Laughing ghosts

There is an account by a couple who decided to watch a comedic film in Starmall Alabang’s Cinema. The movie was so funny that they said loud laughter would erupt from the audience. But to their surprise, when the lights were turned back on post-credits, there had been only a few people watching the film with them. A pretty creepy experience, unless their collective laughter was just that loud.

Source: https://8list.ph/philippines-urban-legends/#read-more

Cursed Painting

One of Juan Luna’s well-known paintings, the Mi Novia, is said to have cursed every person who had owned it before it was given to the National Museum. Don’t worry; you won’t be harmed by just looking at the piece on your museum visit.
Source: https://8list.ph/philippines-urban-legends/#read-more

Philippines Fiesta

There was a girl who was invited by her classmate and best friend to celebrate a "fiesta" (a community gathering for local residents to celebrate their town) in her hometown in the province. The town was located a good few hours drive from the city in a very dense mountain area with no electricity.

When the two got there, they were greeted joyously by everyone and the parents were extremely nice to their visitor. The girl was very happy to be welcomed, but the residents kept eyeing her and smiling at her in such a way that made her feel creepy and strange.

The fiesta was a day away and that night, when they went to bed, the girl heard some people talking in low voices. She peeked and saw her classmate and the parents together with the cook quietly talking when she heard the mother say "Ohhh!!! You have really brought us a plump one this year! The neighbors are going to be very happy!! We can make so many dishes out of her!!! Thank you child!!" 

Source: urbanlegendsonline.com

Santelmo

Description: It is a fireball seen by dozens of Filipinos, especially those living in the Sierra Madre Mountains. It was scientifically explained as electric fields which have diverged from the lines. However, the sightings were reported since the Spanish era (16th-19th centuries). There were also sightings in the Alps and Himalayas.

Equivalent/Similar to: N/A

Other Names: Santo Elmo; Fire Ball

Category/Kind: Evil Spirit

Etymology: Santelmo - Saint Elmo

 

The Santelmo (St. Elmo's Fire) is a creature of Philippine mythology. The term santelmo is the shortened form of the Tagalog words "Apoy ni San Elmo "-"St. Elmo's Fire". St. Elmo's Fire has long served as an omen of heavenly intervention to sailors. The ancient Greeks termed a single jet of the fire, Helena, and a double jet, Castor and Pollux. It has also been known by the names St. Nicholas and St. Hermes, corpusante and Corpus Santos. The name of St. Elmo is attributed to an Italian derivation of Sant 'Ermo or St. Erasmus (circa 300), the patron saint of the early Mediterranean sailors challenging the powers of storm and sea in small sailing vessels.

Source: wikipedia.org

The San Juanico Bridge has a bloody foundation

Story time: The San Juanico Bridge's foundation had allegedly been made stronger by the blood of numerous street children. The kids were the "offerings" for a pagan or demonic ritual to guarantee the strength of the structure. This is why, people say, the bridge is haunted by many lost spirits. Others say that the success of the bloody rituals done for San Juanico Bridge encouraged others to do the same for their bridges and buildings. Only one detail was constant: the use of street kids as sacrifice.

WTF details: A post in a PinoyExchange thread states: "Imelda Marcos was in charge of building the bridge. She consulted a manghuhula who said that the bridge would never be finished unless the blood of children [would be spilled on the foundation]. So Imelda ordered [street children to be kidnapped] and [their throats were] slit on the bridge's location. Their bodies were thrown into the river. A mermaid or diwata who resided in the river saw the plight of the children and was saddened by it. She cursed Imelda. So the First Lady grew scales on her legs and she smelled fishy. That was why she wore long skirts and bathed as often as possible."

Fact check: Whoever concocted this tale probably wanted to scare off street kids. Or maybe he or she had some serious issues with the San Juanico Bridge or Imelda Marcos. The latter may be more likely as the story is believed to have originated in the Marcos era.

Source: http://www.spot.ph

Biringan City

About

This story was featured in the GMA Channel 7, Mel & Joey, hosted by Mel Tiangco and Joey de Leon. According to them, this city appears to be somewhat a kind of portal from and going to the other world.

Have you heard of a city of wonder, which appear and vanish  at the same time?

Anyway . . .

In the Province of Samar, the Philippines, the mention of “Biringan” evokes awe, fear, intrigue, knocking on wood and innumerable signs of the Cross.

What is Biringan? It is reportedly an undefined location somewhere between Calbayog City and Catarman, Northern Samar, where a mythic city(ies) of indescribable grandeur is/are said to exist, unvisited by ordinary mortals, known only by magnificent folk stories that refuse to die despite the advent of television and the internet. Other reports extend its area to as far south as San Jorge, Samar.

Biringan’s “now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t” quality indicates it is not of the usual land and water terrain in which we live in. It seems to exist in a different dimension, which explains why its boundaries can overlap with known towns and cities of Samar island. On moonless nights, seafarers aplenty have reported seeing a dazzling city of light. In a few minutes, though, the manifestation is no longer visible. Obviously, Biringan is not likely to be shown on any map or atlas. But specialized (infrared, ultraviolet, etc.) satellite mapping photography have reportedly turned up a shining area in the reported general location of Biringan.

The Boyfriend's Death (Broadway Centrum)

The story happened in the old Broadway Centrum. 

[Taken from Internet:] 

There was a couple inside a car when they noticed a guy walking around them. Of course the girl, in fright, told her boyfriend to go out and confront the person. After hours later, the girl was freaked out when the head of her boyfriend just abruptly appear on the window. Next day, she was found by the police insane. Legend has it that the guy walking around them hunts couples doing something inside the cars.

[Taken from http://underbonesphilippines.com]

The story goes that a couple went out on a date one night somewhere along New Manila. Then their car breaks down; good thing they were able to steer it to the broadway centrum parking lot. The boyfriend gets out of the vehicle and tries to fix the problem, but fails. So he tells the girlfriend to stay in the car, close the windows, and lock the doors while he's looking for help. 

An hour later, the girl was getting anxious waiting for her boyfriend to arrive when she notices a strange man watching from the shadows. this man approaches the car and starts banging on the windows and trying to force open the doors. Terrified, the girl honks the car horn to get attention and scare the man off. He stopped and hurriedly left, only to return a few minutes later. then he circled the car, deliberately, holding something in his hand, which he raises to the window.

To her absolute horror, the girl realizes it was her boyfriend's decapitated head! That's not all: she was even more horrified to see what the man lifts up in his other hand: the boyfriend's car keys.

Allegedly the poor girl was so traumatized by the experience that she lost her mind.

Manila Film Center Tragedy

This is not really a legend since it actually happened. But the story about the haunting is the legend. It was told that Imelda Marcos had the grandiose notion of turning the Philippines into the Cannes of Asia by starting an international film festival. They decided the venue to be held beside the Cultural Center of the Philippines and had a date set for January 18, 1982. Despite the downhill trend of the Philippine economy, Imelda plodded along with her grandiose schemes. She also ignored some bad omens. When she first decided to launch her International Film Festival, she had built a huge building that was designed on the lines of the Parthenon.

As usual with her last-minute projects, the building was still under completion when it was nearing time for the festival, and construction was rushed, round the clock. The cement was not given time to dry properly. On November 17, 1981 shortly before 3:00 a.m., an entire floor collapsed and caved in on the floor below. According to the Marcos-controlled press, 28 workers were killed in the accident. Rumor had it than 168 had died. 

Betty Benitez (wife of Imelda’s Assistant Minister, Conrado Benitez), who was in charge of the project for the First Lady, was called to the scene. The mothers and wives of the men who died had come to claim the bodies. But the building was due to open for the festival, and Betty ordered, “Pour the cement.” The bodies of the dead workers were thus covered over so that the relatives could not claim them. The women put a curse on her.

A few months later Betty Benitez was herself killed in bizarre accident. She was a passenger in a car driven by O. D. Corpus, a former president of the University of the Philippines. They were on their way to Tagaytay at night. (It was never made clear why they were out driving in the middle of the night away from their respective spouses and families.) Betty was killed instantly when the car ran off the road on a curve and smashed into a tree. Corpus survived.

Manilans soon said the film festival building was haunted, and many refused to work there or go inside to see films. Imee Marcos called in a medium, who was said to be able to communicate with the dead, and brought him to the film festival building. The medium went into a trance. Normally, he spoke only in his native dialect. But in the trance, he suddenly spoke on in English: ‘Now there are 169,’ he intoned. ‘Betty is with us.’ 

Source: http://palaisip.blogspot.com