A towering figure with the head of a horse, the body of a man, and legs so long that when it crouches, its knees rise above its head. Its feet face backward, so its tracks lead trackers the wrong way.
The tikbalang is a trickster, not a killer. Its signature phenomenon is the looping trail: travelers in its territory walk for hours and return to the same landmark, regardless of compass or GPS. The documented countermeasure — recorded consistently for four centuries — is to turn your shirt inside out and wear it, and to ask the forest, politely and out loud, for permission to pass.
Sudden rain from a clear sunlit sky is said to mean a tikbalang is being wed. It can be tamed, according to tradition, by obtaining one of the three golden hairs in its mane — the archive does not recommend attempting this.