Halloween rocks! It’s my favorite holiday, second only to Christmas. In light of Halloween, I thought I’d share a couple of “ghost blurbs” –not quite stories, but little vignettes of experiences we’ve had…
Tales from 77 Madasalin Street
The Old Piano: I grew up in the Philippines with my family. We lived at 77 Madasalin Street in Sikatuna Village by the Univeristy of the Philippines (U.P. Diliman). Like most families, we believe and have had our share of experiences with the supernatural. One that easily comes to mind is the “piano incident.” When I was about 8 or 9 years old, there was a time that my dad had to go away on business for a few days. So it was just my mom, me, my baby brother (who was probably just a year old at the time), his nanny, and one of our housekeepers left at home. Sometime around midnight, we all woke up and heard someone banging on the piano. There was no music, only someone who sounded like they were pounding the life out of the piano keys! I got scared and stayed in bed. My mom stormed out of her room and went into mine because she thought it was me! When she got to my room, she saw that I was there and that the piano was still playing. So she quickly peeked into the living room to see who it was. She discovered that there was no one at the piano at all! My mom freaked out, took everyone out of the house, and drove to my lolo’s house that same night.
The Old Woman by the Gate: We also fondly remember the “old woman incident.” One day, we were expecting one of my dad’s colleagues to come over to our house. So my dad waited for a few hours, but the guy never showed up. The next day, my dad called the guy and asked him how come he never came over.
My dad: Hey, we waited for you yesterday and you never showed up. Did anything happen?
Guy: I was there. The old woman told me you guys left and to never come back to your house!
My dad: What old woman?
Guy: You know, the old lady who was sweeping by your front gates. She was really nasty and told me to leave your house immediately!
My dad: We don’t have any old ladies living with us. Maybe you went to the wrong house.
Guy: No, 77 Madasalin, right? You have a silver gate?
My dad: Yes, exactly. And you say someone told you to leave?
Guy: Yes, she was really old. She was carrying a broom, and she was wearing some really old-looking clothes. She was very, very angry and said to leave your house.
My dad: Naku!
And that was that. But the guy wasn’t the only one who had seen the old woman. Over the years, it seems several people have seen the ‘ghost’ of some old woman who hovers by our gate and keeps telling people to get out of there.
To this day, my whole family thinks our old house is haunted. I’m inclined to agree, although I’m quite happy that I never had an encounter with the old woman! Creepy...
And on that note....Happy Halloween Everyone!
Song of the Day:
Fascination Street by The Cure
