BATIBAT

            In Visayas, where I reside today, deaths during sleep usually are connected to bangungot. Have you ever considered on asking what might be the possible causes of those scenarios? Well, there might be scientific explanations now that could enlighten your mind. But long ago, without the aid of these scientific whatnots, folks usually run for the unnatural creatures and spirits to believe on. Batibat, being one of those spirits/demons, are one of them.

            Batibat is another tree dwelling 'demon' who takes the form of an obese woman. She is a very vengeful demon in the Ilocano folklore. She is blamed as the cause of fatal nocturnal diseases called bangungot where she took her other name, Bangungot.

            This demon’s way is very similar to the methods used by the traditional incubus/succubus demons in European mythology. The difference is that there are no sexual activities linked to Batibat compared to the European demons.

            They usually come in contact with humans when the tree that they reside in is felled and made into a support post for a house. This causes them to migrate into holes found in the post. The batibat forbids humans from sleeping near its post. When a person does sleep near it, the batibat transforms to its true form and attacks that person. It sits upon the chest of its victim until he suffocates.

            To ward off the batibat, one should bite one’s thumb or wiggle one’s toes. In this way, the person will awaken from the nightmare induced by the batibat.