You Don’t Have to Believe It to Respect It
This article is part of the My Philippines Retirement Hub, a collection of observations, practical advice, and hard-earned lessons about retiring and living in the Philippines.
I never worried much about walking under ladders.
Black cats never bothered me.
I’ve probably broken a few mirrors in my lifetime, and if each one really brought seven years of bad luck, apparently I’m still working off the balance.
Like most Americans, I grew up hearing all the familiar superstitions.
Don’t walk under a ladder.
Don’t open an umbrella indoors.
Friday the 13th is unlucky.
Knock on wood.
Cross your fingers.
Find a four-leaf clover and something good might happen.
I knew all of them.
I just never put much faith in any of them.
Then I moved to the Philippines.
And discovered that we Americans were amateurs.
Welcome to a Different World of Superstition
The Philippines has its own collection of superstitions, spirits, ghosts, monsters, mythical creatures, and things you probably don’t want hanging around your bedroom at three in the morning.
Some are harmless.
Some are amusing.
And some make Bigfoot look like a guy you’d invite over for a beer.
But before we get into them, I should make something clear.
I’m a skeptic.
I don’t personally believe that breaking a mirror changes my future, that a black cat can ruin my day, or that something supernatural is hiding underneath every anthill.
But living in another country has taught me something important:
You don’t have to believe another culture’s traditions to respect them.
I feel the same way about voodoo.
Do I believe in it?
No.
Would I make fun of somebody who does?
Absolutely not.
Why take chances?
Americans Have Our Own Strange Beliefs
It’s easy for an American to hear about Filipino superstitions and dismiss them as silly.
But we should probably look in the mirror first.
Just don’t break it.
We somehow decided that breaking one means seven years of bad luck.
Walking underneath a ladder invites misfortune.
Opening an umbrella inside the house is dangerous.
A black cat crossing your path can ruin your day.
And the number 13 became so feared that some American hotels and office buildings don’t even label a floor number 13.
Then there’s Friday the 13th.
Apparently combining an ordinary Friday with an ordinary number creates some kind of supernatural disaster zone.
On the positive side, we knock on wood, cross our fingers, hunt for four-leaf clovers, carry lucky objects, and say “bless you” when somebody sneezes.
And that’s before we get to the monsters.
Millions of Americans are fascinated by Bigfoot.
West Virginia has the Mothman.
New Jersey has the Jersey Devil.
The Southwest has stories of the Chupacabra.
The Midwest has Hookman.
Various parts of the country have their own local creatures, ghosts, haunted houses, and urban legends.
And, of course, aliens.
We Americans definitely believe in aliens.
Or at least enough of us do to keep several television networks in business.
And don’t get me started on zombies.
Judging by the popularity of The Walking Dead, apparently millions of Americans spent years preparing themselves emotionally for the possibility that their neighbors might eventually try to eat them.
So perhaps we’re not in a position to laugh at anybody.
The Monsters Our Parents Used Against Us
There was one American monster I almost forgot.
The Boogeyman.
When we were kids and misbehaving, Mom or Dad occasionally had a very simple solution:
“You better watch out or the Boogeyman will get you.”
Nobody ever explained exactly what the Boogeyman looked like.
That was probably intentional.
He lived under beds, inside closets, outside bedroom windows, and apparently anywhere else necessary to convince a kid to behave.
Looking back, the Boogeyman may have been one of the most effective unpaid babysitters in American history.
And Filipinos weren’t above using the same strategy.
They just had a much bigger selection of monsters.
Depending on where someone grew up and what their family believed, Filipino children might hear warnings about an aswang, a multo or ghost, a kapre, or some other frightening creature lurking outside after dark.
There’s also mumu—a more general scary ghost or monster that adults may invoke with children. In that sense, mumu may be about as close as you can get to the American Boogeyman.
And when you think about it, the purpose was often the same.
Don’t wander off.
Don’t go outside alone after dark.
Stay away from dangerous places.
Behave yourself.
Go to bed.
The monster changed depending on which side of the Pacific you grew up on.
The parenting strategy didn’t.
Apparently mothers everywhere eventually discovered that when reason failed, there was always something hiding under the bed.
The Philippines Takes Things Up a Notch
Filipino folklore developed from a fascinating mixture of indigenous beliefs, animism, regional traditions, centuries of storytelling, Spanish Catholic influence, and more modern urban legends.
And there are a lot of characters.
The most famous may be the Aswang.
By day, the Aswang can supposedly appear to be an ordinary person.
At night?
That’s when things get complicated.
Depending on the particular story and region, an Aswang may transform into an animal or other creature and hunt humans.
Pregnant women feature prominently in some of the more disturbing versions of the legend.
Suddenly that black cat doesn’t seem so threatening.
Then There’s the Manananggal
If the Aswang wasn’t enough, Filipino folklore gave us the Manananggal.
This creature supposedly separates the upper half of its body from the lower half, sprouts bat-like wings, and flies around at night looking for victims.
Think about that for a moment.
America gave the world Bigfoot.
The Philippines came up with a flying monster that leaves half its body behind.
Philippines: 1.
America: 0.
I don’t care how skeptical you are.
If I ever see half a person flying past my veranda at midnight, I’m locking the door.
Getting Lost? Blame the Tikbalang
The Tikbalang is usually described as a tall creature with the body of a man and the head and hooves of a horse.
It supposedly lives in forests and mountainous areas and enjoys confusing travelers, causing them to become lost or walk in circles.
I live in the mountains above Puerto Galera.
I’ve gotten turned around before.
Until proven otherwise, I’m blaming Google Maps.
But I’m keeping the Tikbalang theory in reserve.
Be Polite to the Neighbors You Can’t See
One Filipino custom I find particularly interesting is tabi-tabi po.
The phrase roughly means “excuse me” or “please step aside.”
When walking near certain old trees, wooded areas, anthills, or places traditionally associated with spirits, some Filipinos say tabi-tabi po as a gesture of respect toward unseen beings that might occupy the area.
Among those beings are duwendes and the nuno sa punso.
Duwendes are small earth spirits traditionally associated with places such as anthills, gardens, old houses, and secluded areas.
A nuno sa punso is similarly associated with earthen mounds or anthills and is traditionally portrayed as an old, small, bearded spirit who doesn’t appreciate people disrespecting his property.
Step on the wrong mound, disturb the wrong place, or behave disrespectfully and—according to the folklore—you could find yourself mysteriously sick afterward.
Do I believe there’s a tiny old man living underneath an anthill?
Probably not.
Am I going to deliberately stomp on one after somebody tells me not to?
Nope.
I have enough problems.
And Don’t Forget the Kapre
The Kapre is another memorable character.
Imagine a huge, hairy humanoid sitting high in an enormous old tree, often a balete tree, smoking a cigar.
Unlike some Filipino monsters, the Kapre isn’t always portrayed as outright evil.
He may simply enjoy confusing people or making travelers lose their way.
Frankly, I have met humans who do the same thing.
At least the Kapre gives you a cigar.
The White Lady
Then there is the White Lady.
Nearly every country seems to have some version of the mysterious woman in white.
The Philippines certainly does.
One of the country’s most famous versions is associated with Balete Drive in Quezon City, where stories have circulated for decades about a ghostly woman appearing along the road.
Depending on who’s telling the story, she appears suddenly to drivers, passengers, or people traveling the road late at night.
The details change.
That’s the nature of folklore.
But the White Lady isn’t confined to one Philippine location. Similar stories exist around the country.
Which brings us to something expats should understand.
There Isn’t Just One Filipino Folklore
One of the mistakes foreigners sometimes make is thinking of “Filipino culture” as if everything is identical throughout the country.
It isn’t.
The Philippines consists of thousands of islands and numerous ethnic groups, languages, dialects, traditions, histories, and regional cultures.
Folklore reflects that diversity.
A creature everybody knows in one province may be less important somewhere else.
The stories your neighbors tell in Luzon may not be exactly the same stories people grew up hearing in Cebu, Negros, Mindanao, or elsewhere in the Visayas.
For example, the Sigbin is strongly associated with Visayan folklore.
It’s an extremely strange creature, even by mythical-monster standards.
Descriptions vary, but it’s often portrayed as a bizarre animal that walks backward and attacks victims.
Luzon folklore is more strongly associated with creatures such as the Tikbalang.
Even eclipses generated different mythical explanations.
In Visayan mythology, there’s the Bakunawa, an enormous sea serpent or dragon believed to swallow the moon.
Some Bagobo traditions of Mindanao have the Minokawa, an enormous bird associated with eclipses.
Mandaya folklore has its own creature, the Tambanawa.
Same moon.
Same eclipse.
Completely different monsters.
That’s what makes Filipino folklore so interesting.
Province Life Versus the Big City
I’ve sometimes wondered whether these old beliefs remain more visible in the provinces than they do in places like Manila.
That would make some sense.
In smaller communities, traditions can be passed directly from grandparents to parents to children, and people may live closer to the forests, mountains, old trees, isolated roads, and other places where these stories originated.
But I wouldn’t make the mistake of assuming every Filipino living in the province believes in Aswangs or that people living in Manila don’t.
Some people believe strongly.
Some follow a tradition because their parents and grandparents taught it to them.
Some do it “just in case.”
Some enjoy the stories as folklore.
And others don’t believe a word of it.
That sounds pretty familiar.
Ask ten Americans about ghosts and you’ll probably get ten different answers.
Filipino Superstitions Aren’t Just About Monsters
Some of the most interesting Filipino beliefs involve ordinary daily life.
Take pagpag.
After attending a wake or visiting a cemetery, some Filipinos believe you shouldn’t go directly home.
Instead, you stop somewhere else first—a restaurant, convenience store, or another public place—to avoid bringing the spirit of the deceased home with you.
There are also traditions warning against taking food home from a wake.
Attending a wedding immediately after coming from a wake may be considered bad luck.
Then there are household superstitions.
Sweeping the floor at night can supposedly sweep away wealth or good fortune.
Cutting your fingernails or toenails after dark is discouraged in some households.
If someone leaves the dining table before everyone else has finished, there is even a tradition of turning the plates of those remaining at the table to help ensure the departing person’s safe travels.
I find these customs fascinating because they’re not really so different from the little rituals Americans perform without thinking about them.
Knock on wood.
Cross your fingers.
Throw salt over your shoulder.
Maybe human beings everywhere just like having a little insurance against the unknown.
Usog
Another tradition an expat may encounter is usog.
In some Filipino communities, if a baby or young child suddenly becomes uncomfortable or ill after meeting a stranger or receiving a compliment, usog may be blamed.
One traditional remedy involves the person believed to have caused it putting a small amount of saliva on the child’s forehead or stomach.
Now there’s a cultural experience you probably won’t find in the retirement brochures.
Again, whether individual Filipinos believe in usog varies enormously.
That’s important.
Filipinos aren’t one giant group of people who all believe exactly the same thing any more than Americans are.
What Should an Expat Do?
This part is actually pretty simple.
Be respectful.
You don’t have to pretend you believe something you don’t.
You don’t need to become frightened of every balete tree.
You don’t need to inspect your roof for Manananggals.
And I wouldn’t recommend interrogating your neighbors about whether they’re secretly Aswangs.
That could make the next barangay Christmas party awkward.
But there’s also no reason to ridicule people.
If somebody asks you not to disturb a particular mound or tree, don’t deliberately disrespect it to demonstrate how rational you are.
If your Filipino family follows pagpag after a funeral, stopping somewhere before going home isn’t exactly a major sacrifice.
If somebody says tabi-tabi po while you’re walking through the woods, you don’t need to give them a lecture about science.
You’re a guest—or, if you’ve retired here permanently, perhaps a long-term member of the community.
Respect costs nothing.
That lesson applies to far more than superstition.
It’s one of the most important things I’ve learned about living peacefully in the Philippines.
Superstitions Are Part of the Culture Shock
Most retirement guides talk about visas, housing, health care, transportation, banking, and cost of living.
Those things matter.
But retiring overseas also means discovering hundreds of small cultural differences nobody put in the brochure.
How people communicate.
How they gesture.
How they think about time.
How families interact.
How traditions are passed down.
And, yes, occasionally how they deal with creatures you can’t see.
I’ve already written about the secret language of Filipino gestures, because even something as simple as pointing can work differently here.
And I’ve written about Filipino Time, another cultural difference that can confuse Americans until they understand the context behind it.
Superstitions and folklore belong in that same category.
You don’t necessarily have to adopt them.
But understanding them helps you understand the country you’ve chosen to live in.
Maybe We’re More Alike Than We Think
The more I thought about American and Filipino superstitions, the more I realized the differences aren’t as great as they first appear.
Our monsters are different.
Our rituals are different.
Our stories are different.
But the reason human beings create them may be very similar.
We don’t like unexplained things.
A strange noise in the forest needs an explanation.
An unexpected illness needs an explanation.
Someone disappearing needs an explanation.
An eclipse certainly needed an explanation hundreds of years before anybody understood astronomy.
So cultures created stories.
Those stories were passed from grandparents to grandchildren until they became part of the culture itself.
Americans got Bigfoot.
Filipinos got the Aswang.
We got the Jersey Devil.
The Philippines got the Manananggal.
We knock on wood.
Filipinos say tabi-tabi po.
Different traditions.
Same human instinct.
Maybe there’s something comforting about believing that the mysterious things around us have names.
Even if some of those names have wings.
What I’ve Learned
Do I believe an Aswang is going to land on my roof tonight?
No.
Do I think a duwende is hiding underneath an anthill waiting for me to offend him?
Probably not.
But if a Filipino friend tells me to say tabi-tabi po before walking past a place where one supposedly lives, I’ll probably say it.
It costs me nothing.
That’s one of the lessons I’ve learned from retiring in another country.
You don’t have to surrender your own beliefs.
And you don’t have to adopt somebody else’s.
But you should respect the traditions of the people whose country you have chosen to call home.
Besides, I’ve been wrong before.
And at my age, I don’t need seven years of bad luck.
I probably couldn’t use it all anyway.
Your Turn
Have you encountered Filipino superstitions or folklore where you live?
Has someone ever told you to say tabi-tabi po?
Do people in your area talk about Aswangs, Duwendes, Kapres, Tikbalangs, the White Lady—or a local creature I’ve never heard of?
And for my Filipino readers: which of these traditions did you grow up with?
Did your parents or grandparents genuinely believe them?
Do you still follow any of them today—even if it’s only “just in case”?
For my American readers, what about us?
Bigfoot?
Ghosts?
Friday the 13th?
Black cats?
Aliens?
Or are you one of those people who claims not to be superstitious but still knocks on wood?
Tell me in the comments.
I’m especially interested in the regional differences around the Philippines because I’m betting readers from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao grew up hearing some very different stories.
Just one request.
If you know something particularly nasty that supposedly lives in the mountains around Puerto Galera…
maybe don’t tell me until morning.
🇵🇭 Continue Exploring My Philippines Retirement
Living in the Philippines gets a lot easier once you stop expecting everything to work exactly like America.
👉 The Secret Language of Filipino Gestures
A raised eyebrow, puckered lips, or a simple hand movement can say more than you might expect in the Philippines.
👉 Filipino Time
Why being late doesn’t always mean what an American thinks it means—and how retirement changed the way I look at the clock.
👉 Why Are Filipinos So Happy and Cheerful?
Family, community, humor, faith, and resilience help explain something many foreigners notice soon after arriving.
👉 How to Live Peacefully in the Philippines
You don’t have to agree with every cultural difference. Learning when to adapt, accept, and simply let things go makes life here much easier.
Bunker Rule
Believe it, doubt it, laugh about it, or call it folklore—but respect the people who take it seriously. When you’re living in someone else’s country, you don’t have to adopt every belief or tradition. You just need enough common sense not to insult it. And if someone tells you to say tabi-tabi po before walking past that old tree… say it. Why take chances?
Bunker Notice
This article reflects my personal experiences, observations, and opinions as an American retiree living in the Philippines. Filipino beliefs and traditions vary considerably by family, province, region, and generation. Nothing here is intended to ridicule or characterize the beliefs of all Filipinos.
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