In 1900, US dailies published a story written by a certain Roscoe Conklin describing how a beautiful maiden in the town of Capiz was possessed by the devil and was labeled as Asuang. This was the first time that Capiz gained international notoriety as home to this unholy creatures. Reading the story, one could surmise that this was more a product of fiction rather than a real phenomenon. But for readers those days, when American readers were hungry for exotic tales from the Orient, stories like this were easily believed to be true. Read the story:
Señor Perdigon, some twenty years ago, was a Spanish merchant enjoying a fair degree of prosperity in Iloilo. While not wealthy, he was the happy possessor of a fair and good wife and some eight children had blessed their union. His business in Iloilo was always improving and enlarging.
At that time the Island of Panay was in a period of sweet security and peace, with out a cloud of rebellion or insurrection to excite apprehensions, but Perdigon was not contented at Iloilo and determined to try his fortunes in Capiz, a hundred miles or so away, on the northern end of the island.
Accordingly, he embarked on a lorcha and in a few days time, with his family and all his earthly possessions, arrived at Capiz.
There he again established himself in business, engaging in a small way in exporting vino, a spirituous liquor produced in large quantities by a number of distilleries in Capiz province. Besides this, he found considerable profit in the exportation of sugar bags, woven in Capiz by the women, from nipa palm straw, as well as fine hats and other native products. In a short time he enjoyed the esteem of the large circle of wealthy Spaniards and Filipinos of the town, who observed in him a man with many admirable traits. He was noted for his open-handed charity and the dignity and affection of his bearing toward his lovable wife and interesting children. His fortunes, too, were increasing materially, and it was not without considerable satisfaction that he looked forward to the day when he might return to his native Spain.
But in an evil hour he encountered one Señorita Concilacion de Ruiz, a Filipino woman of great wealth and beauty, but with a something about her, undefined and rather vaguely mysterious, which caused the grandees of the pueblo to ignore her. Her father had but recently died, leaving her an Immense estate, beside a fine distillery, and a handsomely furnished palace In Capiz, second in style and grandeur only to that of the governor general. Señor Perdigon never heard the words that were whispered against her, or if he did, he despised them as base and as scandalous rumors circulated by envious people.
Señorita Concilacion passed the greater part of her days on her estate, but on one occasion when Perdigon was negotiating a rather large purchase of vino in the office of the distillery, through the trusted servant who was the young woman's man of affairs, she chanced to enter, unaware of his presence. The young woman was at once deeply impressed by his fine bearing and gentle Spanish courtesy, while he, on the other hand, was in a fair way to forget his marriage- vows, in the presence of such grace and beauty as he saw before him. In a moment she was gone.
Perdigon, much excited, inquired of her man who the bewitching young señorita might be; he was somewhat surprised to learn that this was the owner of the vast Ruiz estate, and marveled not a little that he had never encountered her in the gay and extravagant society of Capiz. But a delicacy of feeling prevented him from inquiring as to the reason for her retired life.
He, however, expressed his regret at the unkind fortune which had prevented him from meeting such a charming young lady. His conversation was repeated to Señorita Concilacion and she, as much impressed with his handsome person as he had been with her youth and feminine charms, addressed him a graceful little note, inviting him to call at her hacienda, where she wished to consult him with regard to certain details in tile management of the estate. She had heard him spoken of as a very wise and discriminating gentleman, and as she was practically alone and without advisers, might she hope that he would oblige her?
Perdigon was something of a gallant, the story runs, and smiled softly at the ingenious ruse. It will be unnecessary to inform the discriminating reader that Perdigon was soon mounted and galloping to the hacienda of Señorita Concilacion de Ruiz. Nor will it be necessary to dwell on the tiresome details of the courting and billing and cooing that followed. One love story Is very much like any other love story, whether-the man and the maid are Spanish and Khalak or American and Chino, the race of passion with reason and conscience is much the same, whether under the snowy shroud of perpetual night and winter at the north pole, or the glowing tropic of the equator. The way of an eagle in the air, of a ship In the sea, of a serpent on the rock and of a man with a maid is much the same as some thousand of years ago, when the first philosopher of the world remarked that these things are all past finding out. But the sequel of this romance was more horrible than any other recounted in history.
He Becomes a Demon
Señorita Concilacion de Ruiz was "Asuang." her body was the dwelling place of one of the legion of witches and its familiar spirit "Tic-tic." This Perdigon never knew until the evil night of his bewitch ment, when all his nature changed and he became at once the most vile and detestable of all the abhorrent host that infested this island. As he lay asleep, Señor Concilacion de Ruiz, smilling with all the diaboolical cruelty and pleasure of a wicked spirit about to entrap and subjugate a pure and unblemished soul, placed her beautiful tapering forefinger Into her lips and then deftly placed a few drops of saliva in the portals of the sleeping monster. By that act there was transferred into his body the spirit and power of Asuang and her accompanying demon, Tictic. Nor was Perdigon aware of the change wrought upon him by the sorceress until he was awakened. Then his eyes were opened to the inner change and he loathed the woman who had betrayed him andabhorred himself. He was appalled at the evil thoughts and images that crossed his mind, but could not banish then; he was amused and comforted herself with the thought that presently his hatred of his new nature of evil would pass away and he would become a most worthy and ardent servant of her demon masters.
Now Perdigon’s wife and neighbors were grieved by the strange transformation in his character. He was no longer the loving father and charitable master and his wife was unhappy and terrified when her eyes encountered the evil lurking in his glance.
Friends warned her that it was the "concubina," and boldly repeated all the tales that had been but vaguely hinted to her before, concerning the mysterious woman of the hacienda.
"But what, is this Asuang?" she cried in terror.
She was soon to learn the horrible truth.
Awakening one night she was horrified to find her husband's face missing when she placed her hand upon his pillow. Hastily striking a light with trembling fingers she became speechless with terror at the spectacle that met her eyes, a half human body lying In the bed she had just quitted. When she awakened from her swoon it was day and her husband was bending over her.
There was no pity in his merciless eyes she cried out:
"Perdigon, my husband, surely I have been the victim of some horrible nightmare?"
"It was no dream," he sneered with a devilish, mirthless, chuckling. "It was all true enough. By anointing my body and incantations to the evil one the spirit with in me severs this outer body and walks forth until the crowing of the cock foretells the return of day when she and Tictic reenter their abode."
The Familiar Alligator
That night the wife died. Servants of the household had overheard the detestable confession and spread It among the people of Capiz, who now shunned Perdigon. Only Concilacion de Ruiz had a gentle word and smile for the unhappy man. About this time many children died. It was averred that their bodies bore marks of having been punctured with the sharp, slender bamboo tubes through which the Asuang drains the life blood of beautiful children and women enceinte. Perdigon and the woman were denounced as the authors of these vampirish deeds, but no one dare mo lest nor punish them, as It is notorious that if an Asuang is destroyed an avenging host will terribly punish those who meddled. But by and by Perdigon was forced to leave Capiz.
On his journey to Iloilo an enormous alligator swam beside the lorcha. This was said to be the Image Perdigon assumed when absent from the body, preferring an astral form that would cross seas to the ordinary carabao and dogs and cats assumed by most of his kind. The sailors averred he was always talking to this alligator as it swam along, and one night Perdigon had disappeared from the boat. The alligator was again gone. Next morning Perdigon appeared for breakfast. The alligator was following the boat. In Iloilo his career became so dark and bloody that the Spaniards at last arose and killed him, braving punishment from all the powers rather than longer endure the awful sufferings that were inflicted on helpless women, but not until a number of beautiful children had been spirited away to his mountain cave. Summary Justice was also meted out upon the woman who had been left behind at Capiz.
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