In the
Philippines, a
manananggal (mah-nah-nang-gal) is a mythical
creature of horror. During the day, she looks like a normal woman, but after sunset, she will
sprout bat-like wings, and
her torso will split from her lower body. Separated from her
lower extremities, she would fly out of her house, in search of food.
A manananggal's food is unborn babies. She would hover above the thatched roof of an unsupecting pregnant woman, lower her long, hollow tongue into the mother's womb, and suck the fetus as if through a straw.
Manananggals can be warded off by garlic, or holy water. But the only way to kill her is by keeping her from rejoining her lower body until sunrise. When the sun's rays hit the manananggal, and she has not returned to her normal form, she will burn to death.
One common way of doing this is by searching for her lower body and throwing salt or holy water onto it. But beware! If you do this, the manananggal will feel that her lower body has died, and knowing that she will die by sunrise, she will hunt you down and try to kill you before the dawn breaks.