666 in Cabanatuan

News

[Taken from a Social Networking Site:]

(Edited) This is a forwarded message, pakibasa po, at paki sabi sa lahat ng inyong mga kakilala o kaibigan at kapamilya ... (please read, and pass this to all the people you know, your friends and your family.) Godbless PTL! Meron na po lihim na natatakan ng 666 dito malapit sa Cabanatuan,!!!(There were people secretly been marked with 666 in Cabanatuan) Daming nag patatak, kasi tatanggap sila ng 50,000 kada buwan, (Many people are induced to have the seal because they will recieve P50,000 every month.) Message to galing Nueva Ecija,... (Message from Nueva Ecija) please be aware... wag na wag mag papatatak cause it means... (Never be sealed.) ASURANCE TO HELL, be watchful and pray... Posted by Kwentong Mula sa Malikhaing Kaisipan (Kababalaghan,Pantasya O Hiwaga) May 2, 2012

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[Taken from a Text Message:]

Pakipasa po sa lahat ng contacts niyo.(Pass this to all your contacts.) Godbless PTL! Meron na po lihim na natatakan ng 666 dito malapit sa Cabanatuan. Dami nagpatatak kasi tatanggap silang P50,000 kada buwan. Text yan from Nueva Ecija. Please, pass to all Christians na magpray. Wag na wag magpatatak, cause it means, assurance of destination in HELL.(There were people secretly been marked with 666 here near Cabanatuan. Many were induced to be sealed, because all of them will receive P50,000 per month. This is the text message from Nueva Ecija. Please, pass to all Christians to pray. Don't be imprinted, cause it means, assurance of destination in Hell. From: Pastor Tabigne of KJB Light Baptist Church, Abulug, Cag.

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[Taken from Internet:]

MERON DAW NAGAGANAP NA LIHIM NA TATAKAN MALAPIT SA CABANATUAN NG NUMBER NA 666 AT MADAMI NA RAW ANG NAGPATATAK DAHIL MAY PANGAKO NA TATANGGAP SILA NG 50,000.00 KADA BUWAN. MGA KABABAYAN KO ALAMIN NINYO KUNG ANO ANG 666 YAN AY TATAK NG ANTI-CHRIST AT YAN AY MAY SUMPA NA KAPALIT MULA SA DIYOS. SINO MAN ANG MATATAKAN NITO AY LALABAS ANG MABAHO AT NAKAKADIRI NA SUGAT AT YAN ANG PARUSA AT SUMPA GALING SA DIYOS. REVEALTION 13:16-18. AT PAGADTING NG 'JUDGMENT NG PANGINOONG HESUS KAHIT HANAPIN NINYO ANG KAMATAYAN DI NA DARATING SA INYO. YAN ANG PASAPORTE NG TAO NA MAY TATAK NA 666 PAPUNTA SA IMPYERNO - ANG DAIGDIG NG MGA PATAY, NA LUGAR DIN NG WALANG KATAPUSAN NA PARUSA AT WALANG KATAPUSAN NA PAGKASUNOG. NAKARATING NA AKO DOON NG MAMATAY AKO NG 1970 DAHIL SA RAPTURED APPENDEX. BINALIK LANG AKO NG DIYOS PARA MAGING SAKSI NA TOTOO ANG "HELL O IMPYERNO."HUWAG NINYO GAWING BIRO BIRO ANG HELL AT 666 DAHIL YAN ANG MAY IMPLICATIONS KALIGTASAN NG INYONG KALULUWA AT ESPIRITU. They said, there was a secret sealing place for the number 666 near Cabanatuan, and many people had been sealed for a promise that they will receive P50,000.00 every month. My dear people, please know what 666 means, that is a mark of anti-Christ and it also contain a curse from God. Whoever will be marked with this, foul and horrible wounds will appear in your skin and that's the punishment and it come from God. Revelations 13:16-18. And when the time the judgement of our Lord Jesus Christ, whatever you'll do to find death, it will resist you. That'll be the passport of mankind sealed with 666 towards hell - the world of dead and also the world of eternal punishment and everlasting fire. I once been there, when I died 1970 because of raptured appendix. God sent me back as witness that hell or inferno is real. Don't make funny of hell and 666 because that will be your implication for safety of you soul and spirit.

Information

Cabanatuan is a first class, partially urban city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. It is considered the commercial, industrial and educational hub of the province. The city lies in the middle of the province, surrounded by six other municipalities.

Being one of the urbanized city in the north of Metro Manila, their culture there is different compared to Metro Manila, especially the main dialect used there is not Filipino (or Tagalog).

By the way, the message above is not real. If it happens to be real, then why didn't it spread in Metro Manila? Is it exclusive to Cabanatuan people?

666 is not a simple subject, it is known world wide. It is very complicated, and hard to explain. We don't even know where will it rise or begin.

The last version is much more interesting than the former. The writer mentioned the verse Revelations 13:16-18:

(16) It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, (17) so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

(18) This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666.

The verse is about the reason and cause why people will be attracted to have the seal imprinted on them.

Another thing about the last version, he/she said he had been in hell. Well, many people will just ignore it and take it seriously. Actually, even I will not believe on it. Perhaps the person who published it in internet may had heard or read it from an old letter, because it says there:

NAKARATING NA AKO DOON NG MAMATAY AKO NG 1970 DAHIL SA RAPTURED APPENDEX.
I once been there, when I died 1970 because of raptured appendix.

It says there, he died 1970, the time when computer is not freely used by all people for social networking sites.

Source:

http://noozly.com/topic/cabanatuan
https://www.facebook.com/KMSMK/posts/427641373929987
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabanatuan
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+13%3A16-18&version=NIV

STFU

Tonight, while on the phone with my mother, I was offered a big cup of shut the fuck up.

I think I'd prefer a shot, wouldn't you?

Don't worry; it comes in all flavors.

"I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy." --Fred Allen

A Photographic Journey Through The Haunted North Side of Mackinac Island

My family has been in Northern Michigan for close to 200 years.  There is even a story about my great, great grandfather proposing to my great, great grandmother on the steps of  The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.   That is why my family always feels connected to Mackinac Island.   As I toured the island a few days ago, I thought about my family and the history of the island.   Mackinac Island is considered to be the most haunted place in Michigan.   There are ghosts hiding behind every shadowy corner of this island.   The entire North portion of the island is said to be haunted.   The North portion of the island was the site of  a violent battle during the war of 1812.  During this battle, the English killed 75 Native Americans and since that time tourists and residents have reported seeing the phantoms of these Native Men hiding in the trees on the North side of the island.

While touring the North side of Mackinac Island, I looked for these ghosts amongst the stunning natural beauty of the island.   While looking for ghosts, I found the a wonderful collection of cairns along the shore line that augmented the natural beauty and created and atmosphere of mystery.  Cairns are stacks of stones that are were commonly used in prehistory. In modern times, cairns are usually used as landmarks, but in ancient times they were used for ceremonial, astonomical, and directional purposes .I also found the decaying remains of an old hotel called the Silver Birches.  The old house was turned into a hotel and eventually left to ruin.  The remains of the hotel cast a truely haunting shadow over the North shore of the island.  I haven't heard any ghost stories associated with the old hotel, but its ghostly appearance makes it worth a photograph or two.  

Exam Time

Another summer, another exam season nearly over. After several years of doing this we think we've seen everything, but there's always something new for us invigilators to talk about in the staffroom. This year I've had to remove a spider from the exam room because a girl was too terrified to carry on with it sitting several feet away on the floor. It took me a while to scoop up the little blighter but eventually I managed to escort it outside. Another invigilator had to keep waking up a student in the middle of his exam. (Don't judge him too harshly – he hadn't been very well). She would have left him alone but his snoring was disturbing the other candidates. Unfortunately, when he woke up he found he'd dribbled over his answer sheet.

Looking forward to results day and the autumn resits.

The Dirty Straw of Fast Food Restaurants in the Philippines

Absolutely not true! Actually, this urban legend was featured in Snopes.com explaining the origin of this kind of story.

Story

[Taken from Internet:]

Horrible story of mine goes back to year 2005 March. I ordered a Club Sandwich and a Sprite in a restaurant somewhere in Manila . When I finished half of the sandwich I sipped a sprite. But it did not taste like an ordinary sprite I used to drink. So I sipped once more, but it still tasted the same. It tasted like a sprite mixed with some kind of oil. I called the clerk and asked him if the sprite was expired. He said it was just delivered today. So I asked him to taste it. Then he also found that something was wrong with it.. Both of us were wondering for a while. Then I got to look inside the straw. There were a lot of tiny black round things that looked like eggs. So I cut the middle of the straw lengthwise to have a better look. Yuck. There were a lot of tiny black round things in it. I suppose they were eggs of cockroach. About 1000 eggs were there. Then I began to check all the other straws in the straws case one by one. Almost all of them contained black eggs that seemed to be either the cockroach eggs or excretions. After the incident I began to check all the straws in the restaurants and fast food chains that I had gone to. Almost of all the straws contained the same black eggs. Especially the darker the colors of straws, the more black eggs were found. In black straws, extreme amount of black eggs were found. It was found out that it is because the cockroaches live (hatch eggs and excrete) in the dark places. Research result … Amount of germs and cockroach excretion/eggs found Jollibee - RED straws - 88.89% Chowking - RED straws - Almost the same as above Local Restaurants - BLACK straws - 225% above McDonalds - WHITE straws - 0.5% Starbucks - Straws covered with white wrappers - 0% The fact is 80% or more restaurants in the malls use red or black colored straws – so be careful – it only takes a few second to check the straw before using..

The name of the person who wrote this article is Hannie. She is a Filipino, and I don't know why she's doing this. She posted it February 16, 2008. The reason why she made this: I don't know. We may assume she found some dirt from those straws, according to her, was used by fast food restaurants in the country. But I can say, her survey is partially true, she may found one but perhaps not 88.89% of them contain it.

Well, this contemporary legend went to America, and even also plague them there. Of course, the story there is much different but you can trace the similarities.

[Taken from Internet:]

Be careful while using straws!! I ordered a Club Sandwich and a Sprite in a restaurant somewhere. When I finished half of the sandwich I sipped a sprite... But it didn't taste like an ordinary sprite I used to drink. So I sipped once more, but it still tasted the same. It tasted like a sprite mixed with some kind of oil. I called the clerk and asked him if the sprite was expired... He said it was just delivered today.. So I asked him to taste it. Then he also found that something was wrong with it. Both of us were wondering for a while. Then I got to look inside the straw. There were a lot of tiny black round things that looked like eggs. So I cut the middle of the straw lengthwise to have a better look... Yuck. There were a lot of tiny black round things in it... I suppose they were eggs of cockroach. About 1000 eggs were there. Then I began to check all the other straws in the straws case one by one. Almost all of them contained black eggs that seemed to be either the cockroach eggs or excretions... After the incident I began to check all the straws in the restaurants and fast food chains that I had gone to. Almost of all the straws contained the same black eggs. Especially the darker the colors of straws, the more black eggs were found. In black straws, extreme amount of black eggs were found. It was found out that it's because the cockroaches live (hatch eggs and excrete) in the dark places. * 80% or more restaurants in the malls use red or black colored straws. SO NEXT TIME.... BE CAUTIOUS... CHECK THE STRAW BEFORE YOU PLACE IT INSIDE THE DRINKS.

This is the foreign version, but more latest one than the first article above. According here, the author found 1000 eggs in a single straw. It was to much to contain a single straw without noticing them.

If this was really true, then how come there's no news about restaurants in the Philippines became involved with this problem? By the way, how did the cockroach get inside on such a small hole just to lay an egg almost the same size as the hole of some of the straws.

The Newton-Allaire House Revisited

When I was a child, ghosts were very real to me.  I knew they shouldn't be.  I knew what my mother told me.  She told me that ghosts were not real, but every time I traveled to the family house in Cheboygan, Michigan, I felt that they were real because I felt them in the house. It is because of this house and because of my grandmother, who lived in the house, that my fascination with ghosts and haunted places grew into what it is today.  The most haunted place I have ever visited is my family home, the Newton-Allaire house in Cheboygan, Michigan. This house has been in my family for almost 150 years. As long as I have been alive, it has been the residence of my grandmother and my great-aunt.  Several years ago they both departed the home leaving it empty. The house itself is a beautiful 8 bedroom Victorian within walking distance of the down town. My grandmother spent much of her life painstakingly restoring the house so that it is as historically accurate as possible.   When she was alive, she spoke of the house as a person and loved it as if it were her child.

This seems appropriate to me, because the house has always seemed alive and the house has always been alive with ghost stories. My father once told me that there was a spot in the house that turned ice cold at midnight. At night, the house is filled with odd noises and bizarre lights. One of the last times I stayed there, I was awoken int he middle night to find my night table shaking and what sounded like a train passed through my room. My mom says she awoke one morning to find a ghost holding her hand. The same trip that I awoke to the loud noises, I had travelled to a wedding as well. My wedding clothes were carefully nestled at the bottom of my suite case. I never used them during my stay at the house and I never touched them, however after I left, my family found them laid out in an unused room. They were laid out like someone was going to wear them.

When I was little several sets of family photos came back from the house filled with white blobs. My parents, reluctant to believe in ghosts, tossed the photos and blamed it on bad photography, but I always knew the house was filled with the ghosts of our family. The house was alive with them and I think that is why I never wanted to leave. I still miss it and I often hope the ghosts aren't too lonely.  I am leaving on Sunday to journey back to the old house.  The last time we visited, it had been empty so long that the ghosts seemed to have gone with the people.  It was quiet and all haunting activity was gone.  I'm hoping this time, I'll catch a glimpse of the house as it was when I was a girl.  I'm taking my little bag of ghost hunting tools and I'll be staying in the room with the most haunting activity.  Whether or not I find ghosts, I know I'll find my family there and that it will be a wonderful trip that I've been looking forward to for a very long time.

Cheboygan on Dwellable

Joel's Attorney

From: Joel Ecklund

Subject: Re: Debt Recovery Matter

Date: June 19, 2012 10:08:11 AM PDT

I have been directed by my local counsel, Mr. Warren L. Bachtel, Esq., to contact your office regarding possible legal representation of my firm.We are currently facing severe pressure from our Supplier to pay up the balance funds that we owe to them.This debt is as a result of an outstanding payment of $398,750.00 for goods delivered in good condition to our client,MECHANICAL SALES, INC.521 S Brandon Street Seattle, WA 98108. Due date for payment as stated in our Supplier's invoice was June 5th, 2012.

Please,do carry out a conflict check on my debtor and also let me know about your fee structure and rates.

We will like to draw your attention to the relationship with our customer which has been cordial and we have had successful business relationship over the past few years,and it is in our position to maintain this relationship after collection of the outstanding sum owed to us.Do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

I look forward to a timely response from you.

Sincerely,

Joel Ecklund

President

CODECK MANUFACTURING, INC.

410 Coloma Street

Sausalito, CA 94965 

Tel:415 829-9429

Fax:1-888-858-5909

Armadillos from Texas play rap, eating tacos.

If you have watched the Barbri contracts lecture, son, you know what the hell I mean.

(You're welcome.)

The Curse of One's Death

DON'T READ ME!

The Curse of One's Death During the Spanish times, there was once a Spanish lady here in the Philippines. She was walking somewhere when she met an old filipino, carrying a heavy baggage on his back. Then he suddenly fell on the road because of exhaustion. Since Filipinos were meanly treated as slave workers, she kicked his body to get him out of her way. Then, when the Spanish lady had passed through, th old man just stared at her, as if waiting for her to leave. Then, the old man threw a curse - The Curse of One's Death. The day after the incident, she heard the old man she saw yesterday had passed away. She was surprised and quite shaken by that news, so she immediately told the whole story to a certain friend. The next day, her friend died a mysterious death, with no trace of illness or accident. This time, the Spanish lady became even more frightened. To have someone console her, she again told somebody, this time, a bishop, about the old man she met by the road. Subsequently the bishop died, and just like what had happened to her friend, there was no evidence of sickness or accident too. This made the Spanish lady terriby worried. It finally occurred to her that a curse must be the cause surrounding those untimely and unexplainable deaths. She then consulted an albularyo[witch doctor; a shaman]. She told everything that happened, from the old man to the death of the Bishop. Then the witch doctor advised to her that the only way to break the curse was to tell the story to the one she loved she loved the most. And so she did follow what the witch doctor had said. Unfortunately, it was the Spanish lady who soon died. And so the story of the Spanish lady was passed on to everyone; from one place to another. Then, there was a Filipino who soon heard about that story. While he was about to sleep one night , suddenly, an image of a woman appeared in front of him. It was the Spanish lady, she was saying something in Spanish. And the Filipino just nodded, although wondering what the lady had said to him. Then she disappeared, like a mist in the night. "WHOEVER WILL HEAR OR READ THIS STORY WILL SEE THE SPANISH LADY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT." But, to stop the curse, just pass it on.

I told you not to read this!!!

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Hahaha . . . ! I was just kidding. You can read the story above freely and with no worries. Well, I don't believe it. I had tried it (with faith in God) not to pass to other people, but NOTHING happened to me that night. But some people, claimed they saw her. And what she look like? Similar to that described below. This story is everywhere, so I can't put here the source where I found this.

According to my research, I found this other version:

An old filipino man was carrying a heavy sack of rice. He fell down in front of a spanish lady. The spanish lady kicked him. Before she left he cursed him with the "Curse of Ones Death." Later that day the man died. She felt horrible of the curse that she told what happened to her friends. The friend died the next day with no possible cause of accident or illness. She told it to the bishop the next week. The bishop also died. To remove the curse, she consulted a witch doctor. He adviced her to tell it to her love. She did it but she died instead of her love. Right now the curse still exist. Those who read or hear this story has experienced seeing the ghost of the lady at midnight. A girl who told this to me saw her. She is a white spectre with Maria Clara attire. To cure this curse, you must pass this story to another person.

All of those who passed this story claimed they saw this lady:

A girl who told this to me saw her. She is a white spectre with Maria Clara attire.

The Spanish Lady looks like a specter, wearing a long gown(here, known as the Maria Clara-look), with a pure white body....

Some other versions, put the name of the starter (author). And she was Rachel Pulumbarit.

I remember the story of Maria Labo[1]. But the chain message about her says: Whenever you suddenly remember her at 3pm or 3am, she will appear in front of you.

The Pudwudgies of Mounds State Park

I am preparing for another rode trip in my brand new caravan.  The caravan provides for a new realm of ghostly travel and for my first overnight in our white lady, we'll be staying in Mounds State Park in Indiana.   Mounds State Park is most known for its archaeological significance.  The park features 10 different structures that were sculpted into the Earth by Native Americans.  These 10 ceremonial mounds were constructed by the prehistoric Adena culture and were later used by the Hopewell Native Americans.  The largest and most impressive of the mounds is called the "Great Mound" and was built around 160 BC.

It is not surprising that a place that is so rich in history should have a long tradition of oral folklore associated with it.   The folklore associated with Mounds State Park is more than just oral history, sighting of the legendary beings that haunt this state park persist to this day.   Creature from Native America Folklore called pudwudgies are seen on a regular basis around this site.  Pudwudgies are 2 or 3 ft high with large noses, fingers, and ears.  They are grey and are sometimes said to glow.  They are dangerous creatures that can transform into animals and are said to enjoy mischief and destruction and sometimes have been known to lure people to their deaths. 

Interestingly, Pudwudgies are said to be able to control the ghosts of those they have murdered.  Thus they can use their army of ghosts to create more mischief and cause more death.  Regular sitings of the Pudwudgies and their ghosts are reported at the Mound State Park and I can't wait to visit and see if I can catch a glimpse of these mischief makers myself.  

Busy Summer

 It's turning out to be a busy summer one way or another. We've had a lot of flag waving recently. Right now some lads are kicking their balls around for the next couple of weeks. Our boys in white have been bowling their maidens over and trying to pull off a googly or two. Soon there'll be those chaps and lasses running round in circles, jumping in sandpits and throwing bits of junk around.

Personally I'm more interested in those magnificent men on their cycling machines. The French countryside, the wine the mademoiselles. Three weeks of pelotons, bidons and bonking. (All legitimate cycling terms, I assure you). They'll be sprinting on the flats and climbing the mountains while trying to avoid the gendarmes, the road furniture and the spectators. One year I might find time to cross the channel and see it for real. Until then I'll just shave my legs, slip on my Lycra and dream.

Ghosts from Around the Campfire

A  few days ago I did a post about St. Bernard's Preparatory School.  I had always heard that the school was haunted, but had never learned any specifics about the haunting.  My last post focused on photographs and relics, but today my son came back from St. Bernard's Summer Camp and he brought a variable cornucopia of ghost stories back with him as a little late Mother's Day present for his mom.   The camp counselor's at Camp Bernard's have collected and saved the folklore of the school and spread it to the campers as they settle into bed at night.  All of the camp counselors either are attending or have attended the boarding school so they know the ghosts that wander the halls of St. Bernard's School better than anyone.  Not only did the counselors tell tales, but the campers whispered of ghosts in the night and shared them with each other.

My favorite story is one a counselor told my son.  I have always heard it said that a phantom monk wanders the grounds of St. Bernard's in the night.  He drifts in the mist and comes with the fog.  According to Gabe's camp counselor, many years ago a monk became desperate with despair.  This monk hung himself in the library at St. Bernard's.  The ghost of this monk still wanders the library to this day.  The library is so haunted, the students once used it as a Halloween haunted house.  The counselor says that when he was alone in the library, he could almost feel the monk breathing on him.  It seems this monk is also the monk I had heard of before that wanders the grounds at night.

Other ghost stories flourished at the camp.  One story spoke of a little girl that leaped to her death from the top of the girl's dormitory.  The girl's ghost still lingers at the girl's dormitory watching the other girls as they sleep.  One story my son says is complete rubbish, but it made for good campfire fun so is worth telling.   This tale tells of a little boy who died in the boy's dormitory.  According to the rumors of the camp, this ghost is so hostile, he contributed to the death of a camper. 

My son knows that the last story is nonsense, but campfire ghost stories are the heart of any good camp and the stories that have a hint of the truth in them add a little real creepiness to the fun of the stories that were nonsense and made camp all the more fun.   In the end,  stories like these remind me of my favorite thing about ghost stories.  They remind me of the joy of story telling and the joy of the last oral traditions and folklore.   I thank all the counselors and campers that spread these stories and keep them alive in the smoke of the campfire.

Traveling Spirits and the Manassas Battlefield

The Battlefield at Mannassas National Park has seen more than its fair share of bloodshed.  On July 21,1861 it was the site of the First Battle of Bull Run and on August 28th- 30th it was the site of the Second Battle of Bull Run.  It was here that General Thomas Jackson gained his nickname stonewall Jackson.  It isn't surprising that a place like this would be considered haunted.  Such places usually carry a few ghost stories, but it is always fun to hear the ghost stories from those who have actually experienced them.

Last week I had a wonderful chat with a young man who had spent a considerable amount of time sneaking around the battle field at night and chasing shadowy ghosts through the dark corners of this old battlefield.  He had some particularly interesting stories about Manassas. One of his stories about a traveling ghost was particularly interesting to me.  Apparently, he spent some time ghost hunting by The Stone Bridge, which the Union retreated across after both battles.  On the Stone Bridge, the young man and his friends were able  catch several EVPs of cannon fire.   The young man was a musician and he also describes hearing traveling sounds as well.  As the sound traveled, he was able to describe a change in pitch and frequency. He indicated that he saw a shadow person when he was out one night and later he and his companions saw several shadow people.  This is consistent with other stories I have read about online.  He and his group were also able to capture a mist form walking by The Stone House, which was used as a hospital during both battles.

One of the most interesting things he described relates back to my fascination with multicultural perspectives on ghosts and hauntings.  Last summer, I interviewed a young man from Taiwan who told me that his mother would always make him go to the temple to cleanse away bad spirits whenever he went to a cemetery or a place that might contain spirits.  In his culture, it is believed that spirits can follow you home.   I always wonder why I don't gain more of a sense of that in Western beliefs and ghostlore traditions.   The young man I interviewed last week described such an incident happening within his group.  He said that following one of his group's visit to Mannasses, the young woman from his group brought something back with him.  Things in her house moved on their own and mirrors shattered.  Objects disappeared and relocated.  The haunting continued until she told the spirit to leave and then it vanished as quickly as it came.

The Hoax of Manny Villar's US Mansion

I am always updated with many news in the Philippines, but how come I didn't knew about this hoax in America of which Sen. Manny Villar is on it. It was about the mansion in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, which is very fabulous and it seemed, it was owned by a royal family. It was very beautiful, that's what I can say. (Well, even I would dream such a huge mansion!) The mansion is named Bel Air Mansion. [Villar (Vil-yar) = Bel Air, Hmmm. . . Almost similar sound.]

I took this e-mail in Snopes.com (Thanks to them.)

Who owns a house like this?? Imagine who would have such taste and live in such opulence? An American Billionaire? A Saudi Prince? Louis XIV of France? Savour the pictures then scroll to the bottom of the page to see who owns this Work of Art. This Mansion is in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and belongs to: Senator Manny Villar of the PHILIPPINES While Filipinos starve, and die because of abject poverty ....and while Sen. Villar brags that he had poor beginnings and he had helped his poor countrymen over and over again... but look now.. he and his family live like this.......his GREED kills his poverty stricken fellow Filipinos PLEASE send this to everyone you know. They can send it to everyone they know. Soon Filipinos around the world will know what this man is doing to the people he wishes to serve if elected President.

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Pictures of Villar's 'US mansion' a hoax MANILA, Philippines - The latest attack against presidential candidate Sen. Manny Villar floundered after an e-mail purportedly showing the senator's opulent mansion in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States turned out to be a hoax. The e-mail, titled "Who owns a house like this?", was sent to several e-groups and forwarded to the ABS-CBN news desk earlier this week. The e-mail was prefaced with the question: "Imagine who would have such taste and live in such opulence?" and then showed various pictures of the alleged mansion, which had lavish Victorian-style interiors. At the end of the e-mail, the sender then identifies the owner of the mansion as Sen. Villar. "While Filipinos starve, and die because of abject poverty and while Sen. Villar brags that he had poor beginnings and he had helped his poor countrymen over and over again... but look now.. he and his family live like this, his GREED kills his poverty stricken fellow Filipinos," the e-mail read. A check on the Snopes.com website, which investigates urban legends and forwarded e-mail rumors, however, showed that the e-mail has been circulating as early as 2008 and that the mansion was first linked to Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. A copy of the e-mail about Mugabe's mansion also had the same wording as the recent e-mail about Villar, with minor changes to make it appear that it was written for a Filipino audience. The Snopes website said that the mansion is not in Salt Lake City but in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. It also noted that the mansion has been extensively photographed because it is sometimes used as a site for TV shows and films. Snopes also revealed that the mansion has been linked to various personalities such as former Nigerian military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, Indian film star Shahrukh Khan, and Edir Macedo, founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. In a phone interview, Nacionalista Party spokesman Gilbert Remulla downplayed the latest attempt to besmirch the reputation of Villar. "Who would want to buy a mansion in Salt Lake City? Are there papers to support it?" he said, adding that there was absolutely no truth to the rumor. He added: "The campaign being waged by Villar's opponents reaches record lows everyday, starting with the false associations of 'Villaroyo.' It only shows that his opponents are insecure and desperate. We pray that they campaign on platforms and capabilities rather than mudslinging." At least one of those who forwarded the e-mail about Villar has apologized. Domingo Guevara Jr. of the Guevara Group of Companies apologized to the Villar camp for forwarding the bogus e-mail to his contacts. He said he issued his apology "not because I support Villar but I wish to be fair to all concerned." Mudslinging against Villar The e-mail hoax is the latest in a series of attempts to spread black propaganda against the Nacionalista Party standard-bearer. Earlier this month, an e-mail sent to news organizations by a certain duwagsatondo@gmail.com said Villar would allegedly hold a press conference at the NP headquarters in Mandaluyong City. The e-mail sender said Villar will talk about his campaign expenses and even hinted at an alleged romantic relationship between him and his vice presidential candidate, Loren Legarda. The e-mail then ends with a note that journalists covering the event should go to NP Senator “Allan Cayetano” to get their envelopes.” It then lists the amounts to be received by the reporters, which range from P1,000-P3,000, depending on the media organizations they represent. (Read: Anti-Villar camp tries false media advisory) -- David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com

According to Snopes.com, the mansion has been used for making numbers of movies and television programs in which it was used as the location. And the photographs above are taken inside and out are from Bel Air section of Los Angeles.

Source:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/02/24/10/pictures-villars-us-mansion-hoax
http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/belairmansion.asp#photo2

Lapu-Lapu Legends

Happy Independence Day Philippines!
And here's my Independence Day Special Urban Legend of the Day

Let's have a quick discussion about the history of Philippines in the time of Spanish expedition.
King Charles of Spain prepared the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan to find another route going to the east of Europe - Asia. The reason is the Muslim Turks closed the route of Constantinople and other traditional routes in 1500. The only way to do that is to head west of Europe - Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean then to Asia. Magellan brought five ships - Victoria, Concepcion, San Antonio, Santiago and the flag-bearer, Trinidad. While on the way to Asia, when they passed through to what is now called the Bermuda Triangle, they encountered mysterious things - a shining vehicle-like floated from the depths of water and another was the one following them. (Well, I had watched it from a documentary.)

March 16, 1521, when Magellan reached the island what is now Samar. Then on the second day, they went to Homonhon, where they are hospitably accepted by the people. March 28, 1521, they sailed again to Limasawa and was accepted by Raha Kolambu. Then, on March 31, 1521, Father Pedro de Valderrama celebrated the first mass in the Philippines. April 7, 1521, they sailed again, with Raha Kolambu with them, and reached Cebu. There, Father Pedro de Valderrama converted 700-800 Cebuanos to Christianism on April 14 of the same year. Moreover, Magellan, ordered the creation of the Cross (which is now called "Krus ni Magellan") and gave an image of Sto. Nino (now it was the patron of Cebu and the subject of Sinulog Festival).

Lapu-lapu (Other names: Kali Pulako; Cali Pulaco; Cilapulapu; and Pula-pula) is the chieftain of Mactan, who refused to recognize the great power of Spain. In which case, Magellan declared war against them. He led 1,500 people to the war armed only with spears, Kampilan and Kalasag, and killed 3 out of 49 Spaniards armed with guns and lances.

Now, he is considered the first Filipino national hero who fought for the country against Spanish soldiers. In that war, Lapu-lapu's people overwhelmed the Spaniards, and he killed Magellan (one of the 3 slain soldiers). The ships who went back to Spain are Victoria and Trinidad. The war was known as the Battle of Mactan.

Well, though at that time, the archipelago of the present Philippines is not yet considered one country. The historians questioned the fact that Lapu-lapu is a Filipino hero.

Let's go back to the main discussion about this hero.

Story

[Magellan killed Lapu-lapu?]

Normally, as written in the history textbooks, it was Lapu-lapu who killed Magellan, as what I had written above. Lapu-lapu was considered the first Filipino who didn't agreed to be invaded by Spanish soldiers. But how if the history was wrong, and Lapu-lapu was actually killed by Magellan. We don't know the actual event of what actually happened that same time. Therefore, everybody can speculate. So if it was real, then the history of the first Philippine revolt against invaders is not TRUE? NO! It was just an urban legend. Nowadays, only few or none believe on it. There was another legend, it was not Lapu-lapu who killed Magellan but one of his men. The honor was just given to Lapu-lapu as the leader of the revolt.

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[Lapu-lapu didn't killed Magellan]

Another, according to some rumors, he was not the actual person who killed Magellan, but his other soldiers. Well, no one knows. It was hundreds of years ago when it happened. The reason why they thought it was, in that time, in every war, when a soldier of a Datu/Rajah killed the opponent Datu/Rajah, the honor will be passed to him. Thus, it wasn't Lapu-lapu who made it but his soldiers. I can't tell if it's real or not.

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[Lapu-lapu's Statue in Opon]

From 1929 to 1933, the chief executive of Opon was Rito de la Serna. During his incumbency, the Municipal Council of Opon passed a resolution sometime in 1933 appropriating an amount for the construction of a monument in honor of Chief Lapu-lapu. The resolution was then immediately implemented. The statue of Lapulapu was then holding a bow and arrow and the arrow was pointing at the municipal hall. Whether it was by coincidence or for some other reason, Rito de la Serna died not long after the completion of the Lapulapu Monument. At first, the residents did not connect his death with the statue of Lapulapu. However, when de la Serna's successors died while in office, superstitious people began to talk about the statue. Gregorio de la Serna, a nephew of the late Rito de la Serna, was elected to serve from 1934 to 1937 but he was not able to complete his term because he died in office sometime in 1937. Hon. Simeon Amodia was installed to serve the unexpired term of Gregorio de la Serna. But, again, tragedy struck as the newly-installed Simeon Amodia died even before the year 1937 came to an end. It was Pascual Patalinghug who broke the cycle when he completed the unexpired term up to the end of 1937. In 1938, Mariano S. Dimataga was sworn in as the new chief executive of Opon. Whether he believed in the bow and arrow jinx or not is uncertain but he immediately undertook the renovation of the statue of Lapulapu. The bow and arrow was replaced by a pestle. Mariano Dimataga remained as the chief executive of Opon for the next thirty years2 until he retired in 1968. This is not connected to the history, but still it's name is on it. NOTES: 1. Opon was the name of Lapu-Lapu City before it became a chartered city in 1961. It was a municipality of the province of Cebu then. 2. Lapulapu is the Philippines' first national hero. Factual information regarding Lapulapu can be found in Bantayog ng mga Bayani. 3. Mariano Dimataga was the Municipal Mayor of Opon from 1938 up to 1942 when World War II started. After the war, Dimataga served again as the Municipal Mayor from 1945 up to 1961 when Opon became the chartered city of Lapu-Lapu. He continued to serve as the chief executive (as City Mayor) until his retirement in 1968. courtesy of: Mga Awit ng Nakaraan (Songs of the Past) Perhaps, the reason behing the mystery is the bow and arrow he was holding. Weapons like it were used by lower ranked soldiers, not by a datu like him. Maybe he was very angry for that. So he gave his favor to the person who changed his weapon. Unfortunately, the former mayors died naturally. It could be just a coincidence.

Source:
http://www.onecebu.com/forum/arts-and-culture/thread-030712-2669.html
Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas Pagbabago para sa Kaunlaran at Kapayapaan. Dr. Florida C. Leutenrio.

The Bones and Ghosts of St. Bernard's Prep School

 I went to St. Bernard's Abbey and Preparatory school today.  It is a truly beautiful place that is fun to wander and explore. From the strange little grotto in the back to the Gothic buildings that house the dormitories of St. Bernard's School, there is a sense of magic about the place.  According to shadowlands haunted place index, the school is haunted by the ghost of a little boy that watches students while they sleep and a phantom monk that can be seen floating in the mist. I haven't yet found any further evidence to support this write up, but there is a haunting beauty to the place that lends itself to a sense that there may be ghosts waiting behind corners and in shadows.  The church has a reliquary and the bones of the saints fill a glass case in the back lending their spirit to the place.  The tradition of collecting the bones of dead saints has always fascinated me.  In the middle ages, the popularity of relics lead to great pilgrimages and the stories of amazing miracles were attributed to the power of the dead remains of deceased saints.  The little reliquary at St. Bernard's was a beautiful reminder of old traditions and dead saints.  Here are a few pictures of St. Bernard's abbey and its lovely reliquary. 

Why I'm awesome, part 2

1) I'm strange. And by that, I mean I have a really quirky sense of humor, in the way that only theatre kids have. If you know a theatre kid, you know what I mean.

2) I shop at Goodwill and resale/consignment stores a good bit of the time, and at ebay just as much. (I've already went into my ebay addiction, but let's talk about Goodwill for a moment, why don't we?) I started shopping at Goodwill when I was about 15 years old and at the height of my theatre-kid awesomeness, and the "best" outfit I ever wore in high school consisted of leopard print stretch sleep pants with gold threads shooting through them and a man's gold lame' shirt from the 70s with HUGE shoulderpads. I didn't wear it because I thought I looked good. I wore it because it made people smile, or laugh, or point, and it was worth walking around looking like a disco ball for the awesome reactions. I've since retired this look at mostly stick to jeans and blouses, but I may be able to dig up a redacted picture of this outfit. Maybe. If I actually allowed myself to be photographed in it (I said I was weird, not retarded).

This one is almost as good....almost:

3) I hate (almost all) people, but love (almost all) animals. I have two dogs, but they are NOT my fucking babies. I refer to them as "my girls" and they are DOGS. (Don't get me started on people that carry dogs in purses.)

4) When I drink, it's shots. And I have a system for doing so that involves taking said shot, then sipping 8 ounces of water for 40 minutes before I take another shot. And I have never gotten blacked out drunk, or made questionable life decisions while doing this. My drink of choice? Tequila.

5) I didn't get cable until my 3L year, and that was because my boyfriend was tired of missing the games. I still hardly watch it, and mostly use it for background noise or to watch one or two shows I can't catch online.

As a side note: you know from past posts that I've been studying for the Bar, and am just now starting to emerge for air. I'll do another legal blog soon bemoaning my cruel summer's fate, etc. but for the moment, I just couldn't bring myself to write about the law when I am literally INUNDATED WITH IT at all times. Saturated. Soggy, if you will, from the law (and I mean in the nasty, fingers are pruny kind of way. Oh God, I'm going to have nightmares about that tonight...). 

Is there a Ghost in Schools?

Actually, it is normal for schools to be rumored haunted, especially in the Philippines. When you ask a certain pupil in a primary school and/or student in a secondary or tertiary school if there is a ghost in their campus, almost all of them will affirmatively answer you YES. If not yes, they may just tell you, "They said there was, but I don't know if it was really true." I remembered when I was in my elementary times, our school was rumored to be once a cemetery, and was dumped with cement and/or soil to hide the whole graveyard. Of course, because we were kids we definitely believed the rumor without evidence.

In the other hand, University of the Philippines is not alone for being a rumored haunted school, but also the other universities in the Philippines. The truth is, the oldest the school is, the haunted they will see on it. UST, DLSU, and ADMU are also rumored of ghosts hauntings. UST, as the oldest of them, is the most told to be a place for ghost haunting.

I collected known ghost stories of schools and universities which I considered an urban legend. I didn't intend to tell the readers that this stories (below) are not true. As what I said in my introduction, urban legends may originate from true and credible event which brought to more exaggerated stories.

So, here's the stories:

Stories

[Taken from Internet:]

The setting: An evening class at De La Salle – College of St. Benilde In attendance: A professor, his students, and a creepy girl The tale: It was the first day of the semester, and the professor called out the roll, trying to match each of his students' faces to their names. When he had finished, he noticed that there was one person who had not been called: the girl dressed in a white shirt and jeans sitting at the front row directly across his desk. He asked for her form to check if she was enrolled in that class, but she stared up at him blankly. He repeated his question, and watched – along with the entire class – as the girl stood up and walked past him, straight through the blackboard. Take note: Though there are many variations to this tale, the scariest thing about it is that there was nothing to suspect about the girl at first, until she actually walked through the blackboard. Imagine that happening on your first day of school! The setting: The Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament, De La Salle University In attendance: The restless souls of murdered La Sallian brothers The tale: Many a ghost story has been set in the La Salle Chapel, but among the most harrowing tales is the one about a girl who decided to enjoy some meditative quiet time there. After several minutes of sitting with her eyes closed and breathing evenly, she opened her eyes to see a shadowy figure in the middle of the chapel, moving very slowly towards her. She closed her eyes again and tried to utter a prayer while frozen in fear. But when she opened her eyes, she found that the figure had materialized completely: it was a priest with a bayonet in his gut and bullet wounds in his forehead. Take note: The scariest thing about the La Salle Chapel ghost stories? Their origins are factual. During World War II, 16 Brothers and several families took refuge in the Chapel. All the Brothers and 25 of the civilians were massacred by Japanese soldiers. The school's official website even gives a date: Feb. 12, 1945. The setting: Class 2G's room, La Salle Greenhills In attendance: The entire class 2G, their adviser and a little boy sitting in The tale: The class had been experiencing strange things in their room for a while–objects were rearranged; televisions unexpectedly shut down; computers misbehaved. Tired of being toyed with, the class decided to set up video surveillance to record what happened in the room at night. Only after a week of this did they find the cause of their troubles: in the recording, they saw a little boy around five years old limp into the classroom, circling it as if looking for something. He then disappeared in the video, only to return a second later–walking upside down, all the while approaching the camera lens. Some say that the doors slammed shut and the television and computer both fizzled out. They had to call in a technician to fix the appliances, but the students were all unharmed afterwards. Take note: It's rumored that to this day, the subsequent classes who take on the section “2G” still experience peculiar things. The setting: A bathroom in Miriam College High School In attendance: Four classmates, more or less The tale: After their classes ended late, three friends went to the bathroom together. When three of them had emerged from the cubicles, another classmate entered the bathroom and greeted them. As the fourth girl was in the cubicle, the three decided to play a prank on her. They locked the bathroom and stood outside. In a moment they felt the doorknob rattle, and heard their classmate knocking and asking to be let out. They laughed and teased her as she begged them to open the door. When she started crying and howling at them to unlock the door, the three felt guilty and gave in. They opened the door to find no one in the bathroom. Again and again they called their friend's name, but no one responded. Spooked, the three ran to the lanai. They found the fourth girl there, who was surprised when they demanded to know where she had gone. “Kanina pa ako dito,” she said. She hadn't gone to the bathroom at all. Take note: Bathrooms seem to be an especially prominent setting in ghost stories from all-girls schools. Often, these are haunted by nuns, creepy cubicle occupants, delinquent reflections and–in another story from this school–a ghostly head in the toilet. The setting: The “black garden” behind the chapel, St. Pedro Poveda College In attendance: Ursula The tale: Ursula is more than just a ghost story in this school; for young Povedans moving from primary grade school to intermediate grade school, she's a rite of passage. Her spirit reportedly haunts the “black garden” behind the school chapel, where she supposedly killed herself. The accounts as to how she did it vary: some say she hanged herself from the big tree, others say she drowned herself in the garden's well. Whatever the method and the reason, the challenge is to cross the garden's walkway without looking back. If you do look back, it is said Ursula–a girl in her early adolescent years with long, wavy hair–will supposedly appear to you. What she will do with you is left to the imagination. Take note: Ursula is ubiquitous in Poveda ghostlore, to the point that other hauntings and ghost stories are also “attributed' to her. The setting: A classroom in St. Paul College, Pasig In attendance: Two girls The tale: While waiting for her sundo, a high school girl decided to stroll the hallways after classes had ended. She passed a classroom where she sighted a lone student scribbling on the blackboard. She thought that, from the back, the student looked like a friend of hers, so she drew close to the classroom door. She gasped in fear when she realized that the student was floating a few inches off the ground. The noise made the student turn around, showing the girl its blank, featureless face and its handiwork on the blackboard: written in large, scratchy block letters were the words, “HELP, I'M IN HELL.” Take note: In some versions of this story, the stranger in the classroom is not a student, but a faceless nun. The setting: The physics lab bathroom in St. Scholastica's College, Manila In attendance: A girl and something no one would want in the bathroom with them The tale: One student wanted privacy while conducting her bathroom business, so she checked into a rarely frequented bathroom beside the physics laboratory. All the other stalls were empty when she came in, and she had heard no one enter, so she was surprised to find a pair of black shoes standing outside her cubicle door. They stood there, perfectly still, seemingly waiting for her to finish, even while the other cubicles were unoccupied. Slightly unsettled, the girl looked away from the shoes, shifting her vision upwards–only to find that a freakishly tall and ghostly nun was leaning on top of the cubicle door, leering at her with a sinister smile. Take note: Whether or not the story is true, students from this school will agree that the bathroom beside the physics lab is truly unsettling: it has no mirrors, even though marks on the tile walls indicate mirrors had once hung there. The setting: An Ikot jeep in the University of the Philippines Diliman In attendance: The jeepney driver and the last passenger The tale: A trip in the iconic Ikot takes a turn for the terrifying in this story. A girl boarded a jeepney late at night, bound for one of the campus dorms. The driver said nothing when she told him her stop, but only met her eyes once in the rearview mirror. They trundled through the dark and silent campus, but the route he took was not one she could recognize. Afraid for her safety, she was wary throughout the ride, until the jeepney made a turn, and she found herself just across the street from her dormitory. Mildly shaken, she hurried to leave the jeep, but the driver stopped her, telling her that as soon as she got home, she should take off her clothes and burn them. He explained that he took a detour to ward off the evil spirit that must have been following her. “Pagtingin ko kasi kanina sa salamin,” (As I looked at the mirror,) he said, “wala kang ulo.” (you don't have a head.) Take note: The jeepneys that ply the campus even late at night are perfect settings for stories about ghostly hitchikers. In the UP campus, these jeepneys follow a specific color code: yellow roofs for the Ikot and Toki, red roofs for the Katipunan, blue roofs for those bound for SM North, and green roofs for those bound for Philcoa and Pantranco. If you find yourself in UP at a late hour and see a jeepney approaching, make sure it's one of those colors. Otherwise, walk away. Very quickly. And don't turn around. [Click Here for more] The setting: The UST hospital morgue In attendance: A resident and a dead body or two The tale: A UST doctor decided to ride the elevator down to the hospital morgue. There was only one other passenger inside. Noticing a patient trying to catch the lift, the doctor immediately shut the door. The other passenger asked her why she refused to wait for the patient. She explained that the “patient” was wearing a red band on his wrist and she'd been warned that only corpses wore such bands. The passenger approached him and lifted his arm. “Tulad nito?” (Like this?) he asked, showing the crimson tag dangling from his wrist. Take note: Four hundred years old, and just plain old, the University of Santo Tomas is an easy target for ghost stories. In a 2006 article in the Varsitarian, History professor Jose Victor Torres explained that thousands of people have died in the University through the years—even before the campus was built. Other reported ghostly areas include the main building, Benavidez Park, and the Ossarium (a storage area for bones in the med building). As for the corpse trying to catch the elevator? Well, he was just trying to hitch a ride to his home—the morgue. Perfectly understandable. [Click Here for more] The setting: The old Communications Department, Ateneo de Manila University In attendace: A janitor, a security guard and a really mischievous something The tale: The janitor, who had just finished cleaning the bathrooms, was about to lock up the building when a security guard asked if he could go inside to urinate. The janitor agreed and let the guard in. Minutes later, when the guard emerged, the janitor double-checked the second floor bathroom–and was met with the sight of the tile walls and floors covered in streaky handprints of human excrement. He ran back downstairs to confront the security guard, who was absolutely clueless. When the security guard turned to leave, the janitor was shocked to find another handprint, clearly pressed on the back of the guard's white uniform. Take note: The Comm Dept. is rumored to be Ateneo's most haunted building, but most of the classes here have been moved to the newer Social Sciences building. [Click Here for more]

[Taken from Internet:]

Ateneo de Davao (Jacinto) - Just like the Matina campus, ghostly stories abound at the Jacinto campus. And one of this is a hair-raising tale narrated by a former law student in the 1980s. The student was member of a law school fraternity. One late night while conducting their initiation rites inside the campus he happened to stray near the covered court, stooping down low to fix his shoelaces he noticed a priest garbed in a cloak, walking towards him, he could hear the priests’ walking cane. He greeted “good evening Father.” Expecting a friendly reply, but there was none, only a ghostly silence and the sound of the cane, raising his head to take a better look the priest he was surprised that the figure was not walking but actually floating. Ateneo de Davao (Matina) - Ateneo is a sprawling campus which makes it a fodder for many ghost stories, ever since in grade school until high school the eerie stuff I heard could just fill a book. Before the school was built, the place was then a Japanese Airfield in World War 2. hence stories are rife about ghosts of Japanese soldiers and one tale includes a security guard on night detail who heard a telephone ringing (in the old-now demolished wooden building, there was a telephone which students often used to call up their sundo) the guard answered and the voice in the other line was a man muttering in language that somewhat resembled Nippongo. There are many eerie stories like apparitions at a statue (forgot the name) near the old grade school chapel. In high school, some classrooms are said to be haunted by the spirits of departed students. In some Acacia trees inside the campus, live some friendly dwarves who occasionally appear to groups of people. But I haven’t experience any supernatural in my long schooling in Matina. Some of these stories have become urban legends.

[Taken from Internet:]

ADAMSON UNIVERSITY A girl was by the sink washing her face when shelooked in the mirror, and saw the drops of water on her face not as what they really are but as drop of blood. And at her back, there was a headless man in soldier's uniform.Every year, students would encounter various but similarly scary experiences in that toilet. According to my research, the St. Vincent de Paul building, where the toilet is, is the oldest building of Adamson University and was used as an execution station by the Japanese army during World War II. Rumor has it hat countless number of heads had been chopped off in the toilet itself. - OSC Arnel B. Tablizo Jr. COLLEGE OF SAINT BENILDE It happened few years ago in College of Saint Benilde. In an early morning class, a girl in black dress entered room M-409 where a class was ongoing. The class didn't mind the girl hinking 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 awe of everyone, vanished. Until now that ghost story still scares students who take classes in the said room. - OSC Neptali Esguerra DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY One day last February, even before the 7am classes started, a young Accounting sophomore decided to drop by the St. La Salle Chapel to say a quick prayer for her accounting exam. She reached the empty chapel, went to the very first pew, knelt down, and with eyes shut, began to pray. A few minutes later, she heard a shuffling sound and frantic footsteps. The student opened her eyes and saw a limping, pale-faced man reaching out towards her, his torn clothes covered in blood, a bayonet sticking in his chest and mouthing the words, "Help me..." -OSC Paolo Gamboa *DLSU Main building was used as a bomb shelter during World War II FEATI UNIVERSITY At 10 pm one night, one ROTC cadet was relieving himself in one of the comfort rooms at the third floor of the Paterno building when he unmistakably made out the figure of a woman dressed in white floating in the air. The vision made him scream in intense fright, catching the attention of his other companions. Upon their arrival, they witnessed the same lady hovering in the air. 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 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 eruption of World War II, was used as a garrison by the Japanese during the war. MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY When graduation time is near, the Princess Lawan Bae all (PLBH) dorm residents can usually hear footsteps along the hallway, hough no one is there. The old janitress says they are seniors who committed suicide after finding out that they were pregnant. One restroom cubicle in the dorm has been closed since residents claim feelingunexplainable, eerie sensations when they use it. It is said that one of the students performed self-abortion and died inside that cubicle. It has been 8 years now but it remains closed. - OSC Ritchel Gabutin NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY A lovelorn spirit on our campus possessed a high school freshman girl a few months back. She would often see the "guy" standing near a Balete tree at the back of our campus' HS building. She would say that when Allen (the guy or spirit's name) enters her body he would tour her around the campus and tell her that she looks so much like his dead girlfriend. The girl now goes to a new school and words have it that Allen did not bother her anymore. -OSC Joyce Enriquez POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES "She was once there and she never left," according to one housekeeper of PUP Jasmin hostel, reluctant to tell the exact room number of the so-called "haunted room." Residents of the hostel reveal that every time they pass by the corridor during late afternoon and early in the morning, they could hear murmurs and cries coming from the haunted room. Stories say that a female nursing board examinee committed suicide inside the room. Many have had experiences seeing her walking in her nursing uniform at the middle of the night or appearing in bathroom mirrors-with blood on her face. She also loves to knock on the door and if one opens, he would find no one but sense an eerie feeling. Residents believe that once you open the door, she comes in the room, so they advise not to open the door.- OSC Jonizel Lagunzad TRINITY COLLEGE In one of their overnight press work, the section editor decided to take a rest and went out of the editorial board cubicle. Suddenly, he heard the tick-tack of the keyboards, as if someone was typing. Knowing that he was all alone, he decided to look if somebody was using the computer. To his surprise, he saw the name Jackie repeatedly typed on the screen. The keyboard continued to tick-tack until the screen was filled with the name Jackie. While the news editor was encoding his article, someone said "hello" to him.When he looked around, a pretty girl approached him and again whispered "hello." All of a sudden, the girl disappeared.Dian, our present culture editor, who has a third eye, said that she was able to talk to Jackie. Jackie later on revealed that her real name is Patricia. Jackie revealed that she's always around since she finds the office peaceful. She also claimed that our office was then a park with a well and benches. According to Dian, Patricia (or Jackie) is a Spanish looking lady, with fair complexion, stands 5'5" and looks like a doll.- OSC Meryl Pecache ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE A group of high school girls had a play in the Little Theater. They took shots of them and when the film was developed, a nun was with them during curtain call. The nun had no face, floating, tip-toed, and her hands were clasped as though in prayer. He hands were pointed downwards and her head was cracked as though she had been hanged! - OSC Anthea Lamigo UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES - Los Banos Baker Hall: There was a group of guys who passed by Baker Hall and noticed that there was a party going on. Everybody was dressed like they were in the'80s era. They had such a great time that they wanted to invite their other friends along. So, out they went and when they came back, Baker Hall was as quiet and as dark as the night. - OSC Ria Henares UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS The weird and eerie experience happened two years ago when I was facilitating a retreat (Days with the Lord) in Don Bosco Technical College Mandaluyong. The session that night almost finished before midnight; my co-facilitators and I were heading off to our sleeping quarters when one of them told us that he was going to introduce someone and we asked, "Who?" He said meet "Puti," but I couldn't see anyone! He then asked me to raise my arms just in front of where I was and it suddenly felt freezing cold. I immediately ran to the sleeping quarters and left them. The following day, I learned that they were able to talk to "Puti," a young and playful kid who was shot in the middle of an encounter during the war. He continues to haunt the old Dona Cecilia corridors and manifests himself through a white silhouette as described by the security guards who would often see him play at night. - Cedric Ira A. Aquino URIOS COLLEGE It happened a few years back. An old male college teacher was seen eating alone in a corner during a College Faculty luncheon. Some teachers who saw him attested that he looked a bit strange and unusually quiet. They invited him to join their group discussion but he just gave them a blank stare. After a while, he just disappeared and nobody noticed him go out of the room. The bizarre thing about it is that this certain teacher was already in the hospital slumped on his deathbed at that very same moment. A few hours later, he was dead. When his desk was cleaned by his fellow teacher a few days after his death, the teacher was so shocked to find a note personally addressed to her, thanking her for everything. - OSC Owen Jaen

Source:
http://www.spot.ph/gallery/1693/10-scary-stories-set-in-manila-schools-65279-/article/49643#pid=27637,27638,27639,27640,27641,27642,27643,27644,27645,27679
http://pudol.multiply.com/journal/item/1/ten_haunted_places_in_Davao_City
http://pinoy-horror-stories.blogspot.com/2011/06/philippine-universities-and-colleges.html

And Now For Something Completely Different.......

I have slowed down a little while I struggle to make my deadlines for my next book.  My next book is coming out July 22nd and I'm rushing to finish everything on time.  It has nothing to do with ghosts or hauntings and is completely different from anything I've ever done before.  The mock-up of the cover to the left is a sneak peak into the surreal world of The Twilight Saint. 

I'm also planning a return to my family house this month and Washington DC next month and I'll be driving to South Alabama to take photographs and do interviews for Haunted South Alabama next month as well.  With all this, my blogging may slow down a bit. I'm hoping I'll take some fabulous pictures along the way.  I'm also hoping to do some posts on my travel destinations.  Until then, I'll have a few more ghosts and curses to fill up the blog. 

The Island of the Dolls

There is an island just South of Mexico City called Xochimico. Xochimico is famous for its beautiful gardens, scenic canals, and ancient history. Thousands of tourists travel through the canals of this beautiful island to gaze in wonder at the hanging gardens of Mexico. Hidden deep in these canals, far away from the normal tourist routes is a swamp with that is thick with scraggly trees that are all hung heavy with with the broken and shattered remains of an army of dolls.

According to travelocity, it is the creepiest place on earth. Although I have never seen this island, I tend to agree. Fifty years ago, a little girl drown in the extensive canals that innervate the small island. At the time the island was occupied by a man named Don Julián Santana Barrera. Shortly after the little girl drowned, Barrera found a doll in the swampy waters of the isolated island. A few days later, he found another doll. Several days later he found another doll. Berrera became convinced that the dolls were a sign from the netherworld. He believed that the dolls were vessels that had been sent to keep the little girl company and prevent evil from seeping out through the swamp. Berrera took this message seriously and began to collect dolls from all over and hang dolls from the trees.

Berrera died mysteriously some time later and from that point the mystery grew. Many people said that the dolls had come to life and killed Berrera. Others insisted they had seen the dolls wandering the island at night. Some believe that the dolls have come to life to replace Berrera as the island's keeper. Whatever the case, the pictures of this location are terrifying. It is an island hung with decaying, glass eyed dolls that stare out vacantly at those that pass by in boats.