It is no surprise that with more than 7,000 islands, scores of languages and dozens of unique cultures, the Philippines has more than its share of folklore and legends.

In particular, the tales of the islands abound with countless descriptions of mythical creatures, from one-eyed giants to mischievous dwarfs, and everything in between.

Even to this this day, particularly in remote communities, belief in these creatures remains widespread. And who knows? Perhaps out in those deep, dark jungles and endless oceans, there lurks some undetected oddities awaiting discovery…

Here is just a sample of the strange and unusual mythical creatures of the Philippines:

Aswang

Perhaps the best-known of the country’s mythical creatures, aswang are shapeshifting vampires. They resemble humans by day and transform into various horrible guises by night.

While anyone can fall victim to these flesh eating ghouls, pregnant women about to give birth are their favoured prey.

Among the forms adopted by aswangs are huge, black, long-tongued birds called tiktik, or animals including bats, dogs, cats or pigs.

When targeting pregnant women it is said the aswang takes its tiktik form to land on its victim’s roof, and stretches its long tongue into the house and the woman’s womb, allowing it to feast on the foetus. If they can’t find such a victim, it is said that they have a particular fondness for human liver

Countermeasures include placing brooms upside down, putting “badiawan twigs” over windows or keeping a blessed, or magical, dagger in the house.

Although the aswang myth is known across the country, it is particularly associated with the Visayas.