s a skeptic, I don’t believe in ghosts. But all logic and knowledge are completely discarded the minute you end up in any of these eerie locations a few minutes after midnight. You also end up discarding the pants that you ruined with your fear-stricken bowels.

So how’s about you gather some friends, a few brews and whether by public transpo or by car, you go from place to place (and make sure to detour along Balete Drive while heading to #4 from #5, though!) with little more than flashlights and scary stories? Let the goosebumps come as you head off to…

The ghosts: Several workers constructing the building during the early ‘80s. Supposedly, the building collapsed on them, and then-first lady Imelda Marcos simply went on with the project, essentially entombing the workers in cement in the center.

This is the first stop because it’s in Pasay, and is farther  away from everything else. There are also a few good restaurants in the area, in case you wanted to start out with a full stomach, but that’s another list for another day.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Go on some rides in Star City, since that’s probably going to be much scarier than any ghost.

Manila-FIlm-Centre-8

 

The ghost: There are tons of them in this university, having lasted over four hundred years, but the one you should be on the lookout for is the one in the second floor of the main building that makes it so when you decide to go back down to the first floor, you end up back on the second floor, ad infinitum, until the morning comes, when everything goes back to normal.

It’s a good stop because even though it’s eerie enough as is, students in UST love playing horror pranks on people, including the supposed fraternity initiation involving sneaking into the medical building, where one of the fraternity brods is posing as a cadaver to scare the living daylights out of the initiates.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Get a workout, since you’d keep going down the stairs while futilely trying to get out of the main building, which develops cardio and leg muscles.

UST-Main-Building-7

 

The ghost: There are stories that the old Comm Building in Ateneo (the Communications Department moved elsewhere just a few years ago), the one near the covered courts, happens to be a gateway for souls. One of the most infamous stories here also happens to be full of crap. Literally.

This may be really far from Manila Film Center, but it’s a good stop after UST, since they’re both schools, and you get to see huge differences in the “quality” of their ghosts, especially since the ghost stories from Ateneo are apparently told in Taglish.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Go use some other bathroom instead, maybe? The poor janitors there have their work cut out for them.

Ateneo-Comm-Building-6

 

The ghosts: I don’t think I need to explain the infamy surrounding the Ozone Disco tragedy in early 1996. The fact that this case remains pretty much unsolved gives all the motivation for ghosts to keep hanging around, if they existed.

Stories abound that you would still hear disco music and people celebrating where the disco stood.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Groove to the tunes of “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio, “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan, and “Waterfalls” by TLC.

Ozone-Disco-5

 

The ghosts: In the 17th floor (where RX 93.1 is), they say that there is a little girl hanging around the station, often freaking out whoever is in the graveyard shift at the time. Ask Tom Alvarez about it, he might have some stories.

In the 2nd floor (where WAVE 891 and JAM 88.3 are), the bathrooms are supposedly haunted and have a very strange stench that you can’t quite identify. Ask King DJ Logan about that one, since he rarely willingly goes to the bathroom alone during the 9-12 midnight show I normally guest in: he would usually invite any of his co-DJ’s.

This building is also one of the few that actually has a 13th floor, as the comments have mentioned, which completely slipped my mind, since I’ve been so used to Strata over the years that this little factoid was the least scary thing about the place to me.

Lastly, the late Raul Roco used to work in the 16th floor of the building. Some people claim he still does.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Dedicate a song to them. Ask your favorite DJ on board in your creepiest voice possible!

Strata-2000-4

 

The ghosts: They are legion, but you need to ask the radio veterans who used to be there. Just off the top of my head, Magic 89.9 and Mellow 94.7 used to be located in this abandoned building, along with at least one AM radio station. This building is derelict, has already been through a fire in 2007, and while condemned, was never really properly demolished. I remember vividly that the last time I was inside the building, it was already functionally condemned, as we did a radio program one night, and I was trying to avoid falling into huge cracks near the stairs that could prove fatal if you slipped.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Just head back to Strata. At least there, you have DJ’s to keep you company, not just creepy spirits.

Philcomcen-Building-3

 

The ghosts: Establishments along this street can’t seem to catch a break. Most of them close within a few years, only to be replaced by another equally unsuccessful venture. But what lends to the sinister air here has to be both the Platinum 2000 condominiums, which is where several suicides have happened, including that of Maria Teresa Carlson’s, and the Atlanta Center, where Nida Blanca was murdered.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Rent in either place. We heard their rates are pretty affordable. I wonder why?

Annapolis-St-2

 

The ghosts: Legend has it that the ghosts of Makati Avenue are not just ghoulish apparitions that show up and do nothing to you. These are the most intense of the lot, as they are the kind who would do unspeakable things to you, ultimately sucking the life out of you—for a price.

If ghosts were really here, you can also: Get a massage first before they, err, suck the life out of you.

Makati-Ave-1

Kel Fabie

Kel Fabie. is a DJ, host, mentalist, satirist, comedian, and a long-time contributor to 8List (Hello, ladies!). He has an Oscar, a Pulitzer, a Nobel, and two other weirdly-named pet dogs. He blogs on mistervader.com.

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