Among the many
ghosts stories that abound in Metro Manila, Philippines,
there are those that have evolved into many
call the "urban
legend."An
urban legend is a story derived from real life, but with elements of
over the top horror. It is a way of expressing one''s fears, in a
totally exaggerated way as to appear ridiculous. Urban legends are
often widely circulated. Whether these stories are true or not, no one
can tell with absolute certainty.But one thing''s for sure, they make
for great copy. Schools, particularly are favorite settings for urban
legends. This is because
most schools date way back to the Second World War, when most
institutions were used as garrisons, prisons and torture chambers.It
is said that the ghosts of the soldiers and innocent civilians who have
shed their blood in these places will forever walk the halls of these
institutions. Following is a sampling of the urban legends circulating
around the schools. Is your school one of them? ***A girl was on the
way to the dorm of University of the Philippines in Diliman. The only
remaining passenger on the Jeep she was on. She
had takes this route many times before, so she was surprised when the
driver suddenly changed his course. Alarmed she told the driver to drop
her off the dorm. After a few minutes, they returned to the original
route and the driver dropped her off tat the dorm. But before letting
her leave, he gave her a few words of advice: "Ineng,
pag-uwi mo hubarin mo agad iyang damit mo at kung pwede sunugin mo
agad. Iniba ko yung ruta para makaiwas sa disgrasya. Kanina kasi
pagtingin ko sa salamin, walakang ulo (Miss, when you get home,
take off your clothes immideately and burn them. I changed the route to
avoid any accidents. I got spooked because when i looked at you in the
rear-view mirror, you didn''t have a head!)"***This happens in Adamson
University, A girl was by the sink in one of the comfort rooms
in the
building, washing her face. When
she looked in the mirror, she saw that in her face, instead of droplets
of water, were little drops of blood. And standing behind her was a
man. A headless man in a soldier''s uniform.Every year, students
would encounter various but similar scary experiences in that toilet.
According to research, the St. Vincent De Paul building, where the
comfort room was, is the oldest building of and was used as an
executions station by the Japanese army during World War II.Rumor has
it that countless heads had been chopped off in the toilet itself.***In
the Sacred Heart Novitiate building, the story of the "stairs"
is one that forces retreat-goers to go around in the "safety" of
groups.Legend
has it that late one night, a group of students went downstairs to go
"exploring" after the others had gone to sleep.The frightening thing
was that no matter how long they kept going down the flights of stairs
from the 3rd floor dorm hall they occupied, they could not seem to find
the ground floor landing.Even more sinister was that they kept passing
the same eerie of Christ at each floor landing, over and over
again.***This happen few years ago in the College of Saint Benilde.
During
an early morning class, a girl dressed all in black entered room M-409
where a class was going on. The class didn''t mind the girl, thinking
that she was only sitting in. Suddenly, in the middle of the teacher''s
lecture, the girl stood-up, walked towards the front wall and, to the
shock of everyone, vanished into the blackboard.The incident, which was
reported in the school paper, still scares students who take classes in
the said room.***Feati University At 10pm one night, one ROTC cadet was
revealing himself in one of the comfort rooms at the third floor of the
Paterno building.He
was just about finished when he made out the unmistakable figure of a
woman dressed in white floating in the air. the vision made him scream
in intense fright, catching the attention of his otns. Upon
their arrival, the ghostly apparition was still there.It was seven
in the evening at another instance, when a janitor getting ready to go
home noticed a mysterious lady enter one of the restrooms at the third
floor. He followed the lady to warn her that the part of the building
was strictly prohibited. He entered the restroom and saw no one there.
According
to stories, the Paterno Building, which had existed even before the
outbreak of World War II, was used as a garrison by the Japanese during
the war.***