Day XCV - Wakwak

Noises in the night,

Terrible ripping talons,

Tears out human hearts.

A winged terror from Filipino folklore, the Wakwak is a vampiric bird-bat type beast that poses a great threat to its human prey. Named after the flapping sound it makes as it flies through the night, it is said that the louder it is, the further it is away. That, I suppose, ultimately means that you're safe if you can hear it (and in tremendous danger if you can't) thus, if you don't hear it you're in tremendous danger). If that wasn't disturbing enough, the Wakwak is reckoned to have exceptionally sharp wings and vicious long talons or claws that it uses to slash and mutilate those it attacks. The Manananggal is a similar bat-being in the mythology of the Philippines, distinguished by its ability to split its body in half (which the Wakwak cannot do). The dreadful night monster is associated with unklu (Filipino vampires) and witches and altogether comes across as an excellent vampire-entity with all its heart-devouring viciousness and confusing sound effects trickery.