The insurgents get together around the body . On the priming coat lie one of their man , dead and ghostly white-hot . They expect to encounter smoke wound . Instead , close review revealed he had two humble puncture marks in his neck . In the night , somethinghad take him , bury its pointed teeth in , and drained him of every apothecaries' ounce of his line .
Some sort of creature vote down their comrade . Their thoughts turn to theaswang , a lamia - corresponding entity that had persisted in folklore for centuries . And then another fear began brew : It would probably refund for others .
The trueness was far more pragmatic , but no less horrifying . It was the early 1950s in the Philippines , and insurgents known as the Hukbalahap were a concerning bearing for both local politics and U.S. intelligence . To combat them , the CIA would employ a new frontier in psychological warfare : bloodsuckers .
First Blood
Despite the fact that both junto had fight down Japan during World War II , the human relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines was complex . In 1946 , the U.S. finallyrecognizedthe res publica as independent after century of Spanish — and subsequently American — compound rule . Though their respective government get along , American military intelligence was rattled by the bearing of a resistance radical , theHukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon(or Hukbalahap ) , in the land . ( In Tagalog , one of the languages spoken in the Philippines , the name means “ People ’s Army Against Japan . ” )
One of the reasonsthe “ Huks ” were worrisome to U.S. intelligence was that that the group hadroots in communism — and with theCold Warwith Russia brewing , that was perceived as a risk . In practice , however , the Huks seemed to be most concerned with creating a more hardworking and self - sufficient country , objecting to the continuing war machine and trade presence of the U.S. In the minds of U.S. and Philippines officials , the Huks were a explosive and unwelcome variable .
Dealing with the insurgent was the purview of American Lieutenant Colonel Edward Lansdale , a CIA operative who was installed in the Philippines to get the motility under control — and that think employing psychological warfare .
Lansdale used superstitions entertained by some living in the countryside to his squad ’s reward . He ordered a plane to aviate over settlement and broadcast warnings in Tagalog that promised curses would bechance anyone harbour Huk insurgents . He targeted other sympathizers by having an centre painted outside their homes — a signaling that they might face death for cooperating with the Huks .
In studying regional mythology , Lansdale also learned of theaswang , a brute from Philippine folklore that can take on several shape . A version likely survive before the Spanish started colonizing the area in the sixteenth century , but some expertsbelievethe colonizer add new elements during their attempt to change over topical anesthetic to Catholicism . The aswang ’s near opposite number may be the lamia , though unlike that fiend , the aswang also dines on organ and may take on the physical body of a pig or vulture - esque spectre . ( Another variation , theManananggal , slurp out a victim ’s intestines through their rectum and also eats fetuses . ) With its farseeing tongue , the aswang can probe for holes in ceilings in pursual of a repast . And while it ’s capable of ferocity , it can also land disease .
The aswang became all-important during one key mathematical operation . Lansdale wanted a group of Filipino violence redirected from a small area , but there was fear a local Huk installation of up to 300 soldiers would pose beleaguering to the spot once they left and potentially stamp out American sympathizer . to drive the Huks out , Lansdale had his military personnel start to spread rumors that the aswang was nearby . They could not , of course , have any direct liaison with the Huks , so the story was seeded through villager , who had an open short letter of communicating with the belligerent .
A few day later , when Landsdale felt the hearsay had reached the Huks , soldiers tracked a small squad on one of their known trails . The Americans grabbed the last man in the patrol , obliterate him , and puncture two holes in his neck . The man was then hung upside - down so his blood would drain . The torso was left for the Huks to discover , at which point they had some campaign to trust the humankind had been attack by the aswang . They quick fled the territory , just as Lansdale had anticipated .
Mission Accomplished
After the aswang mission , Lansdale ’s “ psyops ” in the Philippines proceed ; he even help install a new president , Ramon Magsayay , who was sympathetic to American interest . The Huks , meanwhile , dissolved through a lack of morale , supplies , and recruit .
As difficult as the aswang story may be to digest , it was confirmed by Lansdale himself in his autobiography , In the Midst of Wars : An American ’s Mission to Southeast Asia . The 1972 tome let in anaccountof the aswang operation .
“ When the Huks returned to look for the miss human and come up their livid fellow , every fellow member of the patrol think that the aswang had got him and that one of them would be next if they remained on that hill , ” he wrote .
While Lansdale seemed positive it was the aswang myth that beam the Huks away , it ’s not entirely clean how permeating that traditional knowledge was in that specific region , or whether the Huks truly believed a malevolent supernatural entity was to blame for the attack . As folklore researcher Jordan Clark tell How Stuff knead , it ’s possible the Huks were simply horrified at the vicious American ravishment and fled to avoid the same fate .
“ There was no ‘ vampire - like ’ aswang lore in the region , so I am unbelieving that this psywar tactic even worked , ” Clark articulate , “ other than the terrific visual of see your acquaintance string up like that . ”
Lansdale left the Philippines in 1954 , heading to Vietnam to execute like duties . Later , he would be need in efforts to pass Cuban leader Fidel Castro before retiring from Robert William Service in 1963 . When he give-up the ghost in 1987 , he was hailed as an good example of counterinsurgency operations . Considering the lengths Lansdale would go , he could also body something else : a dim figure distribute fear . The aswang .
