So it's the time of the year when people - young and old - would enjoy scaring themselves and others silly simply because, hey, it's Halloween!
Seems like these days, everyone's got a ghost story or two to share - from the classic white lady sighted along college halls and corridors, to so-called "haunted" houses where suicides and untimely tragedies have occurred. Oh, and there are also the headless spirits, demonic possessions, and the more old-fashioned tales of aswangs and engkantos from far-off provinces, as told by our elders. Yup, it's such a rich blend of folklore that we Pinoys have got, don't you think?
A decade ago, there was a girl in her senior year in high school who joined the class retreat to a province somewhere up north of the country. Theirs was a Catholic all-girls school, and the venue of the retreat was being run by nuns of the school's congregation. Now this girl was skeptic - she didn't think ghosts exist let alone white ladies and the like. "Sige nga, tingnan natin kung meron nga talagang white lady..." were her exact words when their class arrived at the retreat house. Little did she know that she would get far more than she bargained for.
The class was supposed to spend three nights in the place, and on their second night, a spiritual sharing was happening in one of the halls. One of her classmates was crying hysterically because of some family problems which she shared to the class, so the girl was requested to get a glass of water from the refectory, which was at the other end of a long hallway. When she got out of the hall, she realized that the lights have been turned off to conserve energy and that it was raining pretty hard outside. A typical horror movie setting, eh? Nevertheless she kept her cool and started the long walk down the hallway leading to the refectory. She wasn't even halfway when her eye caught something to her left and when she turned to look, there was someone sitting at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory. It was pretty dark, but a hint of light from the lightning outside distinctly highlighted an image of a girl with long hair, dressed in white but somehow it was as if a shadow hid the entirety of her face. What's more troubling was that she was pretty sure that the person’s head was turned to her direction as if it was watching her every move. And so without any delay, the girl quickened her steps and for some reason, the hallway seemed to stretch longer than usual. She never looked back, dismissing the eerie feeling she had at her nape and the uncomfortable flutter of her heartbeat. One can only imagine the relief she felt when she reached the warm lights of the refectory. Only one problem now: she had to make the trip back to the hall. Great! Somehow the girl had the feeling that whatever she saw earlier was still out there, and she was right. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she nearly dropped the glass filled with water, because the "white lady" was now on its feet and was looking at her. The girl dared not turn her head, but at the corner of her eye she knew that it was looking at her direction. She still couldn't see its face, and she was clutching on the glass of water so hard that her knuckles nearly turned white. Oh, and it's true when they say that your knees will turn up like jelly; the girl barely made it through because her knees were shaking. When she got back to the hall after what seemed like an eternity, almost everyone commented how pale she looked and asked if she was alright. All she could muster was a weak smile and she was quiet the entire night. In fact, she was quiet throughout the remaining days of the retreat, and she dared not walk along that dark hallway alone ever again.
Ten years has passed since that unforgettable night, and even until now the girl couldn't help but recall the eerie feeling whenever she recounts her experience. Somehow she felt as if that incident changed a part of her forever. She still gets goosebumps whenever the image of the "white lady" would unwillingly flash in her mind. Until now, she can't recall how it exactly looked like, because she never got to see its face. I just never did.
Happy Halloween! :)
Seems like these days, everyone's got a ghost story or two to share - from the classic white lady sighted along college halls and corridors, to so-called "haunted" houses where suicides and untimely tragedies have occurred. Oh, and there are also the headless spirits, demonic possessions, and the more old-fashioned tales of aswangs and engkantos from far-off provinces, as told by our elders. Yup, it's such a rich blend of folklore that we Pinoys have got, don't you think?
A decade ago, there was a girl in her senior year in high school who joined the class retreat to a province somewhere up north of the country. Theirs was a Catholic all-girls school, and the venue of the retreat was being run by nuns of the school's congregation. Now this girl was skeptic - she didn't think ghosts exist let alone white ladies and the like. "Sige nga, tingnan natin kung meron nga talagang white lady..." were her exact words when their class arrived at the retreat house. Little did she know that she would get far more than she bargained for.
The class was supposed to spend three nights in the place, and on their second night, a spiritual sharing was happening in one of the halls. One of her classmates was crying hysterically because of some family problems which she shared to the class, so the girl was requested to get a glass of water from the refectory, which was at the other end of a long hallway. When she got out of the hall, she realized that the lights have been turned off to conserve energy and that it was raining pretty hard outside. A typical horror movie setting, eh? Nevertheless she kept her cool and started the long walk down the hallway leading to the refectory. She wasn't even halfway when her eye caught something to her left and when she turned to look, there was someone sitting at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory. It was pretty dark, but a hint of light from the lightning outside distinctly highlighted an image of a girl with long hair, dressed in white but somehow it was as if a shadow hid the entirety of her face. What's more troubling was that she was pretty sure that the person’s head was turned to her direction as if it was watching her every move. And so without any delay, the girl quickened her steps and for some reason, the hallway seemed to stretch longer than usual. She never looked back, dismissing the eerie feeling she had at her nape and the uncomfortable flutter of her heartbeat. One can only imagine the relief she felt when she reached the warm lights of the refectory. Only one problem now: she had to make the trip back to the hall. Great! Somehow the girl had the feeling that whatever she saw earlier was still out there, and she was right. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she nearly dropped the glass filled with water, because the "white lady" was now on its feet and was looking at her. The girl dared not turn her head, but at the corner of her eye she knew that it was looking at her direction. She still couldn't see its face, and she was clutching on the glass of water so hard that her knuckles nearly turned white. Oh, and it's true when they say that your knees will turn up like jelly; the girl barely made it through because her knees were shaking. When she got back to the hall after what seemed like an eternity, almost everyone commented how pale she looked and asked if she was alright. All she could muster was a weak smile and she was quiet the entire night. In fact, she was quiet throughout the remaining days of the retreat, and she dared not walk along that dark hallway alone ever again.
Ten years has passed since that unforgettable night, and even until now the girl couldn't help but recall the eerie feeling whenever she recounts her experience. Somehow she felt as if that incident changed a part of her forever. She still gets goosebumps whenever the image of the "white lady" would unwillingly flash in her mind. Until now, she can't recall how it exactly looked like, because she never got to see its face. I just never did.
Happy Halloween! :)
