CLASSIC: Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War

Summary

Ridiculous History: Classic Episode Summary Episode: "Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War"
Release Date: May 31, 2025
Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts
Duration: Approximately 44 minutes

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1. Introduction to the Aswang and Philippine Folklore

In this classic episode of Ridiculous History, hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown delve into the intriguing and bizarre intersection of folklore and military strategy. They explore the Aswang, a legendary creature deeply rooted in Filipino mythology, and its unexpected role in CIA psychological operations during the mid-20th century.

Ben Bowlin introduces the Aswang as one of the most terrifying mythical beings in Philippine folklore, noting its versatility as a shape-shifter capable of transforming into various monstrous forms, such as a torso with dripping intestines (09:00) and a werewolf-like creature (10:17).

2. Historical Context: Post-WWII Philippines and the Huk Rebellion

The episode provides a backdrop of post-World War II Philippines, where the Hukbalahap (Huk) rebellion—a communist insurgency—posed a significant threat to the Filipino government. The Huks, initially allies against Japanese occupation, became disillusioned with the post-war government due to rampant inequality and collaboration with former Japanese forces.

Noel Brown explains the origins of the Huks and their evolution from anti-Japanese fighters to staunch opponents of the Filipino government (17:45). The unrest created a pressing need for unconventional methods to quell the insurgency.

3. CIA Involvement and Psychological Operations

Enter Air Force Brigadier General Edward Lansdale, a proponent of psychological operations (psyops). Ben Bowlin defines psyops as strategies aimed at influencing enemy perceptions and morale without direct confrontation (19:51). Lansdale's innovative yet ethically questionable tactics were instrumental in suppressing the Huk rebellion.

Drawing from Max Boot's "The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam," Bowlin recounts Lansdale's use of psychological warfare to manipulate and intimidate enemy forces.

4. The Aswang Project: Weaponizing Folklore

The centerpiece of the episode is the CIA's Aswang Project, where Lansdale leveraged local folklore to undermine the Huks. By spreading believable stories about the Aswang inhabiting Huk-controlled regions, the CIA aimed to instill fear and paranoia among the rebels.

Ben Bowlin narrates:

"A combat PSI war squad was brought into the Philippines. They planted stories among town residents of an Aswang living on the hills where the Huks were based." (22:51)

Following these rumors, the CIA conducted brutal operations where they massacred soldiers, making it appear as though they were victims of Aswang attacks. This included mutilating corpses to enhance the myth's credibility.

5. Effectiveness and Ethical Implications

The strategy proved disturbingly effective. The Huks, already grappling with high tensions and fear, were further demoralized by the belief that supernatural forces were targeting them. This psychological strain contributed to the decline of the Huk rebellion by 1954, culminating in the surrender of their leader, Louis Taruk (30:46).

However, the episode does not shy away from the ethical dark side of these tactics. Noel Brown questions the morality of desecrating corpses and committing war crimes under the guise of psychological warfare:

"It's not right to desecrate corpses to win wars." (32:14)

The hosts acknowledge that while the methods were effective, they crossed ethical boundaries, leaving a legacy of controversy surrounding Lansdale's actions.

6. Broader Historical Connections: Lansdale's Legacy

The discussion extends to Lansdale's later involvement in Vietnam, where he continued to employ psychological tactics, some of which bordered on the unethical. Additionally, they touch upon the legend of Yamashita's gold, a hidden treasure allegedly excavated with Lansdale's assistance through brutal interrogation methods (32:27).

Noel Brown humorously yet darkly describes Lansdale:

"If he's hanging up dudes by their toes and stabbing them in the side of the neck, then this guy could probably do just about anything." (33:34)

7. Reflections on Myth and Warfare

Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown ponder the lingering belief in mythological creatures like the Aswang in contemporary society. They question whether such beliefs persist and how they can influence real-world events when leveraged as psychological tools.

Noel Brown reflects:

"I don't know, man, who are we to say?" (34:22)

The conversation underscores the potent combination of folklore and psychological manipulation in warfare, highlighting the enduring impact of cultural myths on human behavior and conflict.

8. Listener Engagement and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with reflections on listener contributions, emphasizing the show's commitment to sharing bizarre and lesser-known historical events. The hosts thank their audience and acknowledge contributors, reinforcing the community aspect of Ridiculous History.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ben Bowlin (16:32): "The Philippine army is fighting an insurgency led by communist rebels known as the Hukbalahop."
• Noel Brown (07:39): "But in other countries, that's not quite the case."
• Ben Bowlin (22:51): "A combat PSI war squad was brought into the Philippines. They planted stories among town residents of an Aswang living on the hills where the Huks were based."
• Noel Brown (32:14): "It's not right to desecrate corpses to win wars."
• Ben Bowlin (34:22): "Who are we to say?"

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Conclusion

"Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War" offers a compelling exploration of how folklore can be weaponized in psychological operations to influence and demoralize enemy forces. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown shed light on the ethically murky strategies employed by the CIA in the Philippines, raising pertinent questions about the limits of psychological warfare in the annals of history.

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Timestamps Reference

• 09:00 - Introduction to Aswang's forms
• 10:17 - Description of Aswang’s monstrous shape-shifting
• 16:32 - Historical context of Huk rebellion
• 17:45 - Evolution of Huks post-WWII
• 19:51 - Definition of psyops and Lansdale’s role
• 22:51 - Details of the Aswang Project
• 24:54 - Ethical implications of CIA tactics
• 30:46 - Decline of Huk rebellion and surrender of Louis Taruk
• 32:14 - Moral questioning of war tactics
• 33:34 - Characterization of Lansdale’s brutality
• 34:22 - Reflection on belief in myths

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Listen to "Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War" on iHeartRadio or your preferred podcast platform to uncover more about this fascinating and dark chapter of history.

Transcript

[Ben Bowlin]

Fellow ridiculous historians, welcome to this week's classic episode. Noel, we were talking off air a little bit and this is one of my favorite ones. I went through an obsessive phase with this.

[Noel Brown]

With what? The asswang.

[Ben Bowlin]

It's ass Wong.

[Noel Brown]

All right, all right.

[Ben Bowlin]

But as Aswang is if you Nasty is way funny. Yeah, Ms. Jackson, nasty.

[Noel Brown]

Look at this one as a crossover. In a way. This is the kind of stuff we talk about on our other podcast that we do with our dear, dear pal Matt Frederick. Stuff they don't want you. This is the story of how the CIA used vampires. Weaponized psychology strikes again as weapons of war. Not like they had a stable of vampires that they would like, set free on their enemies who would feast upon their blood, but just the idea of vampires. Right?

[Ben Bowlin]

The Aswang is a fascinating legendary creature monster and it's well established in the folklore of the Philippines. So as we'll see in this classic, when the CIA needed to take care of a group of communist rebels over in the Philippines, they got super weird with it. They're really thinking outside the box.

[Noel Brown]

You are absolutely right, Ben. Myth making at its finest. You know, for the purposes of control. Same as it ever was.

[Ben Bowlin]

Same as it ever was.

[Casey Pegram]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Holly Fry]

Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarky, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrars. Known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s, her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Find more crime and cocktails on Criminalia. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Casey Pegram]

A crime makes headlines. People talk about it for a few days. Then it disappears. But for the people left behind, their story is just beginning.

[Noel Brown]

But at Night, we hear the garage opening and my son hears it.

[Casey Pegram]

We freak out.

[Noel Brown]

Honestly, I didn't tell my son this.

[Casey Pegram]

But I felt that was it. From the exactly right network. This is the knife. Real stories of crime's ripple effects told by those who lived them. New episodes every Thursday. Listen to the knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dexter Thomas]

Are there any pictures of you online? Then you could already be in a massive police database without even knowing it.

[Unknown]

Clearview scrapes together images from Facebook, from LinkedIn, from Venmo accounts.

[Dexter Thomas]

I'm Dexter Thomas, host of Kill Switch, a podcast about how living in the future is affecting us right now.

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Police, they are trusting the software with this magical ability to lead them to the right suspect.

[Dexter Thomas]

In this episode, we dive into how cops are using AI and facial recognition and sometimes getting it wrong and putting innocent people behind bars.

[Unknown]

So if your accuser is this algorithm, but you're not even being told that it was used, let alone given any of the details about how it works.

[Dexter Thomas]

Listen to Kill Switch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ben Bowlin]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartrad. Welcome to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thanks for tuning in. Do you remember how earlier in a previous episode, we had said we would maybe do more ghost or monster spooky stories leading into Halloween?

[Noel Brown]

Well, yes. Yes, I do remember that, Ben. We're a little early for Halloween, but you know what? We're so chock full of monsters that we just got them spilling out of the sides. So we're gonna start early with a story about something called the Asswang.

[Ben Bowlin]

The ass.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, excuse me.

[Ben Bowlin]

You're right. No, you're right. I think either way, you are correct. We are talking about a very specific type of monster. And before we get to it, let's introduce one of our favorite monsters. Ladies and gentlemen, super producer Casey Pegram. Casey, are you okay that I referred to you as a monster? Is that. Love it. Casey on the case. So, growing up, were you into monsters, Noel?

[Noel Brown]

I mean, I'm. I'm clearly a monster myself because I'm eating Cheez. Its on this show, unacceptable behavior. Boorish. Oh, gosh, I hate myself. No, of course. I love monsters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was a little frightened of them. I thought they lived under my bed and in my closet. Sure. Do you remember that movie, the Willies?

[Ben Bowlin]

Barely. Wow, that's a deep cut.

[Noel Brown]

Deep cut. It has young Sean Astin in it and it's sort of an. Are you afraid of the dark style campfire tale movie where it's like an anthology. And there was one in particular where there was a really creepy, gangly, kind of pumpkin head looking monster with long skinny fingers who menaced the children at a middle school. And that stuck with me. Ben.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah, it's strange when you think of how profoundly some of those things can impact us as children. I was addicted to scary stories to tell in the dark Schwartz.

[Noel Brown]

Those covers alone are like nightmare fuel, pure nightmare fuel.

[Ben Bowlin]

And the guy's a legit folklorist. And one of the things I loved about it was, was that it was different from the usual fare of monstrosity that we see in the U.S. i've also wondered, I don't know how much the game's done in this, but I've also wondered and marveled at the sheer variety of goblins, ghouls, witches and monsters in other parts of the world. Like just what we would categorize as vampires. Just that category alone contains hundreds and hundreds of creatures that many people have never heard of. But in their countries of origin, these creatures are taken very, very seriously. And one of them is the Aswang.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, the Aswang is sort of a pantheon of monsters, right? It's sort of like in Japanese culture you've got the Yokai, which are just kind of a stand in for any kind of goblin or magical creature or whatever. And here's the thing. I wanted to pose this to you before we get too much further.

[Ben Bowlin]

Sure.

[Noel Brown]

We're talking about our childhood obsession and fear and you know, PTSD associated with monsters. But as a 35 year old man and. Ben, I'm not going to, I'm not going to spill your age. You're ageless. But I don't think monsters are real anymore. That is not something that keeps me up at night. It's just normal baseline anxiety that keeps me up at night. Now that's my monster. Yeah, but in other countries that's not quite the case.

[Ben Bowlin]

That's absolutely true. Hey, can I have some Cheez its? Do you have any leftover? Thanks. Can you guys tell we're recording on a Friday afternoon? Thanks, man. So, yeah, that's absolutely true. These are taken seriously. And the Aswang is just one example. You'll hear other names for it too, like the Tick Tick or the Kling Kling or the Asuwang. But I think you're right. Our fears tend to evolve with us. You know what I mean? Our monsters grow up with us. That sounds way more cryptic than I intended. And in the Philippines where the Aswang originates, they have often been taken very seriously as like a legitimate, credible physical threat to you and your loved ones.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, it's one of those things where you probably, if you grew up in the Philippines. It's tasty, isn't it, Ben? Got a good crunch. Good.

[Ben Bowlin]

I'm trying to do it off the mic.

[Noel Brown]

Good bite. Yeah, that's probably good etiquette. But, yeah, I mean, you know, if you grew up in the Philippines or you know somebody that grew up in the Philippines, chances are you've met somebody that. That whether they themselves or someone they know, or possibly their grandpa or something, or, you know, a loved one will have claimed with full belief to have either encountered one of these creatures, possibly been attacked by one of them, or even maybe know someone who met their untimely end at the hands or claws or fangs or dripping intestines. Dripping intestines, yeah. Can we go through some of those?

[Ben Bowlin]

Let's do some of these. I think we should, before we get into this. Okay. So as we mentioned, Aswang is kind of an umbrella term. And in different regions of the Philippines, you will hear different descriptions of what an Aswang actually is. And despite its different variations, it is probably the most frightening mythical creature in this type of folklore. So one thing that's always kind of the common thread is that they're shape shifters. They can somehow change shape. The big differences arrive when we ask what shapes they change into. So we mentioned that they can have long claws. Did we mention the torso thing yet?

[Noel Brown]

You alluded to it, Ben, but give us the quick and dirty.

[Ben Bowlin]

So there's the appearance of a person that's just a torso, arms and a head, and they're flying, they levitate, and their intestines drip down under them, just.

[Noel Brown]

Kind of dragging like a train, you know.

[Ben Bowlin]

And they eat unborn children and toddlers. Usually they want to eat the livers and the hearts.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. And there's even one that I think has some sort of specially adapted tongue that they can use to suck out the fetus from a pregnant woman.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah, like a. Like a very evil mosquito. Exactly, yes. So they're sometimes described as very, very thin. They're always described as kind of fast. And some of them make different noises. Right, that's gonna be important later.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, that's right. There's some that look like pigs who make obviously pig type noises. Snorting and, you know, grinding their teeth. And they're also quite large. Then they're also like werewolf type Aswang that are, you know, about like, you would Think some of them look more like a regular dog. Some of them look like maybe like a hyena or a jackal of something like that or some kind of. Any kind of, like, w. Kind of rabid beast. But then you have the scariest of all that there's a great connection between this and the way we look at these kind of creatures. Vampires. You've got the ones that look mainly like you or I, but they are.

[Ben Bowlin]

Still out for blood, livers, and hearts. Right, because they can shift into a human form and then shift, I guess, into their more monstrous form, as legend would have it. As legend would have it. Yes. Very important, very important. They also have these weird. These techniques that are so fascinating. For instance, if you read on mythology.net, just a quick overview of Aswang there, It's apparently common for Aswang to turn plants into doppelgangers of their victims to hide evidence of their hunting from locals.

[Noel Brown]

That's pretty cool, Ben.

[Ben Bowlin]

I mean, that's a pretty. I mean, it's a dark power, but it's pretty neat power. Right? And so they do it in two ways. They might make a doppelganger of a corpse so it looks like the person died without an Aswang attack, or they might make a doppelganger of a living person. When they make one of a living person a living victim, then the doppelganger goes to that person's home, they fall ill, and they die. Why are we telling you all of this? Well, we're telling you this because this story comes into play in a very strange and ingenious way shortly after World War II.

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal. Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge to fool everyone, most of all his wife, Caroline.

[Casey Pegram]

He texted, I've ruined our lives. You're going to want to divorce me.

[Andrea Gunning]

Caroline's husband was living another life behind the scenes. He betrayed his oath to his family and to his community.

[Dexter Thomas]

She said you left bruises, pulled her.

[Noel Brown]

Hair, that type of thing.

[Unknown]

No.

[Andrea Gunning]

How far would Joel go to cover up what he'd done?

[Unknown]

You're unable to keep track of all your lies, and quite frankly, I question how many other women may bring forward allegations in the future.

[Andrea Gunning]

This season of Betrayal investigates one officer's decades of deception, lies that left those closest to him questioning everything they thought they knew. Listen to betrayal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarchi, hosts of Criminalia as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrers, known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Hear the story of the Gentleman Robber, the romantic darling of the ladies, and a tale about a wager over a sack of potatoes. But you'll have to tune in to learn who won that one. Some highwaymen were well mannered or faked it. People were concerned about the romanticism of robbers, but most were just thugs. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Call them robbers or bandits. Some are legendary figures. Listen to stories about historical crimes on Criminalia now. Plus the cocktails and mocktails inspired by each. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Bush]

What happens when we come face to face with death?

[Jake Hanrahan]

My truck was blown up by a.

[Ben Bowlin]

20 pound anti tank mine. My parachute did not deploy. I was kidnapped by by Drew Curtil.

[Noel Brown]

I just remember everything getting dark. I'm dying.

[Dan Bush]

When we step beyond the edge of.

[Ben Bowlin]

What we know to open our consciousness to something more than just what's in.

[Noel Brown]

That western box and we turn I clinically died. The heart stopped beating, which I was.

[Ben Bowlin]

Dead for 11.5 minutes.

[Dan Bush]

My name is Dan Bush. My mission is simple to find, explore and share these stories.

[Noel Brown]

I'm not a victim. I'm a survivor.

[Ben Bowlin]

You're strongest when you're the most vulnerable.

[Dan Bush]

To remind us what it means to be alive. Not just that I was the guy.

[Ben Bowlin]

That cut his arm off, but I'm.

[Dan Bush]

The guy who is smiling when he cut his arm off. Alive Again, a podcast about the fragility of life, the strength of the human spirit, and what it means to truly live. Listen to Alive again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Jake Hanrahan]

I'm Jake Hanrahan, journalist and documentary filmmaker. Away Days is my new project reporting on countercultures on the fringes of soc all across the world. Live from the underground you'll discover no rules fighting, Japanese street racing, Brazilian favela life, and much more. All real, completely uncensored. This is unique access with straightforward on the ground reporting. We're taking you deep into the dirt without the usual airs and graces of legacy media. A way that showcases what the mainstream media cannot access. Real underground reporting with real people. No excuses. For the past decade I've been going to places I shouldn't be, meeting people I shouldn't know. Now you can come along too. Listen to the Away Days podcast, reporting from the underbelly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ben Bowlin]

The Philippine army is fighting an insurgency led by communist rebels known as the Hukbalahop. And pardon my pronunciation, I am not a Tagalog speaker.

[Noel Brown]

Well, you're not going to try the, the alternate pronunciation for when they sort of shifted their, their purposes. That one's even harder. It's got like an NG on its own there. How do you pronounce that? NG on its own? Mm.

[Ben Bowlin]

So this, this army is having the age old series of problems that organized armies have when they run into guerrilla forces. Right. They're, they're fighting an enemy that is often invisible, able to blend in with the local non fighting population. You know what I mean? And they're like, how do we, how do we combat this? We need a method of our own. We need something we could do that will squash this rebellion. And it may need to be an unconventional method because this also just for the background here, these guys who are also called Hucks. H u k, they're fighting against the status quo. The wealthy Filipinos who had collaborated with Japanese invaders.

[Noel Brown]

Right. Because originally they were part of the team. Right. During the, during World War II when the Philippines were leagued up with the US fighting against the Japanese, this group was, was fighting the good fight. Right, right. And then after the end of the war, they started, they kind of became installed as the de facto militia or military of the communist government.

[Ben Bowlin]

Right, right, right. Because it's, you can see how they feel very shortchanged in this, at this position because the collaborators with the Japanese have grabbed a ton of land afterwards and they own a bunch of resources. And the inequality of the country, which was already very extreme, is just going to continue as though nothing has changed. So of course they want a rebellion, of course they want a different government.

[Noel Brown]

And just to try my hand at butchering your pronunciation, they did change the name after this switcheroo happened to Huckbo Ngbayan Laban Sahapan.

[Ben Bowlin]

That was pretty good.

[Noel Brown]

Also known as the Anti Japanese Army.

[Ben Bowlin]

That was pretty good, man. I thought that was pretty good.

[Noel Brown]

But not only were they against the Japanese army, they ultimately ended up becoming against the Filipino government because they believed that the president, Manuel Roxas, was a sympathizer with or a collaborator, I guess, with what the Japanese. I'm confused about that.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah. That he was collaborating with them to enrich himself and then also you know, is capitalism. So that's obviously not going to fly with these guys. But there's another. Another player enters the game.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, the big one, because, lest we forget, the US Is involved and has an interest here, and they want to get those. Those huckbos literally running for the hills. So enter Air Force Brigadier General Edward G. I read this originally, and I thought it said landslide, which would have been an awesome last name for a general, but unfortunately, it is Lansdale, and he is a huge proponent of. Of a little something called psyops. Ben, bless us with your military history acumen. What's psyops?

[Ben Bowlin]

Like, everybody knows psychological operations, also known as psychological warfare. This includes everything from propaganda given to soldiers over the radio to things like ghost armies that we have mentioned before.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Like in Vietnam, the US Military used the sounds, recorded sounds of, like, wailing, damned ancestors of the Vietnam. And it works. So I would say psyops is sort of the art of freaking out your enemy.

[Ben Bowlin]

Right, Yeah. I think that's a good way to describe. It's intimidation. And Lansdale is very, very familiar with this. There's a great book by an author named Max Boot called the Road Not Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam, which touches on some of Lansdale's activities. Lansdale is no stranger to psyops. He's a huge fan of psychological warfare, and he has chops. He has some things on his resume that are unethical but impressive. He orchestrates a campaign in Vietnam that makes nearly a million refugees flee the country because he hired a soothsayer to predict good fortune for South Vietnam and bad luck for the North.

[Noel Brown]

Wow. Okay.

[Ben Bowlin]

So not firing a shot, just getting into people's heads.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, yeah. You know what it reminds me of? There's an episode of Monty Python where it's like, the most dangerous joke in the world, and they use it against their enemies. And only. Every major commander can only hold, like, one word of the joke at a time, because if they themselves read it in one go, they would be stricken mad or whatever. So they hold it up for the enemy to see. You see, it takes some kind of a minute to recognize what it is, and then they all just laugh themselves to death. You know, obviously, kind of a silly satirical version, but sort of describing this phenomenon that we're talking about here, using people's thoughts and attitudes and preconceived ideas against them.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yes. And we have a quote from. From Lansdale himself at something called the Aswang Project.com Sci War in the Philippines. Aswang and the CIA. So this is before his Vietnam stuff, by the way. So Lansdale says a combat PSI war squad was brought in to the Philippines. It planted stories among town residents of an Aswang living on the hills where the Huks were based. So they spread these rumors. And then two nights later, after giving the stories time to sort of percolate up to the Huks, the ambushers silently snatched the last man of a patrol, and they killed him. They punctured his neck with two holes as if a vampire bit him, and they hung his body up by the heels to exsanguinate him, to drain him of all blood. And then they took the corpse and they dragged it back to the trail where the guy would have disappeared, and they just plopped his body out there. So what happened next?

[Noel Brown]

Well, they, like, littered these corpses, you know, all around the area. And it did not go over well with the invading forces. Right. Or the, you know, attempting to overthrow forces.

[Ben Bowlin]

Right, right. The communist rebel groups, they returned. They were trying to look for their comrade. And can you imagine how frightening that is? Like, that's the thing. It may sound silly for people to be frightened of a mythological monster, Right. But imagine you work with someone. Like, think of all your coworkers. You work with someone, you go out to a party with them, they disappear, you come back the next day, and you find them with bite marks and no blood. That's frightening. I might fall for that. I don't know. What do you think?

[Noel Brown]

No, I mean, you know, tensions are already running high in this, you know, in this situation. This, like, guerrilla warfare. Yeah. Here's the. Here's the kicker, though. This was psyops on the surface. But psyops typically doesn't involve war crimes because you're not supposed to. You know, they're capturing these people, and then they're basically torturing and murdering them.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

You know, they're. They're not, like, putting them in POW camps. They are using them, using their flesh and blood as some kind of crazy horror show to freak out their comrades.

[Ben Bowlin]

And that brings us to an interesting question here, because, you know, this event is not something that happened across the Philippines for, you know, years and years. It was this single operation. But they may not have been actually scared of nassuang at all. They may have just been scared of getting kidnapped and used as, you know, psychological torture for their compatriots. And a Huck squadron at this time was about 100 to 300 soldiers. And we don't know whether they were actually scared of a fictional creature. Or whether they were scared of the very real and very ruthless, as you mentioned. CIA, right?

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. He had another trick that he liked to use Lansdale called the Eye of God. And this is much similar to the ghost tape kind of stuff we will hear about in Vietnam where they basically. I don't know if they used a spooky voice over the loudspeakers, but they were like calling out the names of prominent Huk, you know, commanders and threatening them with certain death. And I mean, can't you picture it being kind of Scooby Doo'd out like that?

[Ben Bowlin]

Oh, get to the best part, though.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So adding insult to injury, they would also creep into their camp and paint these spooky eyes on the tent or wherever the people were sleeping. The house, I guess they had little huts. This is like they were in their villages.

[Ben Bowlin]

I guess for some reason that seems even creepier to me. Even creepier than hearing a weird noise, waking up, and finding this non consensual artwork, you know what I mean?

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal. Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge to fool everyone, most of all his wife Caroline.

[Casey Pegram]

He texted, I've ruined our lives.

[T-Mobile Ad]

You're going to want to divorce me.

[Andrea Gunning]

Caroline's husband was living another life behind the scenes. He betrayed his oath to his family and to his community.

[Dexter Thomas]

She said you left bruises, pulled her.

[Noel Brown]

Hair, that type of thing. No.

[Andrea Gunning]

How far would Joel go to cover up what he'd done?

[Unknown]

You're unable to keep track of all your lies, and quite frankly, I question how many other women may bring forward allegations in the future.

[Andrea Gunning]

This season of Betrayal investigates one officer's decades of deception. Lies that left those closest to him questioning everything they thought they knew. Listen to betrayal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarchi, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the highwayman suggests men dominated the field. But tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrers, known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s, her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Hear the story of the gentleman robber, the romantic darling of the ladies, and a tale about a wager over a sack of potatoes. But you'll have to tune in to learn who won that one. Some highwaymen were well mannered or faked it. People were concerned about the romanticism of robbers, but most were just thugs. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Call them robbers or bandits, some are legendary figures. Listen to stories about historical crimes on Criminalia now. Plus the cocktails and mocktails inspired by each. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Bush]

What happens when we come face to face with death?

[Jake Hanrahan]

My truck was blown up by a.

[Ben Bowlin]

20 pound anti tank mine. My parachute did not deploy. I was kidnapped by a drug cartel.

[Casey Pegram]

I just remember everything getting dark.

[Noel Brown]

I'm dying.

[Dan Bush]

When we step beyond the edge of.

[Ben Bowlin]

What we know to open our consciousness to something more than just what's in that western box.

[Noel Brown]

In return, I clinically died. The heart stopped beating, which I was.

[Ben Bowlin]

Dead for 11.5 minutes.

[Dan Bush]

My name is Dan Bush. My mission is simple to find, explore and share these stories.

[Noel Brown]

I'm not a victim. I'm a survivor.

[Ben Bowlin]

You're strongest when you're the most vulnerable.

[Dan Bush]

To remind us what it means to be alive. Not just that I was the guy.

[Ben Bowlin]

That cut his arm off, but I'm.

[Dan Bush]

The guy who is smiling when he cut his arm off. Alive Again, a podcast about the fragility of life, the strength of the human spirit, and what it means to truly live. Listen to Alive again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Jake Hanrahan]

I'm Jake Hanrahan, journalist and documentary filmmaker. Away Days is my new project reporting on countercultures on the fringes of soc all across the world. Live from the underground, you'll discover no rules fighting, Japanese street racing, Brazilian favela life, and much more. All real, completely uncensored. This is unique access with straightforward on the ground reporting. We're taking you deep into the dirt without the usual airs and graces of legacy media, a way that showcases what the mainstream media cannot access. Real underground reporting with real people. No excuses. For the past decade, I've been going to places I shouldn't be, meeting people I shouldn't know. Now you can come along too. Listen to the Away Days podcast, reporting from the underbelly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noel Brown]

This didn't like, you know, clear the Hux out overnight or anything. I mean, it took about four years before Louis Taruk, who had been the leader of this organization for quite some time, actually surrendered and accepted a prison sentence. So, you know, I mean, it's really interesting to read about this stuff and it's certainly a fascinating type of warfare. That author you mentioned earlier, Max Boot, the historian, says that this tactic was actually considered a war crime because they were killing these Filipino soldiers deliberately instead of, you know, capturing them as enemy combatants. And then, of course, they were mutilating their corpses, too. So not. Not a good look, but I guess effective. I don't know. What do you think, Ben?

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah, I mean, definitely not a good look, but certainly effective. And the CIA, so we clarify here, the CIA is telling the Filipino soldiers in the army to attack the Communist rebels and use these tactics. And they do work. I mean, by the 50s, I think, as we mentioned, the Huks are in serious decline. And Lansdale will go on to do more of this sort of stuff, especially in Vietnam. As we mentioned before, the type of techniques he applied were also sometimes called black combat. He also did another psyop. We should mention he would have different messages broadcast. Noel, you had mentioned earlier the messages warning rebel leaders and so on, but they would also fly planes very low overhead and broadcast messages to make the rebels believe spies were in their midst and they couldn't trust one another. So eventually, 1954, the rebels surrender. And there's no argument about it, these tactics were very useful to Lansdale and to the army of the Philippines. The question that we have to ask ourselves is at what price? Victory? You know what I mean? It's not right to desecrate corpses.

[Noel Brown]

No, no, it's definitely not. And, you know, I think our boy Lansdale would go on to use slightly less brutal techniques later in his career, but I guess this was just kind of a different time.

[Ben Bowlin]

He's also. For anybody who wants a little bit of a lost treasure story, he also shows up in the old legend of Yamashita's gold, which is this hoard of treasure that was stolen by the Japanese forces during World War II and hidden somewhere in the Philippines. And according to the story, it's still there, and you can go search for it yourself, as many other treasure hunters have tried over the past few decades. We should mention the existence of this treasure is largely not taken seriously by a lot of experts. But of course, who doesn't want to find it? You can read more about that by checking out work of the author, Sterling Seagrave, who claims the gold was secretly seized by the US Government after the location was discovered by interrogating and torturing Yamashita's driver, a Major Kojima Kashi. And then here's where Lansdale comes in. Apparently, he supervised the torture fun. Allegedly.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Okay. Well, he's a hardened mofo, that's for sure. I mean, if he's Hanging up dudes by their toes and stabbing them in the side of the neck and draining their blood for the purposes of spooking some enemy combatants, then this guy could probably do just about anything.

[Ben Bowlin]

How many, I guess, folkloric beliefs or mythological monsters do you think people honestly believe in in 2018? Because I've hear heard in Iceland that people still believe in fairies or gnomes.

[Noel Brown]

Sure. Trolls, maybe.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah, Maybe trolls.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah.

[Ben Bowlin]

I don't know.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know, man. I want to believe.

[Ben Bowlin]

You're very mulder about that.

[Noel Brown]

Huh? Yeah. No, I'm just moldy and sad and beaten down by life, Ben. But no, man, I don't know. Who are we to say?

[Ben Bowlin]

Who are we to say? That's a good question. And you know what that makes me think of, you know, the people who are to say, Boy, that was awkward. Let's do some listener mail.

[Noel Brown]

Let's do it. Well, Dominic Allen has this to say. Hello, gents. Just listened to your episode on the naming of California and you asked us to tell you if we ever have seen a griffin. I have seen part of one. What? Or rather, own part of one. Maybe this ties in beautifully with today's episode, too. He's asked a question. What mythological creatures do you believe in? Dominic says he owns one. I shouldn't dilly dally and explain myself. In the 1300s, there was a man called John Mandeville, or was there, who wrote a book called the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Or did he? In this travel book, he visits Asia and talks about the weird and wonderful people and creatures that live there, one of them being a griffin. This is also one of the more boring creatures he talks about. He states that griffins are from a country called Beccaria and had talons so long. This is a quote here, quote. So long and so large on great upon his feet, as though they were horns of great oxen, or of bugles, or of kine, so that men make cups of them to drink of. So what I meant was I have a drinking horn which is made from the supposed claw of a griffin that I interjected with that supposed. At least that's what I tell people. I'm part of a 14th century living history group in England and it is a great conversation piece as drinking horns weren't as popular in that time. But a griffin claw is a fascinating thing. The Travels of Sir John Manville could be a good podcast topic. I agree the people in the book are pretty ridiculous. Thanks for the podcast. Look forward to more as they come. Always be Ridiculous.

[Ben Bowlin]

Not gonna be a problem, Dominic.

[Noel Brown]

No, no. We literally are contractually obligated to keep doing this show.

[Ben Bowlin]

Like, we get in trouble if we don't.

[Noel Brown]

Yep.

[Ben Bowlin]

But also, that's so amazing. This really inspires me to ask more questions on the show, Dominic. Thank you for. Also bonus points if you can send us a picture, man.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, yeah, we'd love that.

[Ben Bowlin]

And I assume that you're not doing the 14th century Living history thing all the time just because you did send us an email. This arrived via email, not via pigeon or parchment. Or pigeon carrying parchment. But that's awesome. I would love to see a picture of this drinking horn. And I'm completely on board with the travels of Sir Mandeville, our next listener mail is one that I think both of us are really gonna dig. It is from Darren T and it's titled Hangus the Monkey. Hi, says Darren. I listened from the start, but it's my first time writing. I've just heard your recent podcast on the Hartlepool Monkey. I live in Thornaby on t's 10 miles up the road from Hartlepool. Hartlepool, he notes, is Teesside, not Tyneside. And he goes on to say, I was taught about this as a lesson on propaganda and racism in primary school, showing how people with nothing to go on but propaganda about how all Frenchmen are short, wild and hairy can lead to this stuff. Whether this is a true story or not, it works as a great teaching tool. Although I personally don't believe it is true. I think it was just an excuse for a mocking nickname for people from the area. Here's the part you'll like. Noel like Macams, which are people from Sunderland, and Smoggies, which are people from Middlesbrough. But it's a bit of fun. Thanks for the hours of entertainment, Darren. P.S. you pronounced all the Tyneside towns and cities correctly. Thank you. Casey, can we get a Hallelujah clip? Perfect. So I gotta say, Darren, thank you for writing. I am loving these very specific, derogatory nicknames. Macams, Smoggies. Does every town in England have one of these? We don't have anything like that for Atlanta. I guess people just say redneck, right?

[Noel Brown]

This is true.

[Ben Bowlin]

Well, maybe if you're listening, you can suggest a cool mocking nickname for people from Atlanta.

[Noel Brown]

I will say this about that episode. I do think we kind of glossed over the fact that this was an interesting teachable moment about racism and othering and this idea that this might monkey supposedly was, you know, immediately identified as being a Frenchman and that was how Frenchmen were depicted in these political cartoons of the time. So, you know, I think there's something to be said about that. And I don't know if we mentioned this in the episode either, but there is actually a play about the Hartlepool monkey.

[Ben Bowlin]

I thought we did.

[Noel Brown]

I think we did. But if we didn't describe it, it's so cool to look at because it's this really amazing puppetry. I don't know if you're familiar with the play War Horse that's got this amazing, like multi layered puppetry sculpture kind of stuff. And that's what the harlemonkey play is about. And it does kind of take a little liberty and talk more about that, like the way we treat immigrants and things like that. So there's kind of a twofold story there.

[Ben Bowlin]

And thank you again to Dominic and Darren for writing in. Thank you fellow ridiculous historians, for giving us a listen today. While we're thanking people, let's go ahead and thank our super producer, Casey Pegram.

[Noel Brown]

Thanks also to our research associate, Yves Jeffskode, who helped us out with this one. And also Christopher Haciotes, who continues to be a mensch and we love him dearly. And I think we might actually have him on. We might have him on for an.

[Ben Bowlin]

Episode one day soon. He's coming back.

[Noel Brown]

It's due overdue. Thanks to Alex Williams, who composed our.

[Ben Bowlin]

Theme, and thanks to Jonathan Strickland, AKA the Quizzter, for not showing up on this episode.

[Noel Brown]

I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of him.

[Ben Bowlin]

I hear that laugh in the distance and I don't think it's Kayce piping it through the headphones.

[Noel Brown]

It haunts me at night, man.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yes, and speaking of haunting, we want to hear some of your favorite ridiculous historical events involving the supernatural or allegations thereof. You can tell us about these on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And we'd particularly like to give a shout out to our ridiculous historians Facebook page. It's one of the classiest joints on the Internet.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, and one last little plug. Ben and I recently appeared on a three part episode of behind the Bastards, which is a really, really amazing show out of our LA Wing, hosted by Robert Evans, who is just a crackerjack writer and researcher and he was kind enough, sadistic enough to have you and I on for a four hour podcast marathon about the infamous Alex Jones.

[Ben Bowlin]

Yeah, it's a great listen. Robert's a great guy. It is not for children. No, there is strong language if you.

[Noel Brown]

Want to hear me and Ben F' ing and Jeffin, that's the place to do it.

[Ben Bowlin]

And mature themes, but that was a good shot. Yeah. And follow behind the Basterds if you like us, you're gonna really dig that show.

[Noel Brown]

It's true. All three parts of that trifecta are out now.

[Ben Bowlin]

It's a lot. It's a real commitment. It's a road trip, but yeah, that's it, man. Let's try to continue our habit of not desecrating corpses to win wars.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Not digging up pope corpses to make points. I don't know. All right, well, happy Halloween, y' all. Yeah, it's Halloween all year.

[Ben Bowlin]

Send us. Jeez, its.

[Noel Brown]

For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Holly Fry]

Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarke, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrers. Known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s, her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Find more crime and cocktails on Criminalia. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Casey Pegram]

A crime makes headlines. People talk about it for a few days, then it disappears. But for the people left behind, their story is just beginning.

[Noel Brown]

But at night, we hear the garage.

[Casey Pegram]

Opening and my son hears it, we freak out.

[Noel Brown]

Honestly, I didn't tell my son this, but I felt that was it.

[Casey Pegram]

From the exactly right network. This is the Knife. Real stories of crimes, ripples, effects told by those who lived them. New episodes every Thursday. Listen to the knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dexter Thomas]

Are there any pictures of you online? Then you could already be in a massive police database without even knowing it.

[Unknown]

Clearview scrapes together images from Facebook, from LinkedIn, from Venmo accounts.

[Dexter Thomas]

I'm Dexter Thomas, host of Kill Switch, a podcast about how living in the future is affecting us right now.

[Unknown]

Police, they are trusting the software with this magical ability to lead them to the right suspect.

[Dexter Thomas]

In this episode, we dive into how cops are using AI and facial recognition and sometimes getting it wrong and putting innocent people behind bars.

[Unknown]

So if your accuser is this algorithm, but you're not even being told that it was used, let alone given any of the details about how it works.

[Dexter Thomas]

Listen to Kill Switch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Casey Pegram]

We love learning about this extraordinary universe.

[Noel Brown]

And we love sharing what we've learned.

[Casey Pegram]

And on our podcast, Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe, that's what we're gonna do.

[Noel Brown]

I'm Daniel. I'm a particle physicist, and I think our universe is absolutely extraordinary.

[Casey Pegram]

I'm Kelly Wienersmith. I study parasites, and there's just endless things about this universe that I find fascinating.

[Jake Hanrahan]

Basically.

[Noel Brown]

Basically, we're both nerds.

[Casey Pegram]

Each Tuesday and Thursday, we take an hour long dive into some science topic.

[Noel Brown]

Learn all about our amazing and beautiful universe on Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe every Tuesday and Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Casey Pegram]

This is an iHeart podcast.