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Wakwak
A winged night creature named after its cry, wak-wak. People say the softer the cry, the closer it is.
Folklore is retold; versions differ.
Sources: Wikipedia: Wakwak (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikidata (CC0)
The story
The wakwak is a winged night creature named for its cry, "wak-wak." Tellers in Iloilo and Capiz say it snatches people in the dark. It is like the manananggal, but the stories differ on one point: the wakwak cannot split its body in two. Descriptions give it bat-like wings and long, sharp talons, and some say its wings are as sharp as knives. It is said to slash a victim and take the heart.
A famous rule of the belief is that the sound tricks the listener. When the cry is loud, the creature is far away. When the cry turns soft, it is close and ready to attack.
People have tried to explain the sound. Some say it comes from a night bird, which many Visayans believe is the real source of the cry. One American who lived in the islands wrote that the call of the house gecko, the tuko, was blamed on the wakwak.
Some people count the wakwak as a type of vampire, and others say it is only a bird tied to witches. Today the tale is mostly told to scare children into coming home before dark.