Aswang Mandurugo

(AZ-wang Man-door-roo-go)

Variations: DANAG, Mandragore

In the Philippines, the Capiz province isknown as a haven for witches and for a species of elusive demonic vampires known as the aswang mandurugo. It appears as a beautiful woman by day, but at night its true form, that of a monstrous winged being, is revealed. When it can, it will marry a man to ensure it has a constant supply of blood. It will "kiss" the sustenance it needs nightly from its husband prey by inserting its barbed tongue into the victim's mouth and draining off the blood it needs. The only symptom that the husband may present is a gradual and unexplainable weight loss. There is no test or discernable way to ascertain beforehand if a bride-to-be is an aswang mandurugo, but a preventative measure may be taken. If you sleep with a knife under your pillow at night, you may awake in time to witness your attacker. If you are fast enough to draw the knife and stab the vampire in the heart, it will be destroyed.

Source: Curran, Vampires, 35­44; Lopez, Handbook of Philippine Folklore, 227; Ramos, Aswang Syncrasy, 3; University of San Carlos, Philippine Quarterly, vol. 1 0­11, 213