Sigbin
The Sigbin is a mythological creature believed by the people on the Philippines. It is a monstrous animal-like creature. It looks like a goat with very large ears and a long tail used as a whip. Its legs and arms are long are long and its stands with a curved back and its head hanging low. It is believed that it walks backwards and smells really bad. The smell of it can cause a person to vomit. It is also believed to have abilities to travel really fast in different places.
The Sigbin is believed to lurk around at night and victimize people, animals, corpse, and even crops. It sucks blood and eats hearts, bones, and vegetables. The Sigbin may also roam around in the morning light and watch people’s activities. People have been warned not to talk too much about their lives in public whenever a Sigbin has been around and active. It is also known to disturb peace in homes. It has the ability to become invisible to other creatures. It is also known that the Sigbin is more powerful and more active during the holy week. It roams around and victimizes children.
According to old people, some families who have powers of witchcraft have Sigbin as their pets. They use these creatures as weapons of revenge or guards in their houses. They keep the Sigbin in jars filled with fluid made of different blood and hairs of other animals to keep the Sigbin alive. Some believe that it is the Sigbin who gives powers to the one who captures it and makes it a pet.
Though there is hearsay that the Sigbin is not really a monster, but just an undiscovered species, the people of the Philippines hold evidences that the Sigbin is a real and dark creature. It is popular in provinces and is still believed by many town folks. There are several people who have seen it and shadows of it lurking in the night. Others lost their children’s lives and found their heartless bodies in the woods. While others found empty Sigbin jars in houses of executed witches. The footprints of the Sigbin have also been seen by some people.
Depending on region and storyteller, the sigbin resembles either a hornless goat, a reptilian crow, or something vaguely along the lines of the Chupacabra. What is most common with all accounts is that its head hangs between its forelegs which are much shorter than its hindlegs. Whether because of physiology or because it makes the sigbin seem scarier, it is also known to crabwalk backwards. The sigbin also has a long whip-like tail that emit’s a foul stench and two grasshopper-like legs on its neck that enable it to jump far distances. They wander around at night in search of children to devour but they keep the hearts to make amulets. Most stories and sightings originate from the Cebu region. However, although it is some distance away, in 2005 scientists in Borneo discovered a “cat-fox-like carnivore” with hind legs longer than forelegs giving it an awkward gait and physical appearance that somewhat fits many of the descriptions of the sigbin (e.g. long tail, short forearms, can jump far distances, carnivorous). No conclusive evidence has been found yet to link the two together.