Photo from Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on Facebook
Content warning: This article contains potentially frightening or upsetting discussions that some may find disturbing. Reader’s discretion is advised.
As we celebrate the spooky season, the weekly Sunday news magazine program of GMA News and Public Affairs, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho released its 10th Annual Special Episode of “Gabi ng Lagim” last Sunday, October 30, 2022. The special episode broadcasted a variety of stories involving Philippine horror superstitions and urban legends.
To wrap up this year’s Halloween, we’ll give you a rundown of the episode as well as how these supposed paranormal encounters can be explained.
Auditorium
 |
| Photo from Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on Facebook |
We start with the mystery of a ghost wandering inside an auditorium of a school in Visayas as caught in a 2017 footage taken by a group of students. A white door in the room appears to open on its own. Afterwards, a ghost is seemingly spotted behind Aubrey, a girl in the video. According to paranormal expert, Ed Caluag, the ghost was formerly a female student who died after falling from the stairs of the school. She succumbed to her injuries despite being rushed to the hospital.
Director of the segment, Mark Meily admittedly found the footage of the white door “ghost” to be the most convincing for him. According to him, it’s because there were no apparent visual editing on the video and how Aubrey seemed to not touch the door despite it opening—leading viewers to believe it had opened on its own. However, he also discussed that due to the lighting towards Aubrey and the door, it was plausible that the “ghost” that appeared behind her was a result of the lightsource moving, creating an illusion of a figure in motion.
Prof. Emmanuel Rodulfo, Ph.D. of the Physics Department at De La Salle University was consulted regarding the door; he posited that Aubrey first pushed the door and then stopped short from opening it further. It was due to the door’s lack of friction that it continued to open further without much effort. He also speculates that maybe the door’s hinges were broken, adding that the door itself may be antiquated, which would result in the door having a chance of opening on its own. He points to the marks on the floor left by the door as proof of the door’s condition.
Tiyanak
We move on to the Saranggani province where a ‘tiyanak’ is said to be terrorizing men in the forests of Brgy. Ampon. According to the former captain of the barangay, William Ampon, the tiyanak was a result of a local tradition of hanging dying infants on a tree like a basket. According to Prof. Cris Hannibal Non, this tradition of final disposition came from the Filipino tribe of Blaan, and was called “Sofen.” They would hang the corpses of dead infants on a big tree until the bodies are fully decomposed in the belief that they will become closer to God and that it would make it easier for their souls to ascend to heaven.
Ana Dela Cruz, a paranormal investigator, shares that she experienced the presence of elemental creatures in the barangay even as she was still traveling via a van. Dela Cruz says she feels that tiyanaks were observing her during their ride, welcoming her and the crew as they entered the barangay. As she and the news crew go deeper into the forest of Brgy. Ampon, Dela Cruz reveals that she hears the voices of the deceased infants as they cry of starvation and helplessness. According to her, their noises were a sign that the infants were not given enough care when they were alive.
In her exploration of the haunted well in the forest, Dela Cruz says the well was guarded by the tiyanaks, who apparently care for everything in the forest. Dela Cruz gets sick later in the segment as she believes she is being signaled by the tiyanaks not to explore any further. Finally, she and the film crew reach a house said to be haunted by tiyanaks, where she puts salt on both the edges of the doorway to pay respects and to warn those who also plan to visit.
Pinoy Shutter
 |
| Photo from Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on Facebook |
Our next story involves a photo of a group of friends on a vacation in Mindanao, wherein a mysterious figure behind Jonah Naveno, one of the members, can be seen touching her shoulders. Robert Pastera, Lecturer in the Department of Language and Literature at the Far Eastern University, identifies the mysterious creature photographed as an ‘Agta,’ which are black-colored creatures that are almost 12 feet or beyond in height and are similar to the ‘Kapre.’ Pastera clarifies that the difference between the two are their places of origin. The Agta fall under the ethnolinguistic group of the Negritos and are under the members of lower mythology in the Philippines. Pastera also adds that there are Agtas that live in the mangroves and swamps, and that they like to play around the waters and have the ability to disappear.
Paranormal researcher Jay Costura states that they don't have an idea about the Agtas residing on the beach of the resort. They also clarified to the group from the picture that what was on the picture was not a spirit, but an elemental creature. They also revealed that they saw a black-colored creature swimming along the sea near the resort. Costura tells the group that it was an Agta in the photo, and that it is a guardian creature of the environment. They also stated that they do not usually harm people, not unless they are being disturbed themselves. After consulting with the paranormal researcher, the group went to an albularyo (witch doctor) to seek guidance on how to appease the creature, to which they were advised to return the sea shells they have collected from the trip.
Unit 771
 |
| Photo from Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on Facebook |
The episode’s last story is about an unresting spirit residing at Unit 771 of a tenement building in Taguig. The spirit is said to have belonged to a maid who was chained down and abandoned by her employer. After escaping captivity inside the unit, the maid was said to have climbed to the rooftops of the tenement, where she subsequently committed suicide by falling. As concluded by paranormal expert Ed Caluag, for the soul of the maid to find peace, he will have to communicate with it spiritually by touching the head of Marilou Delloro, the former tenant of the Taguig tenement—as she reports that she was always disturbed by the spirit. The talk was about finding closure for the spirit and laying its grudge against her household employers to rest. There was also a ritual that involved the use of a Tibetan Singing Bowl that communicated with the other unresting spirits who were terrorizing the residents of the Taguig Tenement, striking an agreement with them to go away and return to place where they belong.
Audio-visual expert of the segment, Director Chino Corpus, shared that he feels that the alleged loud noises of the spirit came from the boom microphone receiving far-off noises from the station of the boom mic. He adds that based on his investigation regarding the sobbing noise of the spirit that was caught on CCTV outside Unit #771, he speculates that it is possible that it is just wind noise.
Psychologist Fernando Carandang Jr., upon being consulted on the situation, cites that separation anxiety brought by severe stress of having to work away from one’s family may have played a part in the maid’s untimely demise. After the investigation, Ed Caluag and Pastor King De Dios, a member of Church So Blessed International gave a spiritual blessing to Unit #771 to lift the evil spirits residing in the place and to protect against the upcoming evil spirits to reside in the tenement.
What were once shivering stories from our childhood now offer us a clearer picture of Philippine culture and its rich mythology. In these segments, we can discover diverse beliefs and the importance of respecting them. Creatures like the Agta and the Tiyanak may cause shudders upon the mere mention of them, but they are also said to be protectors of nature, only hostile to those who pose a threat to it.
It is also a lesson on treating others kindly, as cautioned by the story of the maid in Unit 771. To aggrieve others is to incur the consequences of our wrongdoings against them. Our actions ripple into the bigger community as we spread negativity to others. For the tenants of the building, we saw how the abusive behavior of one person could lead to a whole community suffering the spite of a malevolent spirit. Most importantly, it is in building a trusting relationship with God that can help us overcome our fears and the evil forces that lurk at every corner.
