Batibat

DemonPhilippines · Southeast AsiaLegendFear 9/10

Description

A demon from the folklore of Philippines. The Batibat is a vengeful demon found in Ilocano folklore.

The Legend

Batibat is a vengeful demon found in Ilocano folklore. In Tagalog folklore, this creature is referred to as Bangungot. Batibat takes the form of a female spirit that resides in a grotesquely obese tree. They usually come into contact with humans when the tree they inhabited is cut down and loses its home, especially when that tree is used as a pillar in a house. As a result, Batibat migrates to reside in part of the remaining tree. Batibat forbids humans from sleeping near its pillar, and if someone sleeps nearby, Batibat transforms into its true form to suffocate the victim and invade the dream space, causing sleep paralysis and nightmares. This state is related to the Ilocano word 'batíbat,' which means nightmare. To defeat Batibat, one must bite their thumb or wiggle their toes, which allows them to awaken from the nightmare induced by Batibat.

In Popular Culture

Batibat appears in the fifth episode of the Netflix series 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,' played by Megan Rich. In this episode titled 'Dreams in a Witch House,' Batibat is depicted as a demon inadvertently released by Sabrina Spellman from her father's puzzle. Trapped in the house, Batibat, fueled by vengeance, torments the Spellman family and induces their dream state. This demon uses their nightmares with the hope that one of them will free it from the house, but it is ultimately thwarted by Sabrina and Mary Wardwell/Madam Satan. Additionally, in the second season, 11th episode of 'Lost Girl' titled 'Can't see the Fae-Rest,' a character named Batibat is mentioned as a tree fairy from Bali. This creature also appears in the 2020 horror film 'Evil Takes Root: The Curse of the Batibat.'

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Batibat" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia