Sigbin
A drawing of a Sigbin by Jhun Entico
The Sigbin is a creature from Filipino folklore that is said to emerge at night time to suck the blood of it’s victims.
What is the Sigbin?
The legend of the Sigbin comes from the folklore of the Philippines. The Sigbin is said to be an evil creature that emerges at night time looking for victims.
It lives off the blood of mammals and humans are it’s preferred prey. The Sigbin is also said to eat the flesh and organs of its victims. Some say the Sigbin can even suck the blood of their victim through the victim’s shadow.
What do Sigbin look like?
Sigbin are described as looking like a goat without horns with very large ears which it can use like hands and a long flexible tail which it uses as a whip. Some descriptions say the Sigbin looks a bit like a kangaroo.
Sigbin are said to smell incredibly bad, so bad it will make you want to vomit.
Sigbin Behavior
Sigbin are commonly seen during holy week, the week before Easter. During this week they are supposedly more active, looking for children to steal their hearts and fashion them into amulets.
According to Sigbin folklore there are families that are know as Sigbinan who own Sigbin and keep them as pets. They are said to be able to keep them in jars and use them to do their bidding whenever they wish.
The Aswang, another Filipino mythological creature which is something between a vampire and a Chupacabra, are also said to keep Sigbin as pets or familiars.
Possible Explanations for Sigbin
Some people believe the legend of the Sigbin may be based on sightings of a real life animal that is rarely seen. From descriptions it sounds like the animal may be a relative of the kangaroo.
It is possible that a small population of kangaroos made their way to the Philippines from Australia millions of years ago and have since evolved to become more seclusive, predatory and aggressive.
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