I am made up of many nationalities. I had the 23 and Me – family DNA done and discovered not only was I Mexican, Filipino and Chinese on my mother’s side, along with French, English and Arabian on my dad’s side, but I was also Polynesian and Native American Indian, along with bits and pieces of other nationalities. My dad used to tell me, I had Irish blood in me. Well, with 23 and Me, I discovered I didn’t have any Irish blood, but I did have relatives that moved to Ireland. Anyway, I will discuss the Filipino side of me. My mother Rosemarie’s maiden name is Causing. The Causing(s) originate from Iloilo, Philippines. Other Filipino families that are connected to us are the Guyo(s); Soyo(s); Tanzo(s). My grandmother told me there was a man with the surname of Ocampo that was bitten by an Aswang.
What is an Aswang?
An Aswang is a shapeshifting monster that is found mostly in Filipino folklore. An Aswang is a bit of vampire, ghoul, warlock/witch and werewolf. The Spanish Colonists noted that the Filipinos were deathly afraid of this cryptid. The fear of this monster has been around since the 16th Century and probably goes back further than that.
The Aawang is also known as Tik Tik, Bayot, Wak Wak, Sok Sok and Kling Kling. The Aswang is well known in the regions of Visayas, Luzon and Mindanao. There are stories that debunk the myth of the Aswang. One story is that the people with a genetic disease that is linked to dystonia parkinsonism were misidentified as an Aswang. Another story is the Spanish Colonists spread this myth around, to keep control of the unruly population.
Since Aswangs are shapeshifters, they can shape-shift in the night to a black dog, wolf, crow, bat, wild boar and a black cat. Aswangs are known to eat fetuses and small children, they favor the heart and the liver. When they are in human form, they are shy and elusive. When they shape-shift they are terrifying terrorizing monsters and they can use their proboscises to suck out a fetus from it’s pregnant mother.
Now that we all know what an Aswang is, let me talk about the Aswang that my family knows about. According to grandma, a man with the last name of Ocampo was bitten by an Aswang in 1952. I will call him throughout this article as The Ocampo Aswang. The Ocampo Aswang was 11 years old at the time. When the Ocampo Aswang got to the age of 22, he started shape shifting. My grandmother said that people thought he shape shifted to something that appeared to be a big black rat. When he went into his Aswang form, he was ghoulish in appearance and had fang like teeth and long fingernails. A wailing screaming sound was heard many times in the jungles of the Philippines and the villagers believed it was the Ocampo Aswang.
The people of Iloilo did not like this monster. When 3 mothers miscarriaged, they blamed it on this the Ocampo Aswang. The villagers hunted this cryptid down. When they captured him, they slit his throat and threw him down a steep slope where later he was found faced down in a stream.
Being in touch with some of my Causing relatives on Facebook, there is still fear of the Ocampo Aswang. The story now in the present times say that the ghost of the Ocampo Aswang hides in the jungles of Iloilo.
Below is a story about an Aswang from Jagna, Bohol, Philippines.
THE HILOT ASWANG
The story occurred in 1960. A couple after two years of marriage conceive a child. The pregnant woman had assistance from a Hilot. A Hilot is a woman who is an expert on delivering babies while mother is in labor. Sort of like a midwife today.
When it was time to deliver the baby, the Hilot was ready. When the baby was delivered, there was blood all over the place. The husband thought this was very unusual and asked the Hilot if everything was okay. The Hilot assured the husband that everything was okay. The Hilot would check on the mother and baby every day. The mother seemed to get weaker and sicker, she was very pale. Eventually, the mother died and a few days later the baby died.
It was later learned that the Hilot was sipping the mother’s blood and the baby’s blood on a daily basis. By doing this, both the mother and the baby became weak, sickly and eventually died. The Hilot was an Aswang!
So, if you ever travel to the Philippines, beware of the cryptid known as an Aswang!
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations (HPI International)
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/HPIinternational/
