#phi pop

day 7 of horror mythology: phi pop

In Philippine folklore there are aswang who attack using their hair. They vary in appearance & names but they have the same live, tentacle-like hair that strangles & suffocates their victims by slithering into the mouth & nose & slowly drains the vitality.

Aswang who kills with her hair

Amamarang, the aswang with killer hair in Philippine folklore.

Encounter with an amamarang

One day Tatay Felo (my grandmother’s father), a carpenter, was sent to a village in Plaridel, Misamis Occidental to work there. He worked the whole day and when it was around six o’clock in the evening he told his fellow carpenters that he was going home. But they stopped him. They warned him that in the said village lived an aswang named Thalia, who was notorious for loitering by the path out of the village after dark. But Tatay Felo didn’t give a damn because he possessed an anting-anting (charm) to protect him. So he went on alone. While walking along the path he saw a woman ahead of him. The woman said, “Where are you going, Felo? It’s dark already.” All of a sudden, the woman transformed. Her face became hideous and her very long hair stood on end. Her hair tried to force their way into Tatay Felo’s nose. The hair had a nauseating stench. But Tatay Felo was strong, he punched the woman. She fell on the ground but got up and tried to strangle Tatay Felo. During the struggle, Tatay Felo got hold of his saw, which he used at work earlier. He started sawing at the woman’s neck. The woman released Tatay Felo, ran off screaming in pain, and jumped into the nearby river. Many years passed and Tatay Felo passed away. My grandmother said many still remember Tatay Felo because he was the one who sawed Thalia’s neck, who is said to be still alive up to this day with a big scar on her neck.