Sleepless in Capiz

I've traveled so much in the past year that I've gotten used to sleeping in different places without having to adjust (in short, di na ako namamahay). I've also learned to ignore little creaks, the weird sounds, the sudden whoosh of cold air and dark corners in hotel rooms. I have to because I have to keep my sanity and it's part of my job to travel sometimes.

Since the last time I posted about hotel ghosts, I've been to many more hotels and the one that freaked me out the most was this inn (not even a hotel!) in Capiz last August.

I traveled to Capiz by land from Iloilo. It was a 2-hour trip and I missed breakfast and lunch and was very hungry when we arrived at the inn. It started to rain when we arrived, so we had to dash inside to avoid getting wet. My companion from a foundation I've been working with took care of getting the rooms and I stayed with our stuff while things were being arranged. When the rooms were ready, I just dropped my stuff in and immediately when downstairs to grab a bite.

I hadn't had any sleep the night before because I bungled my flight reservations and had to be at the airport by 3 a.m. to pay for penalties. (When you're booking too many flights this sometimes happens!). So, after eating lunch I headed up to my room.

I left the lights and the aircon on because I knew I wanted to take a nap immediately after eating. I got chills up my spine when I surveyed the room and the bathroom. It wasn't a big room. It had walls in mint green, a small white closet, a bench, a dresser with mirror and a really small bed. When I opened the bathroom door I shivered coz a slight wind passed and I just dismissed it. After seeing the room I went out and asked the front desk if they were sure there weren't any "ghosts" in the inn. The guy said there weren't any.

It was unusually cold in the room. The temperature was different, so I adjusted the temperature, but it still felt the same. I just chalked it up to being tired and put my shawl on the bed (for familiar smells) and took a nap. I woke up about 2 hours later, but did not feel rested. I stood up and checked my mail and did some online chores. After awhile I got ready for dinner and left.

I bugged Dino all throughout dinner about how I felt about the hotel. He said he didn't feel anything and everything was just normal. I delayed going back to my room, but Dino had to do some work and prepare stuff for the training the next day.

I dreaded taking a shower and dilly-dallied by chatting with some friends online. At some point though I knew I had to take a shower already (I cannot not shower before sleeping!), but I still kept on chatting with a friend in Davao. And then I heard the faucet being turned on and then the sound of water flowing from it. I sat up straight and froze. I told myself if wasn't a ghost or anything, so I stood up and opened the bathroom door. The faucets were not turned on. I chided myself about having an over-active imagination and just dismissed the sound and thought that it may have come from the next room or something. So, I turned on the TV and continued chatting with my friend. Then it happened again.

I knew I had to go shower soon, before midnight, so I told my friend to keep my company by just staying online. Kunwari andiyan ka lang ha, dito kunwari sa room. It's probably one of the quickest showers I've taken in my life. When I got out, I just stood there transfixed on a spot near my bed. There wasn't anything there, but I just felt like there was something there. After dressing up, I buzzed my friend to let him know I was okay and that I was going to get some sleep. It was already midnight.

I kept the TV, the lights and my laptop turned on. It took me a long time to fall asleep and couldn't stop thinking that there was something in the closet and something by the bedside table. I fidgeted and kept tossing and turning until I drifted off to sleep. And then I woke up with a start. It felt like I dropped out of nowhere and landed on the bed. The first thing I noticed was the TV was not turned on anymore and it was exactly 3 a.m.

When the sun was up, I immediately checked out and just waited for Dino at the reception area.

The Little Red Creatures

I believe it was All Saint’s Day when I first had a close encounter with the “Little Red Creatures” at my Grand Parents’ house…the place where I live now.
The rest of the family was busy downstairs…some are cooking while my Uncles were busy drinking and everyone’s having a great time.

I got kinda bored and so I wandered off by myself…I was always like that.

While I was walking around I heard a noise that was coming from the house upstairs…it sounded as though there were kids playing and running around. And so out of curiosity I decided to check it out. The house is supposed to be deserted since everyone is downstairs with me…specially all the kids in the family were actually visible from where I was standing that is why it made me even more curious about the noise. Who could they be?!

I ran upstairs and tried to reach the door knob…turned it…as I’ve expected it is locked. I was about to leave when I saw little children wearing red clothes ran out of my Grand Parents’ room…I took a peek at the window near their room & saw more children in red…

They were all having fun, running around and laughing and shouting…they were playing.

While I was trying to figure out who they were and how they got into the house in the first place…one of them turned and looked at my direction…it wasn’t clear to me if it’s a boy or a girl but one thing’s for sure…they weren’t kids at all. They were small creatures in red…like a dwarf maybe?! I wasn’t so sure.

But they were definitely not human…

Few years later…the next door neighbor got curious because of the loud noise that was coming from our house…she took a peek inside and to her shock she saw “little creatures in red” running around & playing.

Weird thing is…she knew that there is no one inside our house because we all went out of town for the holidays.

Wonder who or what could they be?!

Pang-Gabi

Naranasan mo na bang magtrabaho sa opisina habang gabi?

Ako, oo.

Ang aking kasalukuyang trabaho ay may pang-gabing schedule. Hindi lang 'yun. Dalawa lamang kami sa opisina buong gabi. Minsan, naranasan ko na rin na ako lang mag-isa sa buong gusali...magdamag.

Kapag breaktime, imbis na kumain, ay natutulog na lamang ako. Minsan ay nanaginip ako. Sa eksena sa aking panaginip, ay natutulog rin ako sa opisina. Kung ano ang pwesto ko mismo sa aking pagtulog sa totoong buhay, iyon din ang aking pwesto sa pagtulog ko sa aking panaginip. Nagising daw ako dahil maingay. Ang dami-rami raw nagta-type nang pagkalakas-lakas. Bumangon ako upang tingnan kung sino ang grupo ng mga empleyado na nagtatrabaho. Pagtingin ko sa kanila, parang naramdaman nilang lahat na pinanonood ko sila. Sabay-sabay silang huminto sa pagta-type, at sabay-sabay ring dahan-dahan na lumingon sa akin. Ako ay lubusang nagulat at nasukob ng takot ng makita kong lahat sila ay WALANG MUKHA!

Doon na natapos ang aking panaginip at bigla na nga akong nagising na humihingal. Parang totoo talaga ang panaginip kong 'yun!

Isang kwento naman ng aking kaibigan tungkol pa rin sa pagtulog sa opisina 'pag gabi. May kaibigan raw siya na natulog sa isang bakanteng kwarto sa kanilang gusali. Nakasubsob itong natulog sa isang lamesa. Sa kanyang paggising, pinipilit niyang bumangon sa pagkakayuko, ngunit hindi niya ito magawa. May napadaan na isa pang empleyado at nasaksihan ang nangyayari sa kanya. Ayon sa saksi, hindi raw nito magawang i-angat ang kanyang ulo sapagkat mayroong isang matandang lalaki na walang ulo na nakahawak sa kanyang batok!!

The Story Behind the Rocking Chair

Just watch the rocking chair... it's really creepy.

Ghost or Fog?

Egads! Anne and Harry are going to kill me for this really, really late post! I've been really busy, but this post has been at the back of my mind for quite a while already.

Last month I went to Tagaytay for dinner with some friends. Of course, the place we had dinner in had a fabulous view of the lake. The moon was a bit yellow, hidden behind a cloud, it cast rays on the lake. So I tried capturing it on camera. This is how it looked:


When I checked my idiot camera, I was surprised to see some fog on it. Looked around and found no one beside me. Then I immediately took another photo:


It was clear.

Strange, I thought. Could it be a spirit from the area saying hello? Promise, no one was beside me. Neither was anyone smoking. Egads.

Midnight Visitor – The Lady in White

My story happened many years ago, back when I was still in grade school. It was my parents’ wedding anniversary and they went out for a date. It was getting late but still no sign of them my siblings went to our room and slept since they have a class early the next day. Since my classes don’t start early I stayed in my parents’ room and waited for them.

I was watching tv minding my own business when a white figure came in from the door…it went through the door….I saw it with my own two eyes. I wasn’t watching anything scary that would trigger my imagination and make me see scary stuff in fact I was watching Looney tunes!

So there it was a figure dressed it white came in…the figure looked like a woman with the longest locks of black hair that I have ever seen. As she floats (yep, she was floating! She was moving without walking! I looked and I didn’t see her feet under her dress at all!) she stopped in front of me…my eyes were glued on her! And if that wasn’t freaky enough she turned and looked at my direction!

Her face looked dirty and her eyes were red and swollen. She was looking at me with her angry eyes. I lay there unable to move a muscle…it’s as if I was frozen! I looked down to check her feet again but all I see is a couple of inches blank space between her dress and the floor! I looked at her while she stared at me…there were millions of thoughts running through my head but I couldn’t seem to do anything. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cover myself with the blanket, I wanted to run to my grandmother’s but I just stared at her…that’s all I could do.

Then she turned away. I saw her pass through the wall that connects my parents’ room to my grandmother’s. Moments after the lady in white left me…I pulled the covers up and buried myself under it! Terrified with what just happened.

Realizing what actually happened scared me more! How come there’s a lady in white who could pass through doors and walls?! How come her face didn’t look normal?! Heck, how come she didn’t have feet? How come she was floating?! With these thoughts running in my head I noticed the wall clock it said…12:30 midnight.

When it is Dark, and Full Moon

My grandfather used to have a farm and fishpond somewhere in Bulacan. We’d go there every weekend when I was a kid. My brother and I would spend the entire day chasing dragonflies, swimming and hiking. It’s also where I had my first encounter with “The Almighty Cobra.” – imagine how I reacted! I was eleven-years old then. I didn’t run. I just looked at it, as I hold my breath the longest time I could ever remember. But that is not the scary story that I want to share with you.

It is when we spent the night at grandpa’s Palaisdaan. You see the place is really huge – eighteen hectares if I remember correctly, and utterly dark during the night for there is no electricity. Yes, no electricity. We stayed there because it is the Huli-night. We want to see how the manongs reap all the bangus and shrimps with their nets and cages. I was really amaze on how hundreds of fishes jump (for their lives) and tried not to get caught. It was an incredible sight, adding splendor to the scenery is the full moon’s glow.

I got bored watching them after a while. So, I told my brother that I’m in the mood for a midnight walk and he tagged along. We brought with us flashlights and our weapon of mass destruction – a not-so-thick but really long stick. Walk. Walk. Walk. Then we heard something. We stopped. And there it is again. It sounded like wings fluttering. He got scared (and so did I) but I told him that it was just the leaves of the mango trees, moving because of the midnight breeze or maybe, birds are playing on the trees’ branches. Acting like the brave kuya, I started walking again and he followed me. After a few minutes, a shadow. A big shadow covered the moonlight as we heard that fluttering sound again. Getting really frightened this time, we ran back to the cottage as fast as we could. Then we told everyone what happened.

Manong Jun the caretaker, upon hearing our story, told us that it was not the first time. He said that he usually sees something gigantic and has massive wings flying over the place during full moon. He said that one time, he actually saw that “thing” landed on the cottage’s roof and he is certain that it is no bird at all.

Eeeeehhhh…

Seeing the Unseen, Hearing the Unheard

I had lunch today with a fellow Bicolano who's father was my Mom's seatmate in school. It was our first meeting and what was notable about it was we got so comfortable our conversation turned to ghost stories. For some strange reason our IT talk on CDO turned to ghost stories.

We both agreed that the hotels there have ghosts like the one I stayed in last year for a roadshow. Upon entering the room I already felt a presence. Since I was so tired I just shrugged it off and ignored it, went out to have lunch with Jonas. Upon returning to my room I took a nap and got up to take a shower. There was someone in the shower. As I was taking a shower I could feel eyes boring through my back and it was awfully cold despite the warm water. I didn't feel though that it meant any harm. It just probably wanted to scare me off. So I managed to ignore it.

Good thing I was out the rest of the day for a speaking engagement and meet-ups. Ended up having dinner with Jonas at Limketkai and managed to go back to the hotel before midnight. I was too tired to mind the little child running around in my room. I couldn't see him, but I certainly felt him. I thought he just wanted some attention. What caught my attention was the noise from the disco across the street. It was so annoying that I just left the TV on mute. Of course, I had all the lights turned on as well.

I managed to get in a few hours of sleep, but the noise from across the street was still ringing on my ears when I woke up. Upon meeting my roadshow mates at the lobby I ranted to Jonas that it was so noisy outside my window. We were on the same floor and faced the same object of annoyance. He told me, "What noise?" I described to him the disco sounds that wrecked my slept. "There wasn't any," he said and said that the bar in front of the hotel was closed. "Looks like it burned down or something."

Oh my gawd.

Death's Sign

Is there really such a thing?

By the morning of November 2, ROSING's path changed sharply from northwest to a westward track and threatened to hit Catanduanes but its eye just skirted along the island’s northern coast, that evening and moved to target Northern Camarines Norte. Despite the quick strike, Catanduanes was heavily devastated. Threatening Daet, it moved again slightly west and made landfall by dawn of November 3 at Siruma, Camarines Sur which lies at the mouth of San Miguel Bay. One resident of Caramoan, a nearby town, spoke on what she witnessed during the passage of its eye.

"It was eerie," she said. "The moon and some stars went out during the calm moment with continuous flashing of lightning somewhere along the area surrounding the eye."

We experienced almost the same thing here in the Metro. The winds and the rain sounded really scary a lot of trees had been uprooted. It is scary to be outside during storms like this not only because of zero visibility but because of the roofs that fly by occasionally.

Finally the storm’s over. People went on their way fixing their houses and cleaning the streets.

That morning my brother went to my Uncle’s house to help him fix his roof. While they’re working my Aunt is busy taking care of my cousins.

As they work my brother & my Uncle were busy talking too…as they talk my brother looked up to my Uncle and saw something that changed his life forever.

A headless man…

My brother squints his eyes and was terrified to see my Uncle without his head on…”is that even possible?!” He asked himself. He tried to ignore what he saw and went back to fixing the roof. He was scared and he didn’t tell anyone about it thinking that it was only his imagination. “Could it be an ominous sign?!” He didn’t know and he didn’t believe in those things. After the roof is finally fixed he went home and my Uncle took a nap. Not long after when my brother came home from my Uncle’s house my Elder cousin came rushing to our house telling my Mom to hurry and go to my Uncle’s house…

Apparently my Aunt was trying to wake him up but he wouldn’t wake up no matter how she shook him…no matter how loud she called out to him.

They rushed my Uncle to the hospital and not long after he is declared DOA or Dead on Arrival. Cause of his death…”bangungot” or “According to the doctors, its acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis resulting (in) cardiac arrest.” In other words, he died in his sleep.
When we found out what happened I noticed my brother’s face suddenly went pale. He looks so terrified for some reason. When we asked him what was wrong he told us what he saw. My Mom’s best friend’s mother said my brother should have asked my Uncle about it. It might sound funny but this is what was my brother’s supposed to say, “Uncle, whatever happened to your head?! Where is it?!” According to the old lady in cases like this you should call that person’s attention about it otherwise he will surely die…because it’s an ominous sign…that death is at your doorstep.

The old Lady also told us that a couple of nights before my Uncle died she would hear footsteps of people coming in and out of the compound stopping near my Uncle’s doorstep and the dogs nearby would bark a howling sound so eerie. One night when it happened she actually looked through the window to see who the “visitors” were because it is very late…but she felt shivers down her spine when she saw no one but could actually hear the “footsteps”.

She said they were the actual ominous signs that death is coming…

Is there really a sign?! Can we really prevent death from happening if we managed to see the sign & do something about it like asking a man, “What happened to your head?! Where is it?!”

It’s up to you to decide.

Nighttime Runner

Hunger, thirst, or you just have to go to the bathroom. These are the things that wake us up during the night. If you have fridge or bathroom in your room then good for you, but if you have to go downstairs like me… hmmm…

I don’t turn on the lights whenever I go down because I might wake up my grandma whose room is at the first floor, right next to the kitchen. Feeling really hungry so I stood up and leisurely walk my way to the kitchen, using my mobile phone to illuminate my course. I was almost there when I felt something weird. I felt like someone is walking behind me. So I turnaround to check, but found nothing. Well I did see Zac (my dog) but he is asleep and is not moving a bit. I’ve made it to the fridge (finally!) and looked for anything that would satisfy my hunger. On my way back to my room, there it is again. I’ve had the same feeling in that same spot. The creepiness is really all over me this time, so I hurriedly went back to my room. I was about to sleep when I heard my ate (who happens to have a third-eye) arrived.

Morning. I was shocked when my ate told us over breakfast that when she arrived (that night), she saw a kid running in the kitchen. It was weird because there are no kids at our house. So she stayed a bit more in the kitchen just to be sure, she didn’t turn on the lights though. Then she saw the kid running again. This time, it is clearer. She was stunned to see a boy, who seemed scared and unhappy. But what was really disturbing is that he was colored green…

And yeah, I still go downstairs in the middle of the night after hearing that…with the lights on of course!

More on the 15F

It’s quite weird that there are a lot of “appearances” in that office building. It’s relatively new and I haven’t heard about any accident or mishap that resulted in death in that building. The area is also not known for such things. The only thing to note, however, is the fact that the building is across a church that has a masoleum in its premises. Oh well.

It was a Friday night and everyone left me behind in the office. I had to meet my classmates from the marketing research class I was taking. I stayed at the office to finish the iterations of the study we were making. There were only two other people in the floor – Manong Sonny, the janitor who was earning 30K per month and the Manong Guard. Manong Sonny was quite apprehensive about me staying late because he really didn’t like my room.

In my previous story I mentioned that I moved to several spots. I had it made when I was finally moved to a corner office! It wasn’t big, just about 12 square meters, but the Manila Bay sunset view was what always made my day (far cry from my garage view at my basement now heh). But Manong Sonny and the building maintenance people weren’t really happy that I was placed there.

I like well-lighted rooms. I even requested maintenance to add several fluorescents in my room. I thought it was too dark. One time while the maintenance guy was installing additional lights in my room he told me, “Ma’am ingat po kayo dito ha.” (Ma’am, be careful here.). I thought it was quite weird and asked him why. “Meron pong kakaibang nilalang dito. Kayo na po ang may pinakamaliwanag na opisina sa buong building at makakatulong po to.” (There is something different here in your office. Your office is the most-lighted one in the whole building, but this would surely help).

I didn’t mind what he said until a few days later the decorative stuff that hid the light came off and almost hit me on my head. I actually ran to Anne’s place and complained about what happened. The maintenance guy immediately showed up and said, “Sabi sa iyo Ma’am eh.” (I told you so.). I just shrugged it off and thought that it was because he didn’t hinge the thing properly when he installed the lights.

Eversince then whenever I stayed late – usually until 7 – Manong Sonny would check on me every so often. It was only on that evening that I was to meet my classmates that I understood what Manong Sonny and the maintenance guy was trying to tell me. I was happily being a nerd when I heard the tapping on the glass. I thought there was someone from publishing trying to get my attention – I was like in a fishbowl in my office, despite the blinds, everyone in the publishing section could see what I was doing. I then checked who was tapping the glass. There wasn’t anyone. And then I heard it again, it was to my right. I then thought my colleague who was situated in the next room was just dissing me. I knew she went home early and thought maybe she went back to get something. There was no one.

I called out to Manong Sonny and the Manong Guard, but they weren’t within earshot. I just then shrugged it off and continued my computations. Tap-tap-tap. I just raised my brow. Tap-tap-tap. Hmmm… The rapping on the glass continued and wouldn’t stop. I started praying and saving up my work. It was already way past ten in the evening and I thought the occupants weren’t really happy I was still there.

Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.

I quickly shut down my PC and ran.

The House On Clover Street

Back when I was in second year high school we had our family reunion on my father’s side of the family held at my Uncle’s house in Clover Street, Sun Valley Subdivision, Parañaque City. The house is empty since he bought it just recently from some Engineer who used to live there I think. My Uncle had a couple of houses in that Subdivision but he chose that particular house for the occasion since it had plenty of room for barbecue and games…

I’ve been to that Subdivision as often as I could remember but I never felt as weird as I did that day…especially when we entered that said Street. There’s this particular house that had the aura so weird it sent shivers down my spine. I found myself begging silently, “Please don’t let it be that house.” To my dismay…it was indeed the house that we’re supposed to go to.

The house is deserted, it is located at what seemed like a dead end of that Subdivision with tall wild grass around it…the nearest house to it is a couple of meters away. When we parked the car my family and other relatives jumped out happily talking with each other. I was left inside the car staring into the scary looking house. Don’t get me wrong it looked normal…at least through my family’s eyes the house is just like any other ordinary modern looking houses in that place but they didn’t know what awaits us inside this nice looking house. In my eyes it looked like one of the houses in Addams Family…it’s as if the house had a face…a very scary face.

I was about to get out of the car when a flash of some woman standing by the window of one of the rooms in the top floor suddenly appeared. I looked up and it’s gone. Shrugging my shoulders off I tried to shake off that familiar feeling of being “stalked” by these beings. I couldn’t tell anyone about it much as I wanted to because I know they would not believe me…and I didn’t want to scare off the kids.

And so we partied and I tried my hardest to have some fun…but it’s kind of hard to do since I am fully aware of the uninvited guests…or was it the other way around?!

My Mom at that time was with one of my Aunts who at that time attends the El Shaddai Charismatic group on a regular basis at the PICC…it was night time when they arrived at the house on clover street…back then I didn’t know that Mom experienced the same things that I did.

After dinner we all decided to have a grand tour around the house…all of us kids were thrilled upon learning that there is a basement located under the kitchen…we all went down there…and that is against my better judgment.

While touring the house from top to bottom I am convinced that it was indeed haunted! In every part of the house the woman I saw by the window is there…she followed us everywhere…and she wasn’t alone. There was a black entity roaming around the house and I could tell it’s not happy to see us there…the black entity left us when my Mom arrived…that was the only time I felt at ease. As we let the elders catch up on their what not my cousins & I decided to stay outside the house and chat...one of them even started telling scary ghosts stories...when he came to the part when he’s talking about evil spirits I asked him to stop. Talking about them means you’re invoking them to come out…and since the presence of evil is really strong that night and even if my Mom’s there with us…I don’t think I’d be comfortable talking about it.

The elders decided to spend the night since it’s late and my Titos were mostly too drunk to drive…my Uncle, the owner of the house told us we could use the house for the night and gave us the things that we needed…odd part is that he locked the gate & the door behind him when he left…up until now I wonder why the hell he had to do that?!

We were all at the living room at that time and no one made a move in going into the rooms to settle down & sleep…then my Mom spoke…”This house gives me the creeps…maybe we should stay here and sleep together." Everyone agreed since everyone suddenly felt the chills.

We all decided to pray…(led by my Mom of course!) and as we hold hands while singing The Lord’s Prayer I suddenly heard a very weird sounding voice coming from the basement…I can’t even tell if it’s a woman’s or a man’s voice…it just sounded weird. My Mom heard it too since she stopped singing and looked at my direction…my Aunt Elly heard it too since she dropped her hand and said, “What was that?!” Everyone stopped singing then my Mom decided to recite The Lord’s Prayer instead of singing it…we all followed her lead…halfway through the prayer that weird sounding voice is there again…if it’s trying to recite the Lord’s Prayer I honestly don’t know…because I couldn’t understand anything from the odd sound it’s making.

Mom prayed over the souls who were roaming around the house…

One by one they fell asleep…my eldest cousin Rowena, my Ate & I were the only ones who were awake…we all decided to stay up until morning comes…since they were using the phone talking with their boy friends…while I was happily listening to my walkman…

Drowning myself with my music I didn’t realize that my cousin & Ate were already asleep…leaving me all alone...I was then staring at the glass sliding door contemplating when a woman appeared standing nearby where I was…I quickly threw a glance at that direction but found no one…turning my eyes back at the door it’s there again…

I raised the volume of my walkman a couple of notch higher trying to ignore it…I closed my eyes trying to feel my music and I was just beginning to relax when I heard that weird sounding voice again it’s as if it’s breathing down my ear…what the hell?!

I opened my eyes and saw the woman standing right next to me…then to make my situation worse the black entity made itself visible again…I saw it roaming around the house…but thankfully it’s just outside the house…but still…it was scaring the hell out of me…I wanted to run to my family & scream but I couldn’t even move a muscle let alone utter a single sound. In cold sweat I prayed as hard as I could…prayed to God to give me a sign…telling myself…”If one of you (my family) would just move a muscle I could find the strength to jump out of here!” I begged and I begged for what seemed like eternity for me (but I bet it was only minutes) then suddenly my cousin moved her leg…almost immediately I jumped off and ran to the space near her and crouched beside her covering my ears and shutting my eyes so tight that it hurt. I covered my ears because I could still hear the woman’s haunting voice….my eyes because I could see the black entity moved towards the direction where I headed and stopped right outside the window above me. I prayed & I prayed until I fell asleep.

That was a total nightmare…I swore never to step foot into that blasted house ever again!

The next day without bothering to have breakfast we all decided to leave that blasted place as soon as we can…apparently I wasn’t the only one who had a scary encounters with the entities living in that house…and so we packed our stuff and board the cars…before we finally left the house my Mom offered a prayer for the troubled souls…as we drove away…I took one last glance at the place…I saw the woman by the window…looking at me with that accusing eyes of hers…

Was she trying to tell me something?!

Later on I heard from my Uncle that she is murdered in that house a couple of years ago and that whoever bought the house never had peace living in that place that is why it was always for sale…until my Uncle came along that is!

Was she trying to tell me how she died...perhaps she wanted to tell me who killed her.

Up until now I still don’t know the truth about her death…her case was never solved…

Should I have listened to her cry for help?!

Creepy Creature

I have heard quite a few stories about different creatures from the “dark” side from relatives and friends. The one that I have been really scared of is the one called “Sigben”. I recall my yaya Brenda tell me her story. I’ve forgotten what province she is from (for I was really young back then) but it is somewhere in the Mindanao region. Her family’s house is a typical bahay-kubo. It is surrounded by large trees, and seemed isolated.

When her friends call her from outside of her house, they just clap. That is kind of their gesture. One evening, when she was about to sleep, she heard someone clapping. Though surprised because it is pretty late already, she looked outside of her window and tried to see who’s calling out to her. Because it is too dark, she didn’t see anyone, so she went to her bed instead. As she was about to sleep, she heard the clapping again. This time, it is louder. It seemed that whoever it is, it is closer to her room now than the first time. Again she looked outside her window and didn’t find anyone. Then she decided to go out to check. As she was going down their house’s wooden stairs, she saw someone moving behind a tree. She heard the clapping again. And it’s coming from that spot. She yelled one of her friend’s name thinking that he was that someone, but it didn’t stopped clapping. So she walked towards the tree. As she approaches it, bit by bit, she sees that whoever it is behind the tree, it is huge and has an odd body. She got the shock of her life when it jumped in front of her! She saw this half-man half-goat creature! Its head can turn upside-down and it has the scariest eyes. Its ears are so big that it can clap using them. That’s where the clapping is coming from. She ran back to the house as fast as she could and locked all the doors and windows. She woke up everyone in her family and told them what she saw. From then on, she never answered to anybody who is calling her by clapping ever again.

Click here to see an image of a creature that is rumored to be a young Sigben.

Warm Welcome at 15F

Indeed the 15th floor of the building I used to work for is haunted! The tales in that floor doesn't end with Anne's sharing. It's just the beginning.

I worked for about 5 years in the building where Anne and I met. My first job in that building was at the 12th floor. I thought that I wouldn't have "friends" anymore at the 15th floor when I moved.

I was wrong. Dead wrong.

I moved places several times at the 15th floor. There were a lot of changes when I entered the organization because they had to adjust to the "new media" section that I brought in with me.

Anyway, I was used to staying late in the office and was quite surprised that the place would be deserted by 4:30 p.m. It wasn't a wonder because the average age in the organization when I came in was above 40. They were all scrambling to go home even before the hymn that signaled EOD played.

One thing my spirit questor friend was not able to close was my "third ear" (audio). Back when I was in the 12th floor of that building I used to hear a lot of voices calling out to me (I'll tell that story some other time). I thought that when I moved to the 15th floor it wouldn't happen again. But, of course, it did.

My first encounter was hearing a mature woman call my name. I thought it was one of the mommies from the other section and I'd always say, "Bakit po?" My colleagues would then look at me strangely and tell me no one was calling me. It happened several times and the worst time was when she called out to me when I was already alone in my little corner at the 15th floor. That actually happened on my birthday when I was waiting for my parents to pick me up for my birthday dinner.

I was on the phone at that time and it was way past 7 in the evening. I was looking out the window and watching cars driving by the Skyway. "Aileen," she said, it was barely a whisper. At first I didn't hear it since I was chatting with a friend. "Aileen, " a bit stronger now. I heard it and told my friend, "Just a minute somebody's calling me." I stood up and looked around. Nobody was there. I took a deep breath and ignored the call.

I was quite bothered about it, not scared, but bothered.

The next day I asked the mommies if there was a spirit wandering the area and they said that a few years back one of the publishing supervisors passed away in a car accident. They said she has probably not moved on that's why she still wanders the halls of the 15F. They also told me that I shouldn't be scared coz she was just welcoming me.

And that was just one of the encounters I had in the 15F.

*EOD - end of day

Translation
Bakit po - Why?

15/F

There was this time na inabot ako hanggang 11pm sa office…nagka-problema kasi sa mga payables nun so I had to stay and finish everything since rush yun. Around 9pm ako na lang ang tao sa 15/f floor...ang mga taga-Marketing na kasama ko eh before 5pm pa lang nagsialisan na since its Friday…gimmick day! Yung mga taga-Publishing naman hanggang 6pm lang yata nag-overtime so ayun mag-isa ako sa floor na yun tanging kasama ko eh si Kuya yung guard na nasa lobby. From time to time naman he checks up on me…isa pa di ko na rin pansin na nag-iisa ako since I was exchanging text messages with a friend & chatting with Ai while processing those payment requests.

Sa dami nang ginagawa ko nun at sa pagpapanic na rin (pero nakuha pang mag-text at mag-chat!) eh dko na pansin na gumagabi na pala at mag-isa na lang ako sa office…until nagstart silang magparamdam sa akin.

Bumukas yung gripo sa may pantry na halos katabi ko lang…tinawagan ko agad si Kuya to ask if may naiwan pa sa loob aside from me…only to find out na nag-iisa na nga lang ako dito at wala ring pumapasok…then may mga naglalakad sa may harap ko…empty space yun at that time...the old fulfillment place…DEAD MA lang. Ayokong pumasok ng weekend kailangan kong tapusin yung ginagawa ko.

My friend actually told me na umuwi na since it’s late at nag-iisa pa ako sa office sinabi ko sakanya na ayoko nang ibitin yung trabaho ko..ayokong umuwi nang di ko pa natatapos yun. Ai on the other hand is giving me words of encouragement na talaga namang nakatulong sa akin.

11pm na nang matapos ako…dali-dali kong shinut down ang pc ko…kinailangan kong umakyat sa 16/f since naka lock na yung exit dito sa 15/F…habang inaakyat ko ang hagdan papunta sa lobby ng 16/F ka-text ko parin yung friend ko…not looking back kasi alam kong may kasunod ako…isa sa mga naglalakad sa may empty space sa harap ko sinamahan akong umakyat (isang babae)…when I finally reached the lobby inabutan kong natutulog yung guard doon…oblivious to the man sitting on the couch…

“Ma’am Anne, ginabi ka yata?!” sabi nung guard…I just smiled and asked, “Manong me kasama ka pa ba dito?!” He shook his head and said, “Tayong dalawa na lang Ma’am ang nandito sa DPC…ngayon iiwan nyo na ako matutulog na uli ako wala naman kasi akong kausap.”

While we were talking the woman who came with me is just staring at me from the glass door...I guess she felt sorry for me since I was alone...sinamahan pa niya ako hanggang sa elevator.

Are You In?

Have you ever tried playing “Spirit of The Glass”?

When I was in highschool, my friends and I played it. I didn’t believe in it at first. I told my friends that we are only fooling ourselves. But they insisted on doing it so we went to one of our classmate’s house. Their house is pretty big, but seemed empty. Only he and his grandmother live there because the rest of his family lives in the US. Before we started to play, we prayed. And then started placing our two fingers – pointer and middle finger on top of an upturned glass. “Spirit of the glass, are you in?” we said. Then the glass started moving towards the “Yes” circle. I was kinda suspicious and I thought one of us was controlling the glass. But seeing their reaction, I knew that they are shocked too. We asked for the spirit’s name, and the glass spelled it. The spirit was a “he”. We asked how he died. He said that he had a car accident. His car fell off a bridge, and he drowned when he couldn’t get out of his car underwater. His body was never found. Then the glass just keeps on moving even if we are not asking him anything. He said he wants us to help him. We asked him “How?”. He said he wants us to look for his body, and bury him! Of course we are all thinking that it is impossible for us to do, so we said we are sorry and that we can’t do that. We said that we’d just pray for him. “I’m mad now!” he said! We were all scared. We’ve wanted to let go of the glass but doing so might get things worse. We said we’re sorry several times but that didn’t change his mind. And so we prayed. And prayed. And let go of the glass.

We went home right after that. We are all very terrified. I’ll never play that game again. I felt guilty about disturbing that spirit. I’m praying for him until now.

My brother played it too, with his friends. He said that the spirit who entered the glass is an evil spirit – It is so angry that the glass broke! And one of his friends got very sick the following day. His family brought him to several hospitals but all of the doctors didn’t know what was happening to him. After a week, he was paralyzed. He was in a wheelchair when he graduated.

Now, are you in?

Have You Ever Experienced Your Bed Shake?

Last weekend I tagged along with my friends to see the sights in Ilocos Norte. I’ve never been to that area in the country and since it was free, I gladly went along with the plan.

It was a very long trip. We left Manila at around 4 in the morning and arrived in Laoag at almost 5 in the afternoon. We were looking forward to eating yummy local food and relaxing at the prestigious Fort Ilocandia, but we had to tag along with the other guys we were with for some work.

We arrived back at the hotel at past 11 in the evening and decided to check out the beach. It was very dark, only the moon illuminated the wide seashore. A couple of trees were scattered around. We had to avoid falling into newly dug ditches for a landscaping project, seemed like the placement of the trees were part of a grand scheme (quite unnatural). After checking out the shore – sand seemed to be black – we settled in a hut a few meters from the seashore.

Of course, like in Punta Fuego we started scaring each other. Abe pointing out a wire to be a tuko’s tail – in the dim light it did seem like a tail. We also couldn’t help but scare Sasha by placing our mobile phones under our chin to look like ghosts. Rito, a writer at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, joined in the raucous behavior.

We were laughing so hard, but I told Abe to cut it out since I was afraid that my third eye might open. The place seemed perfect for wayward spirits and I felt I wasn’t far from seeing one pop-up anytime.

Too late. I was speaking with Rito when I saw a blur of white and blue streak behind him. I just stayed quiet at first so as not to scare Sasha and Lauren further. I just said, ‘It’s too late I can already see them”. It didn’t help that Rito kept kidding that he was seeing things already. He suddenly stood up and said he was going back to his room.

By this time, the girls were already seeking protection from Abe. Three very scared girls, uhuh, lucky Abe and Rito. We then decided to go back to our rooms altogether.

I had to hide my face in Abe’s arm because I knew that what I saw was following us. I’d see him in the sort palm trees looking at us. Curious perhaps and probably amused that we were so scared. I only let go of Abe’s arm when we were already in the lighted area of the hotel. It looked like a kid Good thing it didn’t follow us anymore.

We slept with the lights on, but I guess Lauren was bothered about it and turned it on. I thought things were okay already. Sasha and I slept beside each other and assured each other that things were already alright and that we were far from the entity that we saw.

At the witching hour I was awakened by the vigorous shaking of the bed. I realized Sasha was awake too (I didn’t see that Lauren was seated on our bed already) and asked her what was happening. The bed was shaking so badly. I remembered that we were in Room 214 (supposedly a room that is always occupied – it was, something was in the shower). I was so freaked out because I became fixated on a corner in the room. I felt I was looking at something. It was so dark though and I just hid under the covers.

The shaking of the bed soon stopped and I finally managed to ask Sasha what it was. She said it was an earthquake. Weird, how could a bed shake that bad during the earthquake when it’s only on the second floor?

Haunted

I grew up with a bunch of relatives who could see things that normal people don't...people say that my family members’ “third eye” is open that is why they could see these things.

I started having my own “sightings” during my early years in grade school…first time I saw them was when my family went to visit my grand father’s resting place in Loyola Memorial Park, Parañaque City…I was walking behind the others admiring the “view”…I saw lots of “people” roaming around most of them have this big smile on their faces, “Kaya pala fiestang patay ang tawag, para pala talagang fiesta dito ang daming tao!” I thought to myself.

I realized that those figures are not really human beings when I actually collided with one of them…he just went through me…”What the…”

After that incident seeing “them” became part of my daily life…there came a point that it didn’t bother me anymore.

This explains why I am not the one who would easily get scared over a horror film…except for “The Grudge” Original Japanese Version that is…ehehehe…that film actually got thru me. But no sleepless nights or having to turn on the lights while I sleep kinda thing…it just made me think…and I actually loved it. What good is a scary movie if it doesn’t serve its purpose?

Sometimes I ask myself why do I see these things?! Is there something wrong with me? I’ve been watching films, been reading things related to what I am going through to find some answer…all the stuff I’ve read & watched implied the same thing…if you have a rough childhood or if you are extremely sad or depressed, you are most likely to experience these things…Hmmm…I wonder saan kaya ako nag-fall dun?! Hmmm…

People would actually suggest that I should go to a specialist that would help me open up my "third eye” I was like, “why the hell for?! I am fine with the way I am now…if anything I want to “close” it. I do not want to see the future or see more of these things.

And so as time goes by I eventually lost my “talent.” Does this mean that I am happier now that I am older?! Does this mean that I finally have it closed?! And how was I able to do that?! Is my unwillingness to explore did it?! I honestly don’t know. Basta tahimik na ang buhay ko and I’m not about to go looking for ways to complicate things again by wondering why I don’t see them anymore.

It’s over…finally!

Or so I thought.

Last April 27, 2007 we went to Caylabne Resort in Ternate Cavite for our company’s summer outing…the beach is located below this weird looking ravine…the resort looks nice though. I shared a room at the top floor of the apartment style building with some friends of mine. The room is ok it’s got a nice view…it also have my favorite part of a house…the terrace. While waiting for my turn to take a shower I went out to the terrace to “reflect” with my brother’s mp3 on…I pushed the sliding door and went outside…it’s almost dark outside but I didn’t mind at all...stood there admiring the trees…wala kasing masyadong trees sa city…ehehehe.

So ayun while enjoying my moment alone…natigil ako sa aking pagmumuni-muni when all of a sudden huminto ang hangin…I looked around then suddenly biglang lumakas uli ang hangin…feeling like someone’s watching me…feeling like I’m not alone I decided to take a look around for the second time…that’s when I saw the “white lady-like” figure with a longest locks of black hair that I have ever seen…she’s standing by the tree that’s in front of me...few feet away from me. I closed my eyes & shook my head off…telling myself that it’s just my imagination…then I looked at that same direction again…she’s gone.

I went inside our room happy to find out that it’s finally my turn to take a shower…I tried to forget about what happened. After that refreshing bath I tried to relax by the bed listening to some mp3s…mga ilang minuto pa bababa na kami for dinner…I was enjoying my music when I noticed the two huge windows by the bed…I pulled the curtain to see what’s outside…to my surprise…it’s there again!

Why am I being haunted by these things again?!

The Midnight Typists

My current job requires me to work on a graveyard shift for a week or two in a month. All other departments are closed, and only my partner and me work during the night, so it’s like the whole office is closed. I’ve heard a lot of ghost stories that happened at the office, like the one about the white lady that is often seen inside the men’s comfort room, and the little boy who runs and plays in the pantry, but I never imagined that there would be a time when I will be the one who’s telling such story…

On a typical working night, workload is usually light during midnight. To stay awake, I surf the Internet. I forgot my headset that night so the silence is killing me. The only thing I am hearing is the sound coming from the fans and air-conditioning units. Jenny, my partner at the time is having a siesta. It is really quiet, until I heard something - a click-like sound. It’s coming from the production area. I stood up to check it out but to no avail. As I was about to sit, there it is again. This time, it’s louder. And it is starting to sound like someone is typing! And it is neither I, nor Jenny. When she woke up, she asked me if I am hearing it too. We talked aloud to test if it will stop but it didn’t. Instead, it get much louder, and this time, it is not coming from one unit anymore. I’ve wanted to see if the keys are really moving but Jenny stopped me and told me not to leave her side. So we sat, tried to ignore it, and just waited for it to stop.

From then on, we got quite unaffected when we hear it during the night. We just joke about it, sometimes talking to “it” and asked if “it” has a deadline to beat. Maybe we could give “it” a hand?

A Creepy Night at Punta Fuego

I don’t usually get the creeps easily because I see myself as a very rational person. It took unsolicited confirmation from my friends that there was a black entity in the pool for me to realize that what I encountered was something out of the ordinary and not my astigmatic eyes. So this story is one extraordinary creepy night.

My friends and I were in Punta Fuego and after dinner decided to take a walk to Punta Fuego Point to record a podcast. Jayvee and I were a few meters ahead of the other when I suddenly heard a cuucuucuu sound. I reasoned to myself that it was just a bird or something when I felt the hairs at the back of my neck stand. It was then I realized that we were at a dark area of the street. The dogs started howling. I froze and asked Jayvee to stop so we could wait for the others.

I realized then that we should’ve walked to the lighted area first before stopping since we were in front of a house under construction. It was really dark and both sides of the street were cliffs that give way to the sea. The moonless night added to the creepy feeling I was experiencing.

Good thing Abe, Sasha and Rico soon caught up with us and we stuck together on our way up to Punta Fuego Point. I asked Abe if he heard the cuucuucuu sound and he said yes. A shiver ran up my spine so I just stuck close with the others till we reached Punta Fuego Point.

Punta Fuego Point was unfortunately dark. There’s a small entrance to the garden and a walkway to the gazebo. Of course, since no one was there we had to turn the lights on ourselves. I couldn’t help but shiver since the surrounding was really dark because of the sea. I felt we were disturbing spirits at rest in the place and was quite scared that we might annoy them.

We stayed for about an hour or so and finished our recording. We were quite rowdy until we had to turn the lights off again. Walking back to the house I hooked up on Abe’s arm and didn’t let go until we were in the yard. I didn’t look back, nor did I look sideways. I felt there was someone watching us with sinister eyes and was just tolerating us as guests of the place.

Now I wonder, was it a spirit or a creature watching us?

Smoke-like Figure

Friday, April 6, 2007 nag-Station of the Cross kami ni Mommy. Meeting place and location ng First Station sa Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe our Parish Church. I’ve got blistered feet from walking napaso pa ang kamay ko sa mga patak ng kandila…my legs hurt…malamang naman diba ikaw ba naman maglakad ka for 3 hours straight!

When the day is done there is nothing left for me to do but sit on the couch and watch tv since I have no one to talk to…my parents went out and my brother’s out with his friends…it’s late and I’m too lazy to go online… Mom called and told me that my bro’s sleeping over at his friend’s house and that I should just lock the doors…which of course I did and checked ‘em thrice! I decided to sleep in my parents’ room so that I could hear if anyone knocks…just in case my brother decided to come home. I popped in my parents’ compilation of 60’s songs CD and tried to get some sleep...to no avail.

At first it was because of the light coming from the lamp post outside…aninag kasi yun sa malaking bintana sa kwarto nila Mommy...plus yung moon pa ang liwa-liwanag! I didn’t mind yung mga nagpapasyon eh ok lang sakin yung noise but I really couldn’t sleep pag may konting liwanag sa kwarto. Kailangan talaga total darkness.

So I decided to cover my eyes na lang…di pa rin ako makatulog…what’s my problem?! I used to sleep that way nung ka-share ko pa si Ate sa kwarto when I have to put up with her reading during late nights at bukas pa ilaw…shining brightly right in front of my face since double deck yung bed namin ata ko yung nasa itaas… Binuksan ko na lang yung lamp shade…nagmuni-muni...wa epek! So I decided to turn the music off and the lamp shade…I tried to sleep.

Wala pang five minutes I felt weird na…uneasy. Wala naman akong naririnig na kahit na anong ingay, it’s just that I felt like I was being watched! How can that be?! Hello! Mag-isa lang ako sa kwarto…mag-isa lang ako sa bahay!!! Dali-dali kong binuksan yung lamp shade reached for my cell phone and texted my friend Ai. Thankfully, she’s still up and nag-reply cya! Made me feel a better! I didn’t tell her anything since I didn’t want to acknowledge the feeling! Geez, I am so used to seeing things that normal people don’t usually see…ngayon pa ba ako matatakot…now that I am older?! What’s gotten into me?!

Sa harap ng bed nila Mommy may mirror…although di ko kita ang sarili ko kita ko yung wall above my head…again…andun na naman yung uneasy feeling nung mapatingin ako sa salamin…I decided to ignore it at sige lang ako ng text kay Ai…pero the feeling of uneasiness is getting stronger and something inside is urging me to look at the mirror once again…so I did. I stared at the mirror I could see the light‘s reflection…okay lang normal lang yun! But all of a sudden yung reflection gumalaw…it’s forming into something…it’s like a smoke forming into something…pinatay ko agad yung lamp shade tumingin ako sa may bintana to see if there’s something outside. Wala naman. Although natatakot ako tumingin ako uli sa may salamin…telling myself, “baka naman guni-guni ko lang yun!”

Trying to calm myself down slowly I looked into that direction…there was nothing! Fixing my eyes on that same direction I saw the smoke-like figure rise up above…nasa tabi na cya ng ilaw…I closed my eyes and prayed. Telling myself it was just my imagination…only my imagination…I remembered the prayer that my Mom thought me when I was still a kid…nung madalas akong tumatakbo sa room nila dahil di ko na kaya yung mga bagay na nagpapakita sa akin noon…she told me to pray to Jesus…pati yung mga sinabi ni Father Jocis sa book niyang “Exorcism” naalala ko! Nakatulugan ko na yata ang pagdadasal…pero umaga na rin kasi nun kaya nakatulog na rin ako…finally my parents came home na. I tried to forget all about it went on my biz the next day. I didn’t even tell my Mom.

Kinagabihan umalis uli sila ng Dad ko but this time hindi na ako mag-isa coz my bro’s here. I stayed up pa nga til midnight watching tv sa living room tapos dun uli ako natulog sa room nila Mommy. Papasok pa lang ako sa room nila naiisip ko na naman yung mga nangyari the other night…I tried to shake it off na lang. Same routine…pinakinggan ko uli yung 60’s CD nila covered my eyes and tried to sleep…but to no avail. I texted Ai…nilibang ko uli sarili ko, but nothing’s good enough…di pa rin ako dalawin ng antok. Pinatay ko na uli yung sounds ko & concentrate on getting some sleep…but the moment I closed my eyes…naramdaman ko agad yung mga “matang” nakatingin sa akin…at parang mas madami sila kaysa the other night! I opened my eyes and saw that smoke-like figure again…I tried to pray but this time I was defeated by fear! Di ko matapos-tapos yung dinadasal ko...biglang di ko na alam yung sasabihin ko…I started to panic…

I decided to reach for my cell phone to text or call someone…disappointed to find out na it’s not possible since I lost my fone…I lost all my contacts at di ko pa nakokopya yung mga nasa chikka ko…I guess all that stress made me pass out for a couple of minutes…nagising kasi ako almost 4am sa ingay ng aso naming…he kept barking for some reason…when I opened my eyes and looked above the figure wasn’t there anymore…I looked around and saw it by the door and it moved! I looked at the window to see if there’s someone outside but there was no one. So why the hell is the dog barking?!

I played some music to calm my nerves but it didn’t work…the strong presence of the smoke-like figure is overwhelming! Plus the dog’s barking didn’t help at all! Inisip ko rin yung possibility na baka may magnanakaw somewhere so ayun nakuha kong tumayo at buksan na ang ilaw. But our dog kept barking! I felt so scared na and helpless kaya umupo na lang ako sa isang corner na malayo sa bintana and hugged my pillow…praying. After some time nanahimik na rin yung aso namin…I stood up, put the light off & hopped into bed.

The minute I close my eyes it came back…the feeling of being watched…and the smoke-like figure…I was about to cry nang bigla kong maalala yung El Shaddai na pinakikinggan lagi ng Mom ko noon sa radio…I remembered puro worship songs ang kinakanta dun…since I can’t pray the worship songs would surely calm my nerves. So I turned the radio on kaso lang naisip ko, “what if di ko mahanap, or what if tapos na yung program?!” Buti na lang pag-on ko ng radio andun na agad sa Station nayun at nung marinig ko boses ni Brother Mike na nagbabasa ng verse sa Bible I started to calm down na…nakatulog na ako with the radio on.

Hotel Ghosts

I've been travelling a lot for work in the past few years. I think I spent 45 days of 2006 in different hotel rooms. It's a good thing that I'm not scared of ghosts anymore coz there's always one in every hotel I check into.

Singapore - I must admit I'm not good at scouting good hotels. Anyway, I ended up in a hotel somewhere near Little India (hint hint) and I didn't sleep a wink the two nights I was there. I usually leave the light in the bathroom on whenever I'm alone in a hotel room. The place just felt so heavy and I saw this thing in human form (with matching turban!) standing in front of the bathroom. I hid under the covers, but that didn't help any since the presence was really overwhelming. I ended up leaving for the airport a good 4 hours before my flight just to escape the thingy in my room.

Davao - I had the privilege of staying at this really prestigious, expensive hotel in Davao when I was still in the yellow pages. I was watching TV one evening and had the lights on because I was also doing some reading, when suddenly this shadow in the form of a dragon walked across the wall behind the TV. Shocked I turned the lights on and off, but it was still there. I tried so hard to dismiss it as a small lizard playing tricks on me, but the goosebumps it gave me really freaked me out and as usual, I just hid under the covers and prayed.

Cebu - I just came from Cebu yesterday and this thing I just dismissed it as faulty wiring. I felt that leaving the bathroom light and keeping the door open was kinda freaky so I decided to leave the bedside lamp on. Just one lamp so it wouldn't be too bright. Much to my chagrin I woke up the next morning and all the room lights were turned on! Next time I'll make sure my best friend stays with me!

Three O'clock

May 2006.

It happened on the night of my last day at EYP. After talking to my mom about what happened at the office while we are having dinner, I went straight to my room and tried to sleep. Pero ‘di ako makatulog agad kaya nagbasa muna ako. Nakatulugan ko na ‘yung binabasa ko sa sobrang pagod siguro – kaiisip. I was a little depressed because of losing my job, but I felt “free”.

Mahimbing ang tulog ko, as usual. Pero bigla akong nagising. Gising talaga. I felt like someone woke me up. I reached for my cellphone to check the time, it was 3:00 AM. After reading an SMS, I tried to sleep again. Tumagilid ako, nakatalikod sa pinto, nakaharap sa pader. Had this strange feeling that someone’s watching me from behind. Hindi lang pala nakatingin. Parang papalapit sa ’kin. Parang “Ayan na! Ayan na!”, ganun ang nararamdaman ko. And I smell something…strange. It smells like something is burning. Then I felt something really cold passed thru my back. It was rockin’ me literally and I can’t move. My eyes are open but I can’t see anything aside from the wall – it’s like it’s swaying. I tried to shout and call for help but I can’t. Hindi ako makapagsalita. Then, I prayed. Hard. After a few seconds, it stopped. I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do. Tumayo ako agad, mabilis. Then turned on the lights. I looked at my bed but didn’t see anything. Bubuksan ko na sana ‘yung pinto to wake up anyone I can talk to, pero natakot ako na baka kung ano ang makita ko sa labas ng kwarto. Good thing, my aunt’s room and my room has wood division. Kaya kinatok ko siya ‘dun. Sabi ko “Tita, buksan mo ‘yung pinto mo!”. When I heard her open her door, saka lang ako lumabas ng kwarto. She said “Bakit anung nangyari? Bakit ang putla mo?” I remember that I can’t even say a word. I’m shakin’ and I feel really cold. We went to my mom’s room because my aunt didn’t know what to do. Then I told them what happened. My mom went to my room to check. I didn’t want to go with her – that’s how scared I was. When she get back to me, she found the crucifix (that hangs at my bedroom wall) on the floor. It was broken. My mom is very religious. Kumuha siya ng holy water and nagpray habang winiwisikan ang kwarto ko.

After a few minutes, I fell asleep in my Ate’s room. Nagising ulit ako. Pero this time, someone grabbed my feet. Whatever it is, it is really cold. Nagulat sila lahat. Sabi ko sa kanila ayoko muna matulog. I looked at the clock and it was around 3:30AM.

I didn’t sleep in my room for a week. And since then, I always keep the lights on when sleeping. Kasi everytime na patay ang ilaw, nagigising ako ng 3AM. Sakto 'yun. And ‘di na ko makakatulog ulit. I didn’t understand everything that happened until I saw the movie “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. The smell, and the time. Now I know. And I remember na hindi ako nakapagdasal before sleeping nung night na ‘yun.

What a coincidence. Before I started writing this, I looked at the clock in my computer - guess what time was it?