Undas Stories

"Undas" is the Philippines' version of the Halloween or the Day of the Dead. All Souls' Day. We usually observe the day by visiting our relatives who've passed on—trekking to the cemetery to clean their tombs and polish their gravestones, offer flowers and sometimes fruit, affix candles and make balls of wax from their drippings, and pray for their eternal peace. Restless spirits are the last thing you want. My favorite part of the season are the ghost stories and urban legends that make their rounds weeks prior to the holiday. Here are just a few of them. --- *Most of these are stories I've either read about or heard of from friends and family. I own none of them unless specified otherwise. If you have your own stories you'd like to share, feel free to comment them!

Paano mo malalaman ang kasagutan kung ang lahat ng bagay ay hindi alam kung saan nanggaling at kailan lilitaw

"After exam, deserve natin ang mag explore!" Isang grupo ng kababaihan ang nag lakbay sa gitna ng kasagsagan na matataypg na bukid sa maliit na probinsiya ng Mindanao, ang magkakaibigan na ito ay galing pa sa maynila, dahil katatapos lang ng kanilang mahabang pagsusulit naisipan nilang magliwaliw. Hindi nila alam na sa pag e-explore nilang iyon ay may magigising silang hindi nila kauri, hindi sila nakinig sa payo ng isang matandang probinsiya na nakatira sa ibaba ng bundok, mas naging excited sila sa pagakyat ng bigyan sila ng babala nito. Creeps and dusk are everywhere, screams of wrath arising and the flames of fear in the midst of the mountain can't be heard by anyone. And the cries for help caused by the nine girl inside the dusky mountain maintain its creeps, without anyone helping them. The question is, sino ang nagising nila sa gitna ng pagliliwaliw sa bundok? Bakit ang masayang umpisa nila ay nahantong sa madugong sigawan at iyakan? Maliligtas kaya sila, may magliligtas kaya sa kanila?

Zachary is a man who could almost reach the stars, but fell. Now, he just looks up at the sky every night, imagining what could've been happening today if only the universe conspired with what he wanted.