Halloween with 30 scariest PH creatures
ANTIPOLO CITY, Rizal — Scary mythological creatures of local legend and folklore come alive this Halloween season in this city, offering not just an eerie experience but also appreciation for art and tradition.
The display of scary mannequins of creatures, dubbed as “Spooktakular Halloween,” is staged at the Lores Country Plaza for the public to see for free until the first week of November.
Ephraim “Bong” Coton, creative director and head of the personnel of Lores Country Plaza, said the idea of putting up the Halloween attraction came from Lorenzo “LJ” Sumulong, a cousin of President Aquino and president of Lores Group of Companies.
Sumulong commissioned a group of artists in the city known as ARTipolo to create the 30 life-sized night creatures all of Filipino mythological origin.
Among the characters given form are the “Nuno sa Punso,” a dwarf-life old man sitting on a termite mound; the “Kapre,” a giant monstrous man said to smoke cigars and live in Balete Trees; the “Tikbalang,” a half-manhalf-horse creature; the “Tiyanak,” a baby-like creature with fangs; the “Aswang,” a vampire-like creature that transforms into various forms; and the little known creatures like the “Bungisngis,” a one-eyed monster with elephant-like tusks and fangs; the “Gawi-Gawen,” a creature with six heads; and the “Berbalang,” a winged monster that is said to eat corpses.
Yesterday, Lores Country Plaza drew hundreds of children running around in their Halloween costumes for a “trick or treat” and an hourly flash mob dance participated in by some 200 performers in zombie and scary costumes.
ARTipolo group founder Pol Mesina told the Manila Bulletin that the mannequins are made mostly of paper mache and paint with wood and wires as frame and stand as these kinds of materials have been used by the local artists in the province during the peace time.