Ekek

Specific origin myths or creation stories for the Ekek are not recorded in the provided sources. Within Philippine folk taxonomy the Ekek is classed among a set of nocturnal, flying, predatory humanoids (alongside beings such as the Manananggal and the Wak Wak). This placement within a cluster of related night-prowling predators situates the Ekek as part of a folkloric mechanism for explaining nocturnal danger and threats to vulnerable people—especially pregnant women and fetuses—rather than as an independently narrated cosmogonic figure. Sources emphasize comparative features (for example, body-splitting in the Manananggal versus no splitting in the Ekek) to distinguish kinds of attack and threat within the tradition.

Accounts describe the Ekek as a birdlike human or winged-human. It is described as having a birdlike bill (a distinguishing trait used to differentiate it from the Wak Wak, which reportedly lacks a bill). Some summaries report that it can take the form of a huge bird or bat at night to prowl. While broadly similar in appearance to the Manananggal in being a winged attacker, the Ekek is said not to divide or split its body as the Manananggal does. Sources do not provide detailed notes on coloration, clothing, or precise measurements.

Reported behaviors and capacities include nocturnal flight and transformation into a large bird or bat at night, active hunting for victims after dark, and an appetite for flesh and blood. The Ekek is said to specifically target sleeping pregnant women, extending a very long proboscis into the womb to drain the fetus's blood. It is associated with producing an "ek-ek-ek" sound while attacking; accounts state that it may produce a faint sound that leads listeners to think it is distant when it is actually near, an auditory deceptive tactic described in the sources. The Ekek is linked culturally to other Philippine nocturnal predators such as the Wak Wak and Manananggal but is distinguished by the presence of a birdlike bill and the lack of body-splitting.