Bal-Bal

Philippine mythology tells of a ghoul known as the Bal-Bal.

The creature is so hideous to behold that it is sometimes described as one of the most terrifying creatures in Philippine mythology.

The lore doesn’t mention where they come from.

Perhaps they are demons, trapped on this world forever. Or maybe they were once human, but cursed by some dreadful, powerful magic to live a wretched, tormented life for all eternity.

Whatever the truth, the lore is clear on the way they smell: like death itself.

Their breath is particularly bad, which isn’t surprising, because like any ghoul, the Bal-bal eats dead flesh.

Although - a toothbrush would probably help. I mean, regular humans eat dead flesh too, and most of us manage not to have breath that could strip paint.

Unless… No. Those of you out there who eat meat don’t eat living flesh… do you?

Because… ew.

That’s not cool. If I hear any of you are eating living flesh, I’m totally calling the authorities.

Moving on.

The Bal-Bal prefers human flesh, naturally.

To find it, they use their highly tuned sense of smell to find dead bodies.

They don't eat buried corpses, oh no. Only freshly dead bodies are good enough for the Bal-Bal.

Which brings me back to the bad breath thing...

Anyway.

Once they find a corpse, they soar through the night like a squirrel glider, using sharp teeth and claws to rip through thatched roofs, creating a hole large enough for it to crawl in and reach the body.

Naturally, clothing is not to its refined palate, so it rips them off the corpse before it eats its meal.

Interestingly, some say it consumes the corpse with its teeth, like any other predator. Others swear it can somehow use its impossibly long tongue to lick up the entire corpse—flesh and bone alike. How they lick a bone into non-existence in a single night has to be some nightmare-level magical 💩

Then, once it’s eaten its fill, it carves the trunk of a banana tree into a human likeness and leaves it in the coffin to create the illusion of the stolen body.

And apparently, it’s good enough at carving to fool people. Most people never guess their beloved dearly departed has been devoured and a banana trunk left in their place.

I guess most funerals have closed coffins and they’re going by weight.

Honestly, they don’t sound that bad to me.

Like vultures, they just clean up the dead.

Okay, apparently they’re ugly, but is that reason enough to call them a monster? And honestly, being eaten by a Bal-bal is probably better for the environment than burial anyway.

If I were dead, I certainly wouldn't care. That's mostly something the living worry about.

This is one of those creatures that inspired me to create the Slipworld: a creature that every reference describes as “hideous” and “terrifying”, but the actual behaviour makes me think people were perhaps a little unfair. Maybe it’s just doing what nature designed it to do?

I mean, come on - these dudes can be scared off with light or loud noises. Just like any wild animal.

So how bad can they be?

#justiceforbalbals