A shape shifter is a mythical creature that takes the shape of something or someone else in order to carry out its evil deeds. In the Philippines the people there believe that the Aswang roams amongst them. The Aswang is a mythological creature that is a shape shifter and is in the same league as a Vampire. Unlike Vampires though the Aswang eats off of the dead rather than the living. These creatures are known to steal the dead body and to replace it with the likeness of the deceased carved from a trunk of a banana tree. They are also known to steal and eat small children, their favorite body part are the liver and heart.

As in the stories of Vampires the Aswang’s are ordinary people by day in an occupation that is related to butchering meat. They seem to possess an ageless appearance are quiet in nature not wanting to call attention to themselves, they seem to blend in with the background.

There are some distinguishing signs to set them apart from ordinary humans, first they have blood shot eyes, this is due to them staying up all night looking for fresh deceased bodies. Another way to distinguish them from other normal people is that your reflection in their eyes is inverted.

They have been known to shape shift into animals, like a pig, dog or black bird and back to human again. While they are on the look out at night for newly deceased bodies they walk with their feet facing backwards.

The myth says that an Aswang can be revealed and dealt with through Catholic prayers that are prayed over a special oil that is made from coconuts and the coconut plant’s stem. The oil is put in a pot and when the Aswang comes near it begins to boil until it has left the vicinity of the pot.

Like many myth based stories the Aswang is told to children in hopes of keeping them off the streets at night, like Dracula perhaps the myth of the Aswang is indeed based on true accounts of an evil person.