An old mansion is converted into a “house of horror” to give visitors the Halloween chills and thrills.
It is the spookiest time of the year when the haunted tour industry goes into full swing to celebrate Halloween — a Western tradition that has grown in popularity worldwide.
In Cebu, some tourist spots have begun to transform into cobweb-infested dens filled with struggling actors in polyester masks.
And then there are the horror booths with fake cadavers, bursting out of makeshift coffins, and chasing after screaming teens and 20 something thrill seekers.
While there are tamer Halloween attractions like going trick-or-treating in malls, still, there is a market for those who simply want a good scare out of the holidays.
Along V. Ranudo St., Cogon Ramos, Cebu City, in a place called House 104, an archaic mansion has been turned into a horror house that could give visitors the chills to last them until the next haunted season.
For an entrance fee of P150 (P100 for students), brave souls dive into the eerie mansion and navigate through chambers filled with ghostlike images that appear by surprise.
Dark passages also lead to the owner’s old room where mythical creatures had been set up to greet the unsuspecting guests.
Elwin Abellana, head organizer of House 104 under Alfapro Events and Promotions, said students were heard crying last week, while another one fainted inside the house as the scary creatures did their thing.
The scare-tour opens daily from 3 p.m. to 12 midnight till November 24.
Each tour will take about 7-10 minutes of non-stop fright.
Concept
According to Abellana, his love for horror movies sparked his idea of creating a unique Halloween attraction in Cebu.
“I personally love horror movies, and I regularly visit horror booths especially during the Halloween,” said Abellana.
The main goal of the project, said Abellana, was to look for an old house and transform it into an attraction.
“We wanted to look for an old house and we were just staring at House 104,” he said.
“Ang mansion was sakto gyud, dako na balay (The mansion was perfect because it is a big house), creepy with lots of parking space at the back,” said Abellana.
It only took them two weeks to transform the century-old mansion into one of Cebu’s must-see Halloween
attractions.
Dark ambient music with Gothic lighting and a good amount of ghostly figures make up House 104, which Abellana is very proud to call as the only horror house in Cebu.
About 15 actors dressed up as ghosts, apparitions and mythical creatures lurk behind the walls of the house.
Owners
The mansion’s long history and its post-colonial look captured Abellana’s attention.
“Mag tan-aw pa lang ka daan sa balay mahadlok na ka maong mo stand out siya, that is also maong ni stick mi ani na plan (Even just by looking at the house, you will be scared. It really stands out that’s why we stuck to the plan),” he said.
Convincing the owners to use the property was not a problem for as long as the production team met their conditions which included not decorating the house with a coffin.
According to Abellana, the old house was first owned by the Garcia family. It was later transformed into a restaurant, and was sold again to its current owners who requested anonymity.
Joel Aballe, a security guard assigned at House 104, said the owners seldom visit the house since most of them are now
living in the United States.
“Matawhan ra ang balay kung manguli sila (The only time people are in the house is when the owners come home from abroad), ” said Aballe.
“If wala ang owners mingaw gyud labi na ako ra ang tigbantay (Otherwise, the place is very quiet especially because I am the only one here),” he said claiming that paranormal activities happen in the mansion.
Sightings and apparitions
“Katong bata pako, mag agian ko dinhang dapita ug ma hadlok ko kay naay murag mag bantay nimo sa bintana (When I was young, I used to pass by this place and I would get scared because it felt like someone was watching me from the window),” said Aballe.
Aballe, who has been watching over the mansion for five months, regret the assignment after hearing stories of ghost sightings and apparitions inside the house.
One night, while doing his rounds, Aballe heard footsteps inside one of the empty rooms. The next day, a caretaker also got locked in the room where the footsteps had come from.
“After that incident, I never close the door whenever I go to the bathroom, I don’t want to get locked like the caretakers,” he said.
Before the horror house officially opened last September 22, three black chickens were slaughtered as part of superstition that an offering was needed to appease spirits living inside the house.
Abellana and his crew also hired the services of a medium or a medicine man who claimed to be able to communicate with the spirits believed to be living in the acacia and balete trees at the mansion’s backyard.
“You see, considering how big the trees are, you can just imagine the creatures that lurk here,” said Abellana.
According to the medium, an agta, a tall mythical creature with skin as black as charcoal lives on the acacia, while a white lady is living
inside the house.
“So far dili man daw sila mang hilabot ana ang medium (the medium said they will do no harm),” said Abellana although there was a time when the crew had to close the horror house early after hearing “noises” from the second floor even when the actors were on their break and there was nobody in the vicinity.
“We got scared because we heard thuds from the second floor. It was as though they were mimicking the things that we did to the horror house visitors,” Abellana said in Cebuano.
The crew believed that ending their operations that day earlier than the schedule was necessary so as not to further “anger the spirits.”
All for fun
Pushing aside all the scary stories from her mind, 15-year-old Joyce Cubao mustered the courage to go inside the mansion.
She said that she has heard about the alleged ghost sightings and apparitions since she often bought siomai from a food stall near the mansion.
But along with her friends, Jane, Jeremy, and Steven, the four teenagers scoured the house out of curiosity.
After the haunted tour, they came out all sweaty and laughing.
“It’s so hard to see as you make your way through the narrow hallways,” said Cubao, who held her friend’s hand tightly as they maneuvered their way up and down stairs.
“People just coming out of nowhere, unexpected screams and lots of gore!” she recounted of her horror house
experience.
Despite the scare, Cubao said that friendships were forged along the scary halls of the mansion.
“Ni-allow mi nga pa kuyog tong duha ka tao kay na hadlok sila then six man pud ang maximum nga maka sulod at the time. At first medyo awkward but kadugayan kay malingaw ra ka kay sige na mo ug shagit ug katawa (We allowed two strangers to come with us since they were scared and since they would bring in six people maximum each time. At first it was awkward but after a while, it was fun always screaming and laughing at the same time),” she said.
For Cubao, fright turned into fun.
“I didn’t mind because I’m here for the fun and experience,” she said.
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