The Batibat is a vengeful demon found in
Ilocano folklore. In
Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...
folklore, the creature is called Bangungot. The batibat takes the form of an ancient, grotesquely obese, tree-dwelling female spirit. They usually come in contact with humans when the trees in which they reside are felled and are made homeless, especially when their tree is made into a support post for a house. This causes them to migrate and inhabit what is left of their tree. The batibat forbids humans from sleeping near its post. When a person does sleep near it, the batibat transforms into its true form and attacks the person by suffocating their victim and invading their dream space, causing sleep paralysis and waking nightmares. This condition lends itself to the Ilocano word for nightmare, "batíbat" (or
bangungot
Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) is a sudden unexpected death of adolescents and adults, mainly during sleep. One relatively common type is known as Brugada syndrome.
The syndrome is rare in most areas around the world but occurs in po ...
in Tagalog). To ward off the batibat, one should bite one's thumb or wiggle one's toes. In this way, the person will awaken from the nightmare induced by the batibat.
In popular culture
* The creature appears in the fifth episode of the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
series ''
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', played by
Megan Leitch
Megan Leitch is a Canadian actress probably best known for playing Samantha Mulder on ''The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of ...
. This version of Batibat is depicted in the episode "Dreams in a Witch House" as a demon that is unintentionally released by
Sabrina Spellman from a puzzle belonging to her father. Trapped in the house, Batibat proceeds to vengefully torture the Spellman family by inducing their dream states. The demon preys on their nightmares in the hopes that one of them will free her from the house, but is ultimately thwarted by Sabrina and
Mary Wardwell / Madam Satan.
* A Batibat named Maganda is referenced in the eleventh episode of ''
Lost Girl''s
second season, titled "Can't see the Fae-Rest" as a
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...
nese
tree nymph.
* ''Evil Takes Root: The Curse of the Batibat'',
EVIL TAKES ROOT: The Curse of the Batibat
IMDb, Genre Labs, Elevate Pictures which is the title of a horror movie, features one of these creatures.
See also
* Brugada syndrome
* Incubus
* Sleep apnea
* Sleep paralysis
*Pesanta
In Catalan legend and popular culture, the Pesanta () is an enormous dog (or sometimes a cat) that goes into people's houses in the night and puts itself on their chests, making it difficult for them to breathe and causing them the most horrible ...
*Lietuvēns
Lietuvēns or lietonis (in Latgale also can be called “lītūņš”, similar to Slavic “mara” (Russian: ''Мара'') or Lithuanian “lauma”) is a mythological creature in Latvian folklore. According to Latvian folk epics and omens, ''lie ...
References
Philippine demons
Female legendary creatures
{{Asia-myth-stub