[7] Though at the same time the term does not differ at all from the archaic Spanish sense of the word as referring to a supernatural apparition, sometimes tied to a place.

[5] Other variants exhibit sexual dimorphism such as Bagobo spirits which are separated into the female tahamaling and the male mahomanay.

[5] An engkanto may choose to stay by a human's side as told by stories where characters are usually in either a sense of trance or a deep loss of energy.

Those the Engkanto do not favor had become depressed, suffered from madness, or even disappeared for days or months, possibly as a result of the human possession.

This, however, is said to be avoidable by bringing an "Anting-anting" or "Agimat" a piece of magical charm or amulet that wards away evil spirits and prevents them from harming the wielder.

Shaman often try to commune with Engkanto on holy days to obtain better healing powers from them, as well as learning how to better deal with evil spirits.

[4] Francisco Demetrio made a study of 87 folk stories from Visayas and Mindanao relating to Engkanto.