Journey Into The Paranormal

Balete Drive

Balete Drive was named after a gargantuan that used to stand in the middle of the road. The road, although the exact construction date is unknown, had been cemented and asphalted and became a main thoroughfare during the regime of President in the early 1970s. There are several Spanish houses in the area, including the famous 200-year-old "Centennial House", which supports the claim that Balete Drive has been in use since the late Spanish era towards the end of the 19th century.

The street is reported to be haunted with tales circulating since the 1950s. Many reports that the old Spanish homes in the area were haunted, or being guarded by their former, dead Spanish owners. The most famous case and the case most reported is the story of a "White Lady" frequently being seen in that site, according to a famous Philippine . Also, other mythical creatures from the Philippine folklore were also sometimes seen around the site, like elves and fairies. A Sighting of a Kapre, a large, smoking black giant, was reported from that area once.

Most of the reports describes a White Veiled Lady, a popular entity in the Philippine folklore. The White Lady is frequently seen in the portion of the road from the intersection of the road with the Mabolo Street up to the Intersection of the road with the Bougainvilla Street. The reports commonly came from taxi drivers, particularly those driving on the graveyard shift between 12:00 am and 3:00 am. The reports described commonly fits the descriptions on the reports involving the infamous reports from , on account of the white lady, either calling over to ride on their cab or suddenly appearing inside the car.

Some of the unconventional theories attempting to explain the tales about the neighborhood are very similar to the stories. The "" is said to be the ghost a teenage girl that died in a car accident in the area many years ago. Another variation of the tale is that the girl was raped by a cab driver. The above reason is used to explain why the lady always shows herself to cab and taxi drivers.

From the Philippine folklore, Balete trees are always considered magical, and sometimes, kingdoms of spirits, which is another unconventional explanation for the eerie and mysterious tales that occur in the vicinity.The skeptical and conventional explanations, of course, dismiss the entire story and all tales and reports as hoaxes. The tale is believed to be a hoax of a newspaper reporter. It is also presumed that it is made by a group of college students on surveillance on how fast a rumor can spread.

The most accepted explanation, however, is the possibility of a mirage or an illusion. The floating lady is dismissed as an optical illusion caused by the car's headlights. The same explanation is given to another alleged haunted street in , the Calle Tres Marias in Barangay bahay toro in Project 6, which is said to be the habitat of strange cat-like creatures.