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Illustration of Amalanhig
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
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Amalanhig

Also called: maranhig, amaranhig
Folklore and mythUndeadShambles1900 to 1967

The amalanhig is the walking corpse of Visayan folklore in the Philippines. It is what becomes of an aswang, a shape-shifting witch, who dies with its power untransferred. Stiff-limbed and unable to turn, it can be escaped by dodging, climbing or wading into a river. The image of a rigid corpse that pursues in a straight line is a close match for the classic slow zombie.1

Battle it
First recorded
1967
Described in Maximo D. Ramos, The Creatures of Midnight (1967)
Origin
Visayan (Philippines)
Philippines
What causes it
Other
An aswang who dies without passing its power on to a successor cannot stay dead.
How you become one
A dead aswang that failed to hand on its monstrous nature.
How it moves
Shambles
Its body is rigid, so it can only move in a straight line.
Intelligence
Mindless
Weak spots
  • running in a zigzag
  • climbing a tree or anything high
  • crossing deep water, which it is said to fear

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today1967

Described in Maximo D. Ramos, The Creatures of Midnight (1967)

field notes

What the sources say

1

Looks like an ordinary person, usually with enlarged upper canines1

2

Rises from the grave to kill by biting the neck1

3

A folk variant says it tickles its victims until they die of laughter and terror1

4

Belief is recorded especially among Hiligaynon speakers of the Visayas1

5

Wikipedia classes it as a Philippine variant of the vampire, though its behaviour is closer to a zombie's1

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (shambles), not a measurement.

Amalanhig about 3 km/h (1.9 mph)
You, walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
You, jogging about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h (15 mph)
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h (23 mph)

Sources

  1. Amalanhig - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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Same era: 1900 to 1967

Felicia Felix-MentorHaitian, 1937Nyongo working deadCameroonian (Bakweri, Bakossi and neighbouring peoples), 1950
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