By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW

Ghost stories are popular nowadays. Why not? A few more nights, it is already All Saints Day.

Baguio City has several ghost stories to tell. The white lady. The priests at Dominican Hill. The cries heard at midnight at the formerly Hyatt Hotel. And many more.

I have ghost stories to tell, too. A taxi driver from Besao, Mountain Province had a lady passenger who flagged his taxi at the EPZA Road in Loakan. As soon as the passenger sat down on the back seat, he resumed his rather fast but careful driving, as it was night time.

They passed by the Scout Barrio area and were moving towards the Nevada Hotel, when the driver happened to glance at his passenger through his rear-view mirror. To his amazement, the passenger was not there. He felt cold and his hair stood on end. He stepped on the gas and now drove like crazy, his only thought to immediately reach Session Road about 300 meters away.

Despite his fright, he glanced at his rear-view mirror again to check on his passenger. My God, he exclaimed silently, his passenger was back on her seat – exactly on the spot where she first sat upon stepping into his taxi. He drove so fast, the passenger told him to slow down. But he was sweating so profusely, his sweat was streaming down all over his body.

In Sagada, Mountain Province, two bully gentlemen went to the cemetery on the rise behind St. Mary’s School. The area is frequented by strollers – both local and outsiders. Maybe the duo were going on some “grass trip.” They reached the area but they saw no strollers. One of the two noticed that his friend was no longer around walking with him. He moved through the cemetery, from one area to another, from one grave to another, shouting for his friend. Still no one answered his calls. Frightened, he broke into a run. But as he passed by a concreted grave, a hand grabbed one of his feet.

Back in Baguio City. When the taxi driver had nearly reached Session Road, his passenger shouted at him. “Manong, haan met a napaspas. Baka maaksidente ta. (Please, sir, not so fast. We might have an accident.)” The driver realized that his passenger was not a ghost but a living human.

As his taxi went down Session Road, the driver asked his passenger if she had gone out of the car. She answered no. He told her that she was not on her seat when he checked her through the mirror. The lady laughed very loudly, which irritated the driver. The lady explained that maybe he looked at the mirror at that moment when she was picking up the peso bills that she dropped on the taxi’s floor. The lady was still laughing continuously as she stepped out of the taxi.

The taxi driver, shaking his head, called one of his driver buddies in one of Session’s loading areas for a cup of coffee. He told him the story, and his companion also laughed at him.

In Sagada, the gentleman who was nearly dying of fright because someone grabbed his foot, realized that the hand was that of a living human being. It was his companion, dying of laughter as he moved out from the cemented burial tomb where he had hidden.

I told you, I have ghost stories to tell. They are based on actual experiences. I hope you enjoyed reading this piece. HAPPY HALLOWEEN. #