Waray folklore describes the aghoy as attractive-looking men and women in their early twenties although it is said they are actually small in size, no taller than a person’s knee. They have golden to blond hair, deep-set eyes of blue, green, or brown, and high bridged noses and are often barefoot. The trees serve as their gateway to the human world. They come out after dark and call on their human friends through whistles. They only enter a friend’s house if they are invited in.
The aghoy are good at finding lost things and often they use this ability as a way to test people’s honesty and in order to identify people who deserve their help. When a person loses something, a silver ring for example, an aghoy will present to him a ring of much higher value, pretending that it has no idea what the missing ring looks like. If the person turns out to be honest, he will gain the aghoy’s favor and receive a fantastic reward such as a magic purse that never runs out of gold. If he turns out to be greedy and dishonest, he gets nothing and the aghoy and won’t be able to see the aghoy again. Sometimes the aghoy play pranks on their friends. When a friend is asleep, an aghoy changes his position in bed.
Some say the aghoy are actually hideous in appearance and only pretend to be good. Their true form is said to be shadowy humanoids covered in pitch-black hair. The males allegedly rape human women in their sleep.
Reference:
Ramos, Maximo D. Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology.
The aghoy are good at finding lost things and often they use this ability as a way to test people’s honesty and in order to identify people who deserve their help. When a person loses something, a silver ring for example, an aghoy will present to him a ring of much higher value, pretending that it has no idea what the missing ring looks like. If the person turns out to be honest, he will gain the aghoy’s favor and receive a fantastic reward such as a magic purse that never runs out of gold. If he turns out to be greedy and dishonest, he gets nothing and the aghoy and won’t be able to see the aghoy again. Sometimes the aghoy play pranks on their friends. When a friend is asleep, an aghoy changes his position in bed.
Some say the aghoy are actually hideous in appearance and only pretend to be good. Their true form is said to be shadowy humanoids covered in pitch-black hair. The males allegedly rape human women in their sleep.
Reference:
Ramos, Maximo D. Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology.