in poor vent ...
*Sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of full-body paralysis. During an episode, the person may hallucinate (hear, feel, or see things that are not there), wh ...
References
Philippine demons
Female legendary creatures
Tree goddesses
Forest spirits
Dream
Sleep goddesses
Sleep disorders
Ilocano culture
Tagalog goddesses
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