Undas: Philippine Ghost Stories

She Follows

Disclaimer: This is one of those stories you don't want to read if you believe in chain letters. It's not something you have to pass on but it unnerved the hell out of me when my friend passed the story on to me. I think it was on a reddit thread somewhere. If you've heard of it, please link in the comments. I'd like to give proper credit where credit is due.

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The University of the Philippines-Los Banos is one of the oldest campuses in the Philippines, boasting over a century of history and just as much in the way of urban legends. My friend told me this particular one happened fairly recently to a journalist who studies there, though who knows how long it's been going on.

He was a member of the student publication and was no stranger to late nights cramming an issue. Their offices offices are at the second floor of the Student Union building, a massive structure that looks a bit decrepit on the outside, but well-kept enough on the inside. The lights are kept off at night except for the second floor hallway, with only a single night shift watchman to keep students company.

On one particular night, this guy and his fellow journalists were enjoying one of their many all-nighters. They'd just come back from a food run. When they arrived at their office, they noticed one of their companions was missing. Before they could resolve to look for him, he arrived pale and shaken, breathing heavily as if from exertion. He didn't speak for several minutes, staring blankly into space.

Eventually, they coaxed the story out of him. He fell back from the group as they were heading up the stairs because he saw something. A girl was sitting on the floor next to the foot of the staircase, hugging her knees to her chest. She wore a long, white dress that hung to her ankles. Her head was down, dark stringy hair covering her face. The guy was no stranger to horror movies, and knew that this was probably the time to run. But as he stared, legs frozen in place, the girl vanished. He couldn't have run fast enough.

Students of rational minds that they were, they attempted to explain away the situation, eventually agreeing that regardless of how eerie what had happened was, they still had an issue to finish.

It wasn't the last they heard of the girl though.

The next day, the staff had a meeting late at night (Journalists, right?). Now, the office was divided into two areas. The first, as you enter, opens up to the largest area which was used as a reception lounge. The second area is actually divided into two parts-a larger section used for the staff meeting, and a smaller area partially walled off where the workstations and computers were.

The guy and another writer were in the smaller area when the staff was meeting. The writer was tapping away at his computer but the guy stayed near the opening of the walled off section so he could participate, effectively blocking the doorway.

The lights suddenly went out, the room plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the moon outside.

A few people screamed, as is expected whenever lights suddenly go out. Others murmured jokingly, recalling the encounter the night before.

The Editor-in-Chief said to wait and see if the lights would turn back on. If not, they'll just head out to eat. The lights stayed dead to everyone's merriment.

While they were eating, one of the editors approached the guy. Her face was ashen, just like their other companion the night before. She said there was something he should know.

During the meeting, when the lights went out, she saw a girl standing in the doorway to the room's walled off portion, right behind the guy. He said that couldn't have been right since he was blocking the way in. No one could have passed without him knowing.

The editor just shook her head. "I know."

She quit shortly after.

And a couple of days after that, the guy started seeing the girl too.

At first, it was just during their late nights at the Student Union building. He'd walk by a doorway and notice something at the corner of his eye, just for a split-second, but when he turned to look, she'd be gone. Then, it started happening during the day too and not just at the building. He'd be going to class, turn a corner, and notice the girl standing at the far end of the hallway. He'd blink and the girl would be gone.

Then, it got really bad-the girl stopped disappearing.

He'd be riding a jeepney, and spot her from afar, along the side of the road, standing on a sidewalk. The jeepney would pass, and she'd just stay at that spot until she vanished in the distance.

One night, as he was walking to his second-floor apartment, he saw the girl standing in front of the door, head bowed as always. He went back down, hoping to wait the girl out. After an hour, he went back up.

Eventually, the guy started telling everybody else the story, hoping to scrounge up information, to see if anyone else had seen the girl aside from their publication and if there was any history to her. This was the time she started appearing to his friends as well, sometimes at the same time he would.

One night, the guy was chatting with a friend of his on Facebook, talking about his experiences. Then, she stopped replying. Maybe she went to the bathroom, he thought.

Then, she started messaging frantically that the girl was standing right outside her bedroom window. "How do I make her go away!?" she typed, her messages riddled with typos. She mustered the courage to inch close enough to the windows to shut the blinds. She didn't speak to him for a month.

I, myself, haven't seen the girl yet, but my friend says when he posted this online, one of the commenters threatened him because he started seeing the girl too. I'm not sure if this is a curse or anything, but you guys be sure to let me know.

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Pictured: The Student Union building featured in the story (Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/75842038)