Selasa, 31 Juli 2012

Nardong Putik

Leonardo Manecio (sometimes credited as "Manicio") aka Nardong Putik was a Filipino gangster turned folk hero. Putik was born in 1923 in Sabang, Dasmariñas, Cavite. His father was a politician of some consequence in his town who was killed by his political enemies. Putik was a driver by profession and at one time saw services as a policeman in Dasmariñas. Putik was married to Feliciana but had many common-law wives. He had one known son, Leonardo, Jr. and two known daughters, Angelita and Estrellita with his legal wife.

An amulet-wielding hoodlum from Cavite province, Putik credited his ability to survive and escape numerous ambushes and gunfights to his anting-anting (amulet). Nardong Putik's ability to elude the law and his enemies made him a legend to many people.

According to Caviteños, Putik got that name as he was known to submerge himself in mud paddies, among carabaos, using bamboo or papaya stalks as breathing tubes, whenever he had to evade a police or military dragnet. But according to some people, he can be invisible once he set foot on the mud using his anting-anting.

His mysterious powers and unexplainable abilities made him a legend, and that's the reason why I put him here.

Story



[Taken from Internet:]

  • First capture:


  • Putik was first convicted and jailed in 1953 but escaped in July 1955 from the Constabulary stockade in Imus, Cavite where he was held as a detention prisoner.


  • Second capture:


  • Putik was re-captured on May 27, 1958 after he was cornered in a rice mill in barrio Medicion in Kawit, Cavite b He is the 31st PC Company and of the 117th PC Company who were both promoted to Captain and decorated the Gold Cross Medal, the third highest military battle award, for their daring capture. Putik surrendered to Lt. Lazo after engaging the patrol in a 45-minute gun battle.

    It was a tip from a constabulary informer, received by Col. Manuel Yan, intelligence chief of the Philippine Constabulary, at about 10 o'clock in the evening of May 26, that reported that Nardong Putik was going to spend the night with one of his common-law wives in a rice mill in Kawit, Cavite owned by Lorenzo Rodriguez. The report was immediately relayed to Col. Ricardo Papa, deputy chief of the constabulary. Ruling out a night operation, PC men were deployed by Col. Wilfredo Estrada, provincial commander of Cavite, at about 4:30 a.m. of May 27 with elements of the 117th PC Company led by and forces of the 31st PC Company led by Lt. Elias R. Lazo, Jr. At the break of dawn Lazo and Navarro were instructed to search the mill. The men searched the mill except for the office which was locked. It seemed that Manecio might not be in the mill at all. Nevertheless, the raiders refused to give up and kept their positions. After instructing the PC troops, Lt. Col. Estrada departed with former Cavite Governor Dominador Camerino for Barrio Sabang, Imus, to gather relatives of Manecio to use them to get Manecio to surrender peacefully. At 9 o'clock Estrada and his group have not returned. The troops were getting impatient. For want of anything better to do. Lts. Lazo and Navarro edged closer to the outer window of the locked office in the mill. But from where they were standing, they could only see the far side of the room over the tops of tables and steel cabinets. Lt. Lazo ordered Corporal Esmilla to see if he could from the outside pry open the window on the other side of the room. Esmilla had just inserted his bayonet through the slit to lift the latch when a shot rang out from within, confirming Manecio's presence in the mill. Esmilla hit the dirt, unhurt. Lazo hurried over to where Esmilla was and was himself greeted with another shot from Manecio. The shot also missed its target. Seeing that Manecio was in no mood to give up without a fight, Lazo and Navarro ordered their men to move back. Lazo then ordered one of his men to throw a grenade toward the window. Manecio responded with shots from his pistol. Lazo shouted to Manecio to surrender, "Nardo, mga PC ito. Sumuko ka na at hindi ka maaano!". But instead of a reply, he answered with shots. Lt. Navarro, who was covering Lt. Lazo, fired back with shots. Then Lt. Lazo yelled at Manecio again, this time identifying himself. Manecio acknowledged with "Sir, kayo pala". Manecio said he would yield only to Col. Estrada, ex-Gov. Camerino and Lt. Lazo. As Estrada and Camerino had not yet returned from Sibang, Lazo asked him to throw out whatever weapons he had out the window. This Manecio did. He threw out his pistol, holster, extra magazines for his pistol and a hand grenade which, fortunately, did not explode when it hit the ground. Lt. Lazo then shouted that he and Major Daniel Lantion, executive officer of the constabulary's intelligence division were ready to accept his surrender. But since the door was locked, the door was battered down with a log and Lazo and Navarro rushed into the room with guns ready. The woman was nowhere to be found. Manecio was whisked off to PC headquarters in Imus, Cavite and from there to Camp Crame where he was treated for his minor wounds. For all the shooting exchanges Manecio was only creased on the left forearm, above the right eyebrow and another on the abdomen. Putik credited this to his anting-anting. Putik was sentenced to jail for 182 years and two months at the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa. He escaped in October 1969 and took refuge among the poor farmers of Cavite.

  • Third capture and death:


  • As a fugitive, Putik and his men continued to instill terror in Cavite. Among the cases he was involved in were the illegal cultivation of marijuana and money extortion activities. On February 10, 1971, the National Bureau of Investigation's Narcotics division surveyed a marijuana plantation in Imus, Cavite allegedly being protected by Putik. Two NBI Agents, Rogelio Domingo and Antonio Dayao were captured, tortured, and killed by Nardong Putik and his men.[8] The incident sealed Putik's fate: Angered by the heinous crime, NBI Director Jolly Bugarin ordered all his Agents to capture dead or alive Nardo and all responsible for the death of Agents Domingo and Dayao. NBI Agent Epimaco Velasco was then installed as the new Chief of the NBI Narcotics Division. In a month's time, they were able to record the movements of Nardong Putik. Later, with enough data, they were able to track his full whereabouts confidently to enable them to launch the operation to capture him on October 10, 1971. The operation which was a joint NBI-PC-Imus police force was composed of some 20 men. Troopers from the 233rd PC Company were led by Capt. Manuel Bruan. At 5:00 in the morning, the light of the house of the mistress of Nardo went out. After a few minutes, Nardo drives his Chevrolet Impala car out to the main Manila-Cavite highway. For unknown reasons, or maybe Nardong Putik senses that he is being tailed by the Philippine Constabulary, he was able to escape the PC dragnet or checkpoint at Panamitan and Tabon, Kawit, Cavite. However, Nardong Putik did not notice a Volkswagen Kombi tailing him in the highway at the same time. The Kombi contained NBI Agents Velasco, Nasol, Utico, Bautista and others. They chased Nardo's car, and at Noveleta, Cavite, they were able to overtake the Impala and was at the right side of the car. Velasco shouted "NARDO!". He sensed the danger and immediately reached for his .45 pistol. At that moment, the NBI Agents opened fire with their revolvers, carbines, and submachine guns, peppering the car, and causing Nardo's instant death. The car lurched to the side of the highway and stopped. The Agents then immediately jumped out of their vehicle and took cover. Some Agents were still firing their guns to make sure that Nardo will not retaliate. The Impala was later hauled into NBI Headquarters in Manila, with the dead Putik inside, in full view of Director Bugarin. The news became a flash report on local television, and a top newspaper story the next day. That mission cemented the fame of Agent Velasco, who later became NBI Director in the nineties.

    The operation was reportedly pushed by Juanito Remulla who was then a Constitutional Convention delegate from Cavite. The killing of Cavite's Public Enemy No. 1 boosted Remulla’s political career having been elected to the provincial board in 1972 then as vice-governor the same year and as Cavite governor from 1979 to 1995.

    On Nardo's death, some of his men were later arrested, charged and convicted in court for murder and other offenses. [See Philippine Supreme Court Decision no. GR No. L-36613-14 entitled as PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellete, vs. RESTITUTO JIMENEZ, PEDRO NAVAL, MACARIO FRANCISCO, MAMERTO MENDOZA, and MARIO SALAZAR, defendant-appellants.

    The killing of Putik was met by mixed reactions in Cavite as he had built a reputation as a local "Robin Hood" given that his criminal exploits mainly targeted the rich.


    Source:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nardong_Putik

    Senin, 30 Juli 2012

    Teamwork

    I thought my apathy towards the current sporting extravaganza might have melted away now that it has actually started. I imagined that, once the showbiz bit was over and the games got under way, I would be glued to the screen. But no. I'd still rather watch repeats of Morse and Upstairs Downstairs. After the Tour de France, the test series and the rugby tours I must be all sported out.

    It has got me thinking about teamwork though.

    By the way, when did our boys and girls suddenly become 'Team GB'? Shouldn't Northern Ireland get a mention somewhere?

    Anyway, whatever it's called, it's nice to belong to a team isn't it? I've always thought of myself as a team person. I emphasise this in any interviews I attend – “I'm a team player, I'll do anything anything for the team”. I have no inflated ego and I've always loved any activity that involves working together with other people. You don't always have to be shoulder-to-shoulder with your team-mates. I've taken part in a few sports that would appear to be individual disciplines but, nevertheless, I've often been a member of a club – and therefore a team.

    And my greatest sporting moment? It's strange, but it's not the obvious ones that spring to mind. I was pleased to finish a marathon in a little over three-and-a-half hours, I finished several Olympic-distance triathlons and I received £45 prize money for 4th place in my age group at the Jersey Powerman. But there's one small incident that I recall most often. I loved playing rugby at grammar school but I wasn't good enough to be a regular in the school team. I did, however, make the house team and there was one occasion in a match where a ruck had formed and I was right in the middle of it. I managed to force my way through and hack the ball downfield. I chased after it followed by my team-mates but it ran into touch just short of the try-line. I turned to see my captain following up and apologised to him for not creating a scoring opportunity.

    “Don't worry,” he said. “That was just what we needed.”

    You have no idea what those words meant to me. I hadn't scored a brilliant try nor had I won a medal but I had made a significant contribution to the team and my efforts had been acknowledged. And that's all I want from writing really. Not necessarily to be famous or win national awards (although some money would be nice). But just for my scribble to be appreciated.

    Minggu, 29 Juli 2012

    White Lady, Black Lady, Red Lady and Brown Lady

    I am so curious about the three kinds of lady ghosts - the famous White lady, the mysterious Black Lady, the unknown Red Lady and the infamous Brown Lady. I can't believe that, there are a bunch of lady ghosts with distinguishing color each. What if they haunt in the same place, perhaps, it will be the most colorful, unique and scary place ever?

    By the way, there are three kinds of lady ghosts known:
    1) The old story of the crying lady, sometimes said to be looking for her lost children, and sometimes warns of impending death. Usually said to head for the town square or a river.

    2) The classic lady by the road, sometimes you pass her by repeatedly then disappear, and sometimes they just vanish immediately as you look back. Usually said to disappear by the bridge or a cemetery.

    3) The modern hitchhiker lady, sometimes you drop her off at a certain destination of her request, and sometimes she vanishes as you pass by a cemetery. Usually, the driver would later find out that the lady was dead either from people who knew her or from a gravestone.

    White Lady


    A White Lady is a type of female ghost reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend of tragedy. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them is the theme of losing or being betrayed by a husband or fiancé. They are often associated with an individual family line or said to be a harbinger of death similar to a banshee. I considered white ladies as the most famous of them all, because other countries are familiar with this kind of ghost. While the three, they are much unusual to others.

    In Philippines, white lady is called as Kaperosa, but most Filipinos named this ghost in English. Kaperosa is a female spirit with no face or a spirit covered in blood which has been reportedly seen in empty buildings, near forests, on roads (especially at night) and on cliffs.

    Appearances


    In United Kingdom, Old Mill Hotel is said to be haunted by the white lady from long ago. A lady was engaged to a man and was due to be married in the old mill hotel. On their wedding day, the lady's fiance never arrived to the wedding, as he was beaten
    up by another man who also wanted the lady. The lady was upset and angry, so she ran to the Nine arches where the trains run past. She sat on the edge crying and forlorn. A train rushed passed her and she jumped in fright, falling to the ground dead. For the rest of her fiance's life, the white lady (the lady who died in her white wedding dress) haunted him for apparently not loving her. Her grave is near the old mill hotel and she is said to be seen sitting under a beautiful tree.

    The Castle Huntly, Scotland, is said to be haunted by a young woman dressed in flowing white robes. There are various stories concerning her history, one of which is that she was a daughter of the Lyon family who occupied the castle in the 17th century. When her affair with a manservant was discovered she was banished to a tower on the battlements. Unable to endure her suffering, she threw herself to her death from the tower. The ghost of the White Lady has been seen a number of times over the years, often on the grounds surrounding the castle. She has also been seen in the room in which she was imprisoned.

    Muncaster Castle in the county of Cumbria is reputed to be one of England's most haunted houses. The vengeful ghost in white of Mary Bragg, a foul-mouthed local girl who was murdered by being hanged from the Main Gate by drunken youths in the 19th century after they had kidnapped her for a joke, is also referred to as the white lady. The white lady has been sighted in Chadkirk, Manchester going across the canal on a banana boat.

    Roughwood Nature Reserve in the Black Country also has had a high number of paranormal incidents, including sightings of a woman in a white dress, drenched in ichor from the lake where it is rumored her body was abandoned. Local myths suggest this is the spirit of Pauline Kelly, who with her daughter Evelyn disappeared in the mid-19th century. The local community has a Halloween tradition involving wearing white dresses and speaking the mocking rhyme: "White Lady, White Lady, I'm the one who killed your baby."

    In United States, a local legend tells of the White Lady of Acra, the ghost of a woman who died on her way home from her wedding night in the 19th century. Although no one has come into contact with her, many older people claim to have seen her especially on the abandoned dirt road near the Parchments and Castle Hill which she is rumored to haunt.

    Another legend tells of the White Lady jumping off the Portchester Castle while she was carrying a child she didn't want. Her spirit is said to haunt the castle to this day.

    In Germany, a white woman was first reported to be seen in the Berliner Schloss in 1625 and sightings have been reported up until 1790.

    In the Philippines, the white lady is reportedly seen in Balete Drive of Quezon City and in Loakan Road of Baguio City. Both dwell in trees and haunts at roads, where, other said, they died from an accident or from being raped and was murdered. There are many ghost stories that depict this kind of ghost in the Philippines, with different reasons why they haunt the place, and how they became one.

    Black Lady


    Should I consider the black lady a banshee too? Actually, I don't know what they are. But I think yes, the only difference between the white and black ladies are the dress they wear as a ghost. They are sometimes associated with devils because they were black. Some says, they are more dangerous than the white lady. How good white ladies are, is equaled by black ladies for being wicked. They appear similar to how the white ladies appear in front of you. Their origin is almost the same as that of the white one. They may be harmful and vengeful. There are only few information or records about this creature.

    Appearances


    In Lincolnshire, England, the black lady of Bradley Woods is a ghost which reportedly haunts the woods near the village of Bradley. Alleged eyewitnesses have described her as being young and pretty, around 5'6" tall, dressed in a flowing black cloak and a black hood that obscures her hair but reveals her mournful, pale, tear-soaked face. According to the legend she has never harmed anyone and has only ever proved to be a pitiful, if unnerving sight.

    The story is known to have been told for many generations. It was once used by parents to frighten children; this appears to have been a common practice among parents in the area, and children were warned that if they were not safely in bed by a certain time "the black lady will get you!".

    One theory that has been put forward is that the Black Lady is the ghost of a nun. She appears dressed in black and at nearby Nunsthorpe (now an area of Grimsby) where a convent existed until the Reformation. This theory gives no reason as to why the Black Lady should have moved from Nunsthorpe to Bradley, 2 miles (3.2 km) away. Also, though she may be dressed in black, few if any eyewitnesses have described her appearance as matching that of a nun.

    Another possible explanation is that she is a spinster who at one time lived a life of isolation in her cottage in the woods far enough away from the village. If village children had come across a woman living on her own in the woods, who became angry when her privacy and solitude was breached, then imaginary tales of witchcraft could have exaggerated the legend.

    Neither of these theories ties in with the folklore.

    In Fort Warren, Georges Island, Massachusetts, there was a famous legend about a lady in black. Here's the story: (by Edward Rowe Snow)
    ... During the War between the States, hundreds of prisoners were captured by General Burnside at Roanoke Island. Among the group incarcerated at Fort Warren in the Corridor of Dungeons was a young lieutenant who had been married only a few weeks before. He succeeded in getting a message to his young wife by the underground railroad, giving complete directions as to where he was and how she could reach him. Being very much in love, she obtained passage on a small sloop, and landed in Hull a few weeks later. She quickly located the home of a Southerner in that town and was fitted out with a pistol and dressed in men's clothing. Choosing a dark, rainy night, the lady rowed across Nantasket Road and finally landed on the beach at Georges Island. Slipping noiselessly by the sentries, she reached the ditch under the Corridor of Dungeons. After giving a prearranged signal, she was hoisted up to the carronade embrasure and pulled through the opening. As soon as husband and wife had exchanged greetings, they made plans for the future. The prisoners decided to dig their way out of the dungeon into the parade ground and set to work. Unfortunately for their plans, a slight miscalculation brought their tunnel with hearing of Northern soldiers stationed on the other side of the wall.

    The commanding officer, Colonel Dimick, was notified and the whole scheme was quickly exposed. The brave little woman, when cornered, attempted to fire at the Colonel, but the gun was of the old-fashioned pepper box type and exploded, killing her husband. Colonel Dimick had no alternative but to sentence her to hang as a spy. She made one last request: that she be hanged in women's clothing. After a search of the fort, some robes were found which had been worn by one of the soldiers during an entertainment, and the plucky girl went to her death wearing these robes. At various times through the years, the Ghost of the Lady in Black has returned to haunt the men quartered at the fort.

    Once, three soldiers were walking under the great arched sallyport at the entrance to the fort, and there before them, in the fresh snow, were five impressions of a girl's shoe leading nowhere and coming from nowhere. Ten years before World War II, a certain sergeant from Fort Banks was climbing to the top of the ladder which leads to the Corridor of Dungeons when he heard a voice warning him, saying: "Don't come in here!" Needless to say, he did not venture further.

    There actually are on record court-martial cases of men who have shot at ghost-like figures while on sentry duty, and one poor man deserted his post, claiming he had been chased by the lady of the black robes. For many years the traditional poker game was enjoyed in the old ordnance storeroom, and at ten o'clock one night a stone was rolled the entire length of the storeroom. As all the men on the island were playing poker, no explanation could be found. When the same thing happened the next time that the men played poker in the evening, the group at the card table decreased appreciably.

    By the end of the month the ordnance storeroom was deserted, and since that time, if any of the enlisted men wished to indulge in that pastime, they chose another part of the island. The ghost of the "Lady in Black" was, of course, blamed for the trouble.
    In the Philippines, there was this news about a 10-year-old child who saw a black lady. Here is the whole story: (by Ria Mae Y. Booc/FPL)
    Black ghost hounds pupil in Dalaguete?

    CEBU, Philippines - The appearance of a “black lady” to a 10-year-old pupil in the middle of her discussion prompted grade four teacher Zita Hayo of Dalaguete Elementary School to suspend her class yesterday.

    The pupils in the grade four class were terrified when one of their female classmates suddenly burst into tears because of fear. The pupil told her teacher that she is seeing a “black lady” in the classroom. She described it having black eyes with blood dripping from her mouth.

    Hayo said she first noticed the unusual behavior of the pupil last Monday. According to her, she was having her class discussion in the morning when the pupil suddenly cried without any reason.

    When she asked the child what was wrong the latter told her that a “black lady” appeared before her. Hayo referred the incident to their principal, Cecelia Cartilla.

    They referred the child to healing minister Vioh Amamampang who performed a prayer over on the child. They also called the child’s parents who brought her to the district hospital. Upon examination, the doctors found her negative of any disease.

    However, the same incident occurred yesterday morning prompting the principal to investigate the child. She said the pupil is not insane, in fact, she was doing well in her class.

    Cartilla said the pupil told her that the “black lady” first appeared in her dreams and introduced herself as Nunita Cabal.

    Cabal allegedly told the child that she died long ago and that she needs prayers. The “black lady” asked the child to offer prayers for her because she has no families to pray for her.

    The pupil was allegedly instructed to offer five masses for her within five Sundays.

    Upon hearing the child’s story, Cartilla said she immediately asked her staff to offer a prayer for the soul of Cabal. However, the pupil screamed and went wild because she is allegedly seeing different faces telling her that Cabal is not worthy of prayers.

    This prompted Cartilla to send the pupil to Santo Rosario Parish in Cebu City for spiritual healing. – (FREEMAN)


    Red Lady


    Like other two ladies above, this ghost is wearing a robe or a gown in red from where she got her name as Red Lady. In stories I had read, the author said that this ghost is the most dangerous of the three, dangerous than the Black lady. It can give you goosebumps more that what you feel to black ladies. They said, red ladies died because of sexual abuses.

    Appearances


    There was a real ghost story that tells about a lady in red in University of Santo Thomas in the Philippines. According to the story, the lady in red was published in a news
    paper of the said university for their All-Saint's-Day edition. The ghost haunts in the main campus, which was the oldest building, in the comfort room. The shocking thing about her is, she wears high heels. They would hear the rhythmic tock-tocking of her high-heeled shoes in the hallway, but mostly in the lady's powder room.
    (by Triglyceride on PEX)

    ... the story goes there was this student who went in there and as she was relieving herself she heard someone walk in the restroom...tok tok tok tok the sound was unmistakable ...high heeled shoes....so there she was relieving herself when all of a sudden someone started pounding on the door of her bathroom stall. The door doesn't go all the way to the floor so you know...you could see the feet of whoever's in front of the door..well she got annoyed at how rude this person was so she said sandali lang! at the same time her eyes automatically drifted down at the bottom of the floor.....

    she didn't see any pair of feet....and yet the pounding continued...

    she looked above the door and that was the time she saw the lady in red angrily looking down at her...
    In Montgomery, Alabama, there was this Red Lady in Huntingdon College. It is a ghost said to haunt the former Pratt Hall dormitory at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. Her story is told in Huntingdon alumnus Kathryn Tucker Windham's book 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.

    According to Windham and historian Daniel Barefoot, there have actually been two ghosts alleged to have haunted Huntingdon College. The first appeared in the late nineteenth century, while the college was still located in the town of Tuskegee, Alabama. She was described as a young woman wearing a scarlet dress and carrying a scarlet parasol who walked wordlessly up and down the halls of a women's dormitory late one night, bathed in a red glow. This apparition, according to Windham, ultimately left the residence hall and disappeared from view as she passed through a gateway outside. The alleged identity or origin of this wraith has never been determined, and she was apparently never seen again. [Click Here for other information]

    Brown Lady



    Another kind of colored ghost. Maybe the brown lady is the rarest of the four. I don't know about this creature, I had just stumbled upon this. Actually, I only know three colored lady ghost, not four. I can't believe that there's another one.

    Appearances


    The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is a ghost which reportedly haunts Raynham Hall in Norfolk. It became one of the most famous hauntings in Great Britain when the image of the 'Brown Lady' was captured by photographers from Country Life magazine who were photographing the staircase in 1936, where it would become one of the most famous paranormal photographs of all time. The "Brown Lady" is so named because of the brown brocade dress it is claimed she wears.


    This black-and-white picture depicted here (left) is thought to be that of Lady Dorothy Townshend, wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount of Raynham, residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England in the early 1700s.

    According to legend, the "Brown Lady of Raynham Hall" is the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686-1726), the sister of Robert Walpole, generally regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. She was the second wife of Charles Townshend, who was notorious for his violent temper. The story says that when Townshend discovered that his wife had committed adultery with Lord Wharton he punished her by locking her in her rooms in the family home, Raynham Hall. According to Mary Wortley Montagu, Dorothy was in fact entrapped by the Countess of Wharton. She invited Dorothy over to stay for a few days knowing that her husband would never allow her to leave it, not even to see her children. She remained at Raynham Hall until her death in 1726 from smallpox. [Click Here for more about this.]

    Philippines


    Questions of Filipinos:
    Where did the belief of Filipinos for White Ladies (and also the other colors) originated?
    So here's the answer:
    Long time ago, before the time of Spanish colonialism, ancient Filipinos believe that every living and non-living things possess Kaluluwa (Soul) - Animism. These beings are actually called Diwata. They were usually depicted wearing white clothes and live within every trees, plants, etc. Filipinos believe, at that time, that they were gentle and helpful to people, but as time pass by, it changed. Suddenly, this creatures became white ladies by the influence of Americans.

    Aside of that, the colors that vary from one lady to another symbolizes what their attitude is. Filipinos believe that, white symbolizes good and kind and black were wicked.

    Others:


    Aside of the four ladies above, there are more:
  • The Blue Lady is the ghost of a woman reportedly seen in and around the Moss Beach Distillery Cafe in Moss Beach, California; she is so-named because she usually dressed all in blue. She is said to originate from the Prohibition era.[1]
  • The Pink Lady is the unknown woman who visit the Grove Park Inn in Ashevile during the 1920's, and was a guest of room 545. Dressed in a long, pink, flowing gown, the woman fell to her death over the stone wall from the second floor. Though her body was removed, it seems that her spirit has lingered behind.[2]
  • The Gray Ladies are the ghosts of women who died violently for the sake of love or through the heartless actions of a family member. They are tragic figures and many ghosts fit this description. They are the lonely women ghosts who wandering the world, lost. There are grey lady stories throughout the world and they are as prolific as any ghost story, but my favorite Gray lady is a girl named Kate.[3]
  • The Green Lady of Caerphilly Castle. Old local legends suggested that the green lady was a very abnormal looking old crooked hag character. In fact The Green Lady was a french lady called Alice who apparently died after her lover was executed. She was basicalled having an affair, She was married to the dude living in the castle at the time and she went to confess her sins to a local monk who told the dude she was married to who owned the castle, he had the lover killed the monk killed and alice died of a broken heart. She is very occasionally seen by many people, Also the castle famous leaning tower smells of lavendar perfurme now and again but no wild lavendar grows in the area. [4]


  • That's all the color I found in Internet. Most of them died because of love, from unfinished wedding to deserted by a partner. Thus, being heart-broken, there arise a ghost. In addition to that, all the given ladies above, except the Gray (grey) Ladies, were so-called because of the color of gown, robe or any kind of dress they wear when they died or how they appear to human as their color.

    I also wanted to research male ghosts in colors. Do you think I can find one?

    If you know another colored lady or gentleman ghost, e-mail me at philurbanlegends@ymail.com or message me at http://www.facebook.com/PhilippineUrbanLegends for full data and story about them.

    Visit also this site:
  • [1] http://seeker7.hubpages.com/hub/The-Colour-of-Ghosts
  • [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghosts
  • [3] https://sites.google.com/site/paranormalirgsite/home/paranormal-dictionary/j---k---l

  • Sources:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lady_(ghost)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lady_of_Bradley_Woods
    http://home.comcast.net/~jay.schmidt/ft.warren/ghost.html
    http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=660132&publicationSubCategoryId=107
    http://pinoy-horror-stories.blogspot.com/2011/06/red-lady-on-ust.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Lady_of_Huntingdon_College
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lady_of_Raynham_Hall
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lady_(ghost)
    http://hauntedstories.net/haunted-house/north-carolina/ghost-pink-lady
    http://ghoststoriesandhauntedplaces.blogspot.com/2010/04/gray-lady.html
    http://great-castles.com/caerphillyghost.php
    http://www.worldofghosts.co.uk/about1928.html&sid=cb23cb79f4f8a72f19ba12cdb7bc44ac
    https://sites.google.com/site/paranormalirgsite/home/paranormal-dictionary/j---k---l
    [Picture from:]
  • http://www.strangehistory.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/white-woman-ghosts.jpg
  • http://calling.wikia.com/wiki/Girl_in_Red
  • http://theresashauntedhistoryofthetri-state.blogspot.com/2011/01/guyandottes-lady-in-black.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_lady.jpg
  • Sabtu, 28 Juli 2012

    Agapito Flores



    Story



    [Taken from a Book:]

    Agapito Flores: Filipino Inventor
    by Nila B. Cay


    Edison died leaving the electric bulb, among other things, to light the world. But the light was a warm yellow glow and to produce a white light, a consumer had to buy a high-watt bulb and use more electricity.

    This set a poor man from Tondo thinking. He thought of devising another bulb that could produce a bright light that was easy on the eyes and on the pocket. He brought a tube-like bulb to show his president. President Manuel L. Quezon listened to him and examined his invention. The man plugged it on, and it radiated a blush-white light that was cool to the eyes but as bright as day.

    President Quezon was impressed and more was his guest who an official from the French government. He had been observing the demonstration all along. He sent the electrician to Paris where he was given a patent. Nobody could imitate his invention without the Filipino inventor's permission.

    The General Electric company in the United States heard of this. It lost no time buying the poor man's invention. It reproduced the bulb in millions and sold them all over the world. This is the popular fluorescent bulb which gives off a bright light with minimum electric consumption.

    That man was Agapito Flores, the thrifty, industrious, inventive man from Tondo who knew what he wanted and, undeterred, got it.

    --- Reading Journey 5


    About



    First, let's talk about the life of Agapito Flores:

    Agapito Flores was born in Guiguinto, Bulacan, Philippines on September 28, 1897. Because of poverty, he did not finish his high school. He worked as an apprentice in a machine shop, and later moved to Tondo, Manila. He took an Electric Course from a vocational school. After a couple of months, he applied for a job.

    He conducted experiments about light and its common uses, typically at night. He wanted to discover a type of light that shines like the sun.

    It has been reported that Agapito Flores received a French patent for a fluorescent bulb and that the General Electric Company bought Flores' patent rights and manufactured and sold his fluorescent bulb (making millions from it).

    Agapito Flores died on 1943.

    The above story is real - it did happened, but the main case why I enlisted him here is the story that he invented the fluorescent light which is not true. Below are the more predate inventors of the fluorescent light.

  • In 1857, the French physicist Alexandre E. Becquerel who had investigated the phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence, theorized about the building of fluorescent tubes similar to those made today.


  • American, Peter Cooper Hewitt (1861-1921) patented (U.S. patent 889,692) the first mercury vapor lamp in 1901. The low pressure mercury arc lamp of Peter Cooper Hewitt is the very first prototype of today's modern fluorescent lights.


  • Edmund Germer (1901 - 1987) who invented a high pressure vapor lamp, also invented an improved fluorescent lamp. In 1927, Edmund Germer co-patented an experimental fluorescent lamp with Friedrich Meyer and Hans Spanner.


  • Source:
    Lilia B. Fontanilla. Values Education Living a Valuable Life. St. Augustine Publication, Inc. 2005
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/45201549/Agapito-Flores
    http://inventors.about.com/od/filipinoscientists/a/Agapito_Flores.htm

    Jumat, 27 Juli 2012

    An Indian Ghost Story

    While I was traveling this summer, I was lucky enough to visit with an old friend.  This old friend can still remember me when I was a wild, wicked thing with only my own ghosts to chase.  My friend was kind enough to share a family ghost story with me.  My friend is Indian and, according to her, belief in ghosts is intrinsic in her culture and her family.  Because of this, when her uncle began seeing the ghost of her grandmother on a regular basis, everyone believed him.  Her uncle not only saw the ghost of her grandmother, but he would fall into trance states and have fits.  When he fell into these states, her grandmother was able to speak through him.  According to family members, when he is in these states, he knows things that only her grandmother could know.  

    My friend's grandmother was a young mother when she died.   She had several young children and so much to live for.   She loved her children and was a good and dedicated mother.  She had married young and was still a youth when death came for her.  Her death was a tragedy and everyone mourned her, especially her husband who loved her like the moon and the stars.  The two had loved each other greatly and everyone believed that she would miss him

    The family believes that the grandmother's spirit couldn't rest because she couldn't let go of her family.  This is a great tragedy in her culture because she was never able to be reincarnated like she should have been.  This is made more tragic by the fact that the family believes that the grandfather was already reincarnated in the form of my friend's eldest son.  Supposedly, the ghost knows my friend's son is the grandfather and whenever she is around she is drawn to him.

    Ghosts from other cultures always fascinate me.   Ghost stories travel across all cultures and permeate the fabric of human experience.  My friend's ghost story is interesting to me because it is common in India for ghosts to possess people to communicate when they aren't reincarnated.   This is something separate from our culture's tales and adds another shade of darkness to the texture of this sad tale.

    Senin, 23 Juli 2012

    What Causes Poltergiest Activity?

    In folklore, a poltergeist is the apparent manifestation of an imperceptible but noisy, disruptive or destructive entity.   Poltergeist means "noisy ghost" in German.  Poltergeist cases differ from regular hauntings in that they are particularly loud and often cause objects to move.  Physical harm to people is also possible in these cases.

    Poltergeist activity has historically been some of the most interesting supernatural activity.   Take, for example, stone throwing poltergeists. Stone-throwing poltergeist phenomena cases date back, at least, to 530 CE when it was recorded that Deacon Helpidium, King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths’ physician, was besieged by stones. One of the more interesting cases of stone throwing poltergeist activity is the Grottendieck case. In 1903, a Dutch engineer living in Indonesia, Grottendieck, awoke to a storm of rocks falling through the roof of his hut and hitting him on the head.  Grottendieck was perplexed, but the serving boy was horrified and he ran away into the jungle.

     No sooner had the boy fled than the rocks stopped falling. Grottendieck saved several of the stones. Grottendieck published a story on this incident in the Journal of the Society of Psychical Research. His hypothesis was that the stones had been sent by the ghost of his dead sister who was trying to communicate with him from beyond the grave. Many other researchers disagreed and believed that the rocks were a product of poltergeist activity brought on by the serving boy's subconscious mind. There was never any consensus on the cause of this strange case and people still conjecture as to what might have caused the strange falling stones.

    This disagreement on the cause of poltergeist activity in general persists to this day.  People don't seem to entirely know what causes poltergeist activity.  There are three main  theories on what causes poltergeist activity.

    The first theory is the most obvious.  This is that a particularly hostile spirit is causing the activity.  In the infamous  Bell Witch case from Adams, Tennessee,  Betsy Adams was tortured by a malignant spirit that they called the Bell Witch.  Betsy Adams attacker was aggressive and hurt her and those close to her physically.  Betsy eventually died of her injuries.   In this case, the belief was that a hostile spirit in the form of the Bell Witch was causing the moving objects and the harm to young Ms. Adams.

    The second theory is less obvious but can be seen as possible in both the Grottendieck case and the Bell Witch case.  Poltergeist cases usually seem to center around one person.  The activity only occurs when that person is present and the harm occurs only to those within proximity of the target person.  In the Adams case, it was Betsy who was the center of activity.  In the Grottendieck case, the young serving boy was the center.  Those who have observed this argue that poltergeist activity is caused by psychokinetic activity of the target person.  Here is a quote from Wikipedia on the subject that I think sums up this theory very well:
        "In parapsychology, Nandor Fodor proposed that poltergeist disturbances were caused by human agents suffering from some form of emotional stress or tension. William G. Roll studied 116 different poltergeist cases and found that the agents were often children or teenagers, and supposed that recurrent neuronal discharges resulting in epileptic symptoms may cause recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK), which would affect the person's surroundings."

    Of course the last theory of poltergeist activity needs to be mentioned.  It is the belief that all of these cases are pranks or hoaxes.  I don't think I need to discuss this too deeply because it is the obvious belief of all skeptics.

    So it is hard to say what causes poltergeist activity in the end.  I tend to believe Fodor.  My childhood home was filled with poltergeist activity when I was young.  Keys moved across the table on their own.  Our ping pong table was crushed.  Stack of boxes migrated.  My father, an engineer who thinks the paranormal is utter nonsense, has never been able to explain these events despite all of his logic and engineering knowledge.  The events began when my sister fell into a depression and ended when she left the house.

    I am always open to other explanations of poltergeist activity, but I tend to believe the person centered theory.