Instantly after the end of world war 2 the American intervention in the Philippines began. It aimed to combat the increasing communist influence in the county. Stories are abundant describing this era; however, nothing can be compared to the story of vampires hunting communists in the jungles of the Philippines.
Communist rebels “Huks” were gaining ground and support from locals every day. Direct face to face combat proved useless against them. As the situation got gloomier, a plan was constructed by then Colonel Edward Geary Lansdaleof the united States Air Force to push the rebels outside of the jungles to open fields so air bombarding and direct fire engagement would favour the US troops.
Lansdale argued that the best weapon against anyone is his own beliefs. At that time, Philippines locals believed that vampire-like creatures, “The Manananggals”, roomed the jungles. Despite no proof whatsoever had been presented, the belief in this myth remained unshaken.
To seize the opportunity and claim advantage, Lansdale led an operation were his group capture 2 communist rebels “Huks”, punctured their necks leaving 2 small holes and literally draining their blood overnight. The group left the corpses miles apart from each other to leave the impression that “Manananggals” are rooming all over the jungle. Panic set in after discovering the bodies and the news flew everywhere. The next few mornings, Lansdale started to interrogate locals about the killings to raise suspicions and fortify the myth even further. In a nutshell he reincarnated a myth in the dress of a fact.
– primevalmind.org
