Despite their preoccupation with studies, social media and various other interests, students remain fascinated with urban legends, specifically of the supernatural kind.
Some students who studied in Cebu’s oldest schools shared to Cebu Daily News their stories of the paranormal, of things that go bump into the night.
Here are their stories:
Room 25
Mass Communication graduate Mary Louise Guerra of the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu) said she worked at a production shoot with some classmates at the school’s multimedia room when her supernatural encounter occurred.
“We were there past 10 p.m. already and we begged the professor through text to have our stay extended because the guards were instructing us to go out,” Mary Louise said.
She said they were shooting a horror-comedy short film on four friends playing a Ouija board and the lights were turned off and candles were lit to heighten the tension.
Mary Louise said she took a catnap and woke up to see three little children holding hands and their faces cast down through a one-way tinted glass.
“I looked back and they were still there, but I can sense something was about to go wrong. And one of my classmates also told us that she heard a child giggling behind the tripods. That was our cue. We immediately turned the lights back on, arranged everything, and called it a day,” she said.
After the incident, Mary Louise said they decided to look for other places to finish their shooting.
She also said she passed by the multimedia room, also known as Room 25, on one occasion and felt a whiff of cold air rush past her along with a whisper that told her “layas na (get out).”
Mary Louise said Room 25 was a “notorious” paranormal hotspot in UP Cebu.
The three children were rumored to be part of a family of five ghosts who lived in the room.
UP Cebu, which sits on a 13-hectare lot in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, was built in May 1918 to serve as a satellite campus for UP Manila before UP Diliman was established in 1949.
It was closed during World War II and its administration building served as headquarters for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
In one of her Cebu Daily News columns, historian Madrileña dela Cerna said UP Cebu’s administration building later became “a stockade for condemned prisoners.”
UP Cebu students tell of hearing what sounded like chains being dragged on the floor, of an axe cracking a hard surface and headless apparitions in the basement.
Chamber of horror
When Christyl Abellenada left Cebu Normal University (CNU) in Osmeña Boulevard at the age of 17, she brought with her memories of an unforgettable encounter she and her classmates had with the paranormal.
Abellenada said she and her classmates heard of an underground chamber of the school’s administration building and decided to pay a visit.
She said they sneaked past security guards to make their way to the chamber.
“When you go in, the floor is divided into several sections. So, every time you walk two steps further inside, you will find a tiny corner leading to a small room. Sunlight cannot reach down there and it was too cold. We used the lights from our cell phone to illuminate the area,” she said.
Abellenada said a classmate who led the way suddenly stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to face them, her face in ashen shock.
She said her classmate told them that someone or something held her shoulders tightly and when she turned around, she saw a tall shadow with eyes that glared at her.
Abellenada said the shadow let her go after sensing that she was praying.
Toilet scare
Christian Ceniza was helping in the preparations for the 2012 Regional School Press Conference (RSPC) at the Cebu Technological University — formerly the Cebu Trade School built in 1911 — when he experienced his paranormal encounter.
Ceniza and a colleague of the CTU school publication The Nation Builder slept overnight at school and decided to use the toilets to take a bath when they heard a faucet turned on.
After 20 minutes, Ceniza said he got impatient.
“I asked the one in the toilet, ‘Dugay pa ka kuya? (Are you going to take longer?).’ And he replied, ’Oo, dugay pa! (Yes, it will take longer)’ with a very deep voice that, at first, my friend and I find it weird and really creepy but we just dismissed it,” he said.
Upon hearing the faucet turned off, Ceniza said they decided to check and were shocked to see that the toilet stall was closed.
Peeking under the stall door, Ceniza was greeted by an ugly, demonic-looking apparition.
“He had a pair of angry, red eyes and his face was really dark. I can even smell a mixture of mud and something burnt from his face,” he said.
Ceniza said he screamed and ran past his friend who also sprinted away as fast as he could.
Ceniza said they had fever later that evening and recovered days after.
He said he heard from teachers and classmates that they heard of the faucet running but didn’t see who used it.
“The library was renovated sometime in 2012, and that shower stall was removed. After that, there were no more stories about it,” Ceniza said.