SINGAPORE – Toymaker Mattel has Barbie-fied a creature from Philippine folklore that has for centuries inspired terror and loathing among Filipinos for its habit of feeding on the hearts of unborn children: the manananggal.

Corazon Marikit is the latest to come out of Mattel’s Monster High doll line.

In this reimagining of the manananggal, she is a winsome teenager dressed in the traditional Filipino attire of a baro (blouse) and a long skirt that tapers into thin, red fringes that are supposed to emulate dripping blood.

She holds a fan in her right hand and a bag with a spider web motif in her left.

She stands high on a pair of bakya, or wooden clogs.

The obvious signs that she is an otherworldly creature are her large, bat-like wings.

Yet, she has an even more bizarre secret. She can split her body in half from the waist, allowing her upper half to fly away while the rest of her waits on the ground – just like what the manananggal is capable of.

This special mechanism makes her unique for doll collectors.

Mattel describes her on one of its Instagram accounts as a fashion maven that “brings Filipino fashion and folklore to life”.

“With a body that separates into two, she is ready to take flight,” says the toymaker.

Dark side of the manananggal

But the myth of the manananggal has a darker, more macabre backstory.

The creature’s name is derived from the Filipino word that means “something that detaches”.

The manananggal – a derivative of the Malay penanggalan or penanggal – is usually depicted as a bewitching, gorgeous young woman during the day, when she walks among the living to scout for her prey: women in the latter stages of their pregnancy.

As night falls, she sprouts bat-like wings and severs her upper torso from her body so she can fly towards her victim’s house.

While quietly perched on the roof, directly atop her prey, she uncoils her long, spindly tongue that pierces through the pregnant woman’s abdomen and into the heart of the unborn child inside her.

She then proceeds to drain the foetus of its blood. This way, she is able to remain young and virile.

It is a story passed down through the years as a cautionary tale against vanity and the futile, foolish search for eternal youth.

Corazon Marikit is the latest in Mattel’s Monster High series of dolls introduced in 2010 and targeted at girls seven to 14 years old.

She is not the first to come out of Asia. Before her, there was Jinafire Long, a fire dragon character introduced in 2012 with a Chinese aesthetic; and Japan’s Kiyomi Haunterly, daughter of the noppera-bo or faceless ghost, in 2014.

Still, Corazon Marikit’s release is generating excitement among Filipinos and Monster High fans.

“I really like her. She’s a beautiful mixture of fright and glamour,” says user gavinakagriffin1.0 on Mattel’s Instagram account.

Another fan who identifies as a Filipino says: “I’m crying. I’ve never seen representation like this before… A Filipino Monster High doll. I hope many Filipino kids feel represented and loved by this.”

Asia News Network/The Straits Times