Why does Manila Bay glow at night?
This week’s Cozy Kwento revisits The Silver Shower, an old tale that turns shimmering water, evening concerts, and city strolls into a story of divine protection and cosmic payback.
From John Maurice Miller’s 1904 Philippine Folklore Stories, this Tagalog myth makes the bay feel a little more alive.
✨ For fans of Philippine folklore and urban legends with roots.
Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
Follow @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod for folklore extras and upcoming story teasers.
Source: Philippine Folklore Stories by John Maurice Miller (1904) — Public domain
Why do green plants keep floating through Laguna de Bay and the Pasig River? This week’s Cozy Kwento revisits a Luzon folktale with an answer: Mangita and Larina, a story about sisters, jealousy, and consequences that refuse to sink.
From John Maurice Miller’s 1904 Philippine Folklore Stories, this is a classic “be careful what kind of person you are” legend, with plants involved.
✨ For fans of Philippine folklore and mythic origin stories.
Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
Follow @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod for folklore extras and upcoming story teasers.
Source: Philippine Folklore Stories by John Maurice Miller (1904) — Public domain
Welcome back to Cozy Kwento, where we share Filipino folktales cozily, the way stories sound when told under warm candlelight, even when the tales themselves wander into shadow.
In Episode 7: “Quicoy and the Ongloc,” we explore a classic Visayan legend from John Maurice Miller’s Philippine Folklore Stories (1904), a story once used to keep children indoors after sunset.
It begins with a small accident. A mom who has had it up to HERE. And a name spoken into the night: Ongloc, a creature children feared long before the word “monster” found its way into our stories.
What follows is a tale about caution, daring, and the strange things that can happen in a coconut grove at dusk.
⚠️ This one leans a little spooky, grown-ups, make sure you listen together with the smaller kids.
Settle in, keep the lights low, and listen for the wind between the palms.
Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
Follow @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod for folklore extras and upcoming story teasers.
Source: Philippine Folklore Stories by John Maurice Miller (1904) — Public domain
Episode 6: The Tobacco of Harisaboqued
This week on Cozy Kwento, we climb the smoky slopes of Mount Canlaon to meet Harisaboqued, the King of the Mountain, a spirit whose kindness kept the tobacco fields thriving until the people forgot their promise.
A Visayan legend from John Maurice Miller’s 1904 “Philippine Folklore Stories,” about greed, patience, and a volcano that still remembers.
For fans of Philippine folklore & cozy cautionary tales. #CozyKwento #PhilippineFolklore
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Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
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Source: Philippine Folklore Stories by John Maurice Miller (Boston, U.S.A., 1904) www.gutenberg.org
Welcome to Cozy Kwento, where we tell Filipino folklore stories that linger like the whisper of leaves at night.
In Episode 5: “The Conjure Man of Siargao,” a foreigner living on the island wakes to a strange sight — a solemn old monkey sitting quietly at the foot of his bed.
It’s a gift from a mysterious conjure man, an old hermit who lives deep in the mountains and commands the loyalty of the island’s apes.
But the peace of the forest doesn’t last. When greed and violence arrive from the outside world, the conjure man’s retribution is silent, swift, and absolute.
A story of island magic, empathy, and justice, this tale from Sargent Kayme’s 1901 “Anting-Anting Stories” reminds us that the forest remembers — and it protects its own.
Light your candles, listen close, and step into a Siargao very few remember.
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Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
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Sources:
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anting-Anting Stories, by Sargent Kayme at www.gutenberg.org
Episode 4: Gawigawen of the Adasen
Welcome to Cozy Kwento, where we tell Filipino folktales slowly and softly — as if by lamplight, while the rain hums on the roof.
In Episode 4: “The Oranges of Gawigawen,” the Sun sets off on an impossible errand to satisfy his wife’s craving — for the sweetest oranges in all the worlds. Only problem? Those oranges belong to Gawigawen of the Adasen — a six-headed giant with a kingdom surrounded by lightning, talking dogs, and walls that reach the sky.
This story has everything:
⚡️ Grumpy weather gods giving travel warnings.
🕷 A helpful spider who spins ladders to heaven.
🐶 Dogs who bite first, ask questions later.
🍊 And a reminder that love can make us do some truly unwise, but unforgettable, things.
Light your favorite candle, pour some tea, and settle in for an old Cordillera tale about love, pride, and biting off more than you can chew.
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Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
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Source: Philippine Folk Tales by Mabel Cook Cole (1916), Project Gutenberg
Episode 3: Aponibolinayen and the Sun
In Episode 3 of Cozy Kwento, we read from Mabel Cook Cole’s 1916 “Philippine Folk Tales” — a Tinguian (Itneg) story about a woman who’s carried up to the sky, meets the sun, and brings a bit of magic back to earth.
It’s dreamy, strange, and very old-Luzon.
✨ For fans of Philippine folklore, Cordillera tales, skyworld stories, and cozy myth podcasts. #CozyKwento #PhilippineMythology #PinoyFolklore
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Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
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Sources:
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Philippine Folklore by Mabel Cook Cole at www.gutenberg.org
In this eerie island tale from Sargent Kayme’s Anting-Anting Stories, we find ourselves off the cliffs of Coron, Palawan, where the sea meets a hidden cave and a test of endurance begins.
A haunting story of survival, mystery, and the strange mercy of fate.
✨ For fans of Philippine folklore, island legends, and cozy storytelling with a dark twist. #CozyKwento #PhilippineMythology #PinoyFolklore
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Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
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Sources:
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anting-Anting Stories, by Sargent Kayme at www.gutenberg.org
Welcome to Cozy Kwento, a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy Podcast.
In our first cozy tale, “The Anting-Anting of Captain Von Tollig,” we revisit the mystical world of Filipino talismans — objects said to grant courage, luck, or even immortality. Set in the early 1900s Philippines, this story blurs the line between faith, magic, and fate. ✨ For fans of Philippine mythology, folklore, and the mysteries of belief. #PinoyMythology #AntingAnting #CozyKwento
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Cozy Kwento is a storytelling spinoff of The Gods Must Be Crazy, a podcast on Philippine Mythology. Follow us over at @cozy_kwento_podcast and @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram for more good stuff, and possibly answer some burning questions after this episode such as: What does a manananggal look like? How do you cook adobo? We also welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.
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Sources:
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anting-Anting Stories, by Sargent Kayme at www.gutenberg.org