Busaw

 

 

ORIGIN

They are found in Philippine folklore.

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

The tales of this creature have been around in this region for a few hundred years. The Philippines is quite a superstitious place, so their belief systems where sure to carry on throughout time.

 

APPEARANCE

They can appear as human as anyone of us. A few things that may give them away however are their pointed teeth, long tongues and hooked nails. In their nightly form, they are a cross between a Ghoul and an Ogre. A grotesque looking creature with a slight hump back.

 

GENDER

They can appear as both male and female.

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

N/A

 

REPELLED BY

To stop them from stealing corpses, the bodies are to be washed completely with vinegar and some very strong smelling herbs. They can also be repelled by salt.

 

MAGICAL POWERS/SKILLS

N/A

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

They are corpse eaters and thieves, often regarded as Ghouls but with some attributes of an Ogre. They are considered legendary creatures who resemble both the appearance and behaviours of a human, although, they are more popularised as evil spirits. Their favourite food is human. This usually results in scattered bones around their dwellings. They find their food by listening out for the sounds of death in the evening. They will also steal corpses from their coffins, replacing the bodies with banana tree trunks. Once they have the corpse, they will turn it into a pig so as to spirit it away.

 

CAN BE FOUND

In their human form, they will live in a house like normal humans do. In their more ghoulish form however, they will dwell in large trees found near cemeteries.

 

TALES

It is said that they will go around neighbours or their village and offer them some cooked meat (which happens to be that of another human), so as to turn them into one of them.

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

There have been a few photos and some video footage, whether or not this is real is wholly dependant on the person watching it. As they appear as practically human, it is quite possible that they could in fact be real unbeknown to those in their community. Again, this depends on the opinion of others.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

Aswang, Amalanhig, Bal-Bal