Roxas City, Capiz
This city in the Philippines is the capital of the province of Capiz, an area rich in mythology and folklore and the focus of tales of a dangerous creature known as the aswang. The city also has the far gentler nickname of the "Seafood Capital of the Philippines," due to abundance of marine life and fishing trade. The city was founded in 1693 under the name of Capiz, but would change its name to Roxas City in the 20th Century in honor of its very own Manuel Acuña Roxas, who served as the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.

The Aswang
The myth of the aswang (also known as mangalok, boroka, tik-tik, wak-wak, wuk-wuk, and others) varies upon each area's own beliefs and stories and is generically used to represent witches, shapeshifters, monsters and other ghouls. The more popular variation depicts the aswang as a vampire-like creature that can take human form during the day and even carry a job, usually as a butcher. It has the ability to change into other animals or even inanimate objects, depending on the area's folklore. At night, they hunt their prey, usually appearing in the form of an ugly old woman with long, wild hair, bloodshot eyes, long nails, and a distinctive black tongue. It can also appear as a bat, pig, a large black dog, and even in a form that closely resembles that of the Latin American chupacabra.

Their prey typically consists of the ill, children, corpses, and pregnant women, but can also include basically anyone that the aswang dislikes. It is said that they greatly favor a pregnant woman, and when it finds one it will extend its tongue into the woman's womb and drain the fetus of its blood, killing it. It is sometimes known as a kikik at these times for the sound it makes as it draws out the blood. When it comes across an ill person, it will crawl under their house and make the person sicker. It will also drink the blood from freshly dead corpses.

The stories of the aswang are not limited to the province of Capiz and spread throughout the island group of Visayas, but Capiz is rumored to have a high population of aswang and covens of witches. It is said that one can often identify an aswang in human form by their eyes, which appear greatly bloodshot from their lack of sleep from their nocturnal activities. Though the residents generally dismiss the stories as nothing but old folklore these days, there are still some that adorn their houses with garlic, salt, and holy water to keep the aswang at bay. In fact, this prevailing belief can be evidenced by recent news from the Philippines.

Aswang in the News
In an article on August 6, 2003 in the Sun.Star, a couple from the area of Villa Esperanza, Bacolod City reported being besieged by an aswang at midnight every night. Their story began on July 29 when the 20-year-old woman was fishing at a pond near her home when an old woman, dressed in black, approached her and offered her a white stone. The young woman refused and quickly fled, but reported that the nightly visits began immediately. The couple were kept awake by strange scratching noises on the walls of their house and when they turned on the lights, saw a brief flash of the witch's hand. When they chased it outside, they came face to face with a black dog. The events caused the couple to flee to the safety of their relatives, while their neighbors kept a vigil over their house at midnight to keep an eye out for the aswang.