A dark giant in an old tree, the smell of tobacco, and a path that keeps looping back on itself. Here’s what Filipino folklore says about the kapre, where its name came from, and what old folks say to do when one takes an interest in you. Read more »
It makes you walk in circles, gets married in the rain, and 400 years ago, it had wings. Here’s what the tikbalang is, how old stories say to escape one, and how it came to have a horse’s face. Read more »
The mermaid’s scaly, less charming counterpart has a name borrowed from Hokkien and a surprising second life in Filipino grammar. Here’s what the syokoy is, what old stories say about it, and why you might want to stay away from its river. Read more »
It walks backward with its head between its legs, drinks from shadows and, in some stories, hides inside a clay jar in a wealthy family’s home. Meet the sigbin, one of the Philippines’ strangest and most unsettling creatures of folklore. Read more »
One peak is a pilgrim’s New Jerusalem. The other is a hiker’s cautionary tale. Here’s what Filipinos believe about both, and why you can’t climb either summit. Read more »
DreamWorks Animation’s Filipino-inspired “Forgotten Island” earned $12.8 million in its opening weekend in the US and Canada, ranking No. 5 at the North American box office. Read more »
