A Halloween celebration wouldn’t be complete without sharing ghost stories or creepy encounters with unseen spirits – and Xyriel Manabat, Charlie Dizon and Jillian Ward each have something to tell.
Telling ghost stories or blood-curdling experiences with friends have always been a favorite pastime for those who enjoy the spooky season. It doesn’t matter if it ends with the group having an unexplained chilly feeling right after, as long as the stories are good. To celebrate the season, here’s what Manabat, Dizon, and Ward shared about their creepy encounters.
Xyriel Manabat
When Manabat was around ‘six or seven’ years old, she experienced being in the company of an unidentified spirit that put a taping on hold.
‘Naransan ko dati sa taping – kasi sa forest ang location – kinailangan namin mag-stop. As in na-tengga kami at hindi kami maka-take kasi may nakita po ako at hindi ako maka-stop sa pag-iyak. Lahat sila, hinintay para kumalma ako kasi mga six or seven ako n’un,’ she said during a talkback session for the horror film ‘Near Death.’
(I once experienced this during taping – the location was in a forest – we had to pause it. We really had no choice but to put it on hold because I saw something and I couldn’t stop from crying. I was around six or seven, and they all waited for me to calm down.)
The actress said the filming location had a huge tree, although she couldn’t remember what she witnessed at that time.
‘Malaking puno kasi ‘yun, ang tawag nila, balete, may nakita kaming nakatingin d’un t’as tinititigan lang niya ako. Hindi ko alam ano siya. Iyak daw ako nang iyak tapos hindi ko ma-explain sa kanila. Nag-stop kami mag-taping hangga’t nakikita ko,’ she said.
(It was a big tree, they called it balete. I saw someone at the tree who stared at me. I didn’t know what it was. I ended up crying, and I couldn’t explain why. We stopped taping while I could still see it.)
Charlie Dizon
For Dizon, she and her family hired a house helper who ended up getting possessed by an unknown spirit. This led to them enlisting the help of a faith healer, nuns, and other people to help her.
‘Sa bahay namin dati noong grade school ako, meron kaming kasambahay na sinapian siya. Kung sino-sino nang pumunta [sa’ming] mga albularyo, madre, as in na-experience ko siya until 5 a.m.,’ she recalled.
‘Sinabi na may tatlong dwende sa bahay namin. As in natatakot na akong banggitin ang pangalan nila kasi sinasabi na baka i-follow ka. Sinabi na swerte sila sa bahay namin kaya wala raw nagkakasakit nang malala. Hindi raw kami nakaka-experience ng hirap,’ she continued.
(When I was in grade school, we had a house helper who got possessed. Several faith healers and nuns came over. We were told that there were three dwarves in our house. I was scared to share their names because they told me that it might follow me. We were nonetheless told that they brought luck to our home. This is why no one got badly sick. We didn’t experience any hardships.)
Dizon recalled that these dwarves loved her family’s house helper, adding that since she was suffering from depression at the time, she would often go to their spot to feel better.
‘Ang kasambahay namin na-typan niya, d’un ko naintindihan ang kasambahay namin. Depressed ang kasambahay namin tapos tumambay siya sa area kung nan’dun ang dwende. Kapag low ang vibration or lower ang frequency, d’un sila papasok. ‘Yun ang explanation sa’min ng albularyo. ang inadvise sa kasambahay namin is kailangan itawid sa dagat para hindi siya sundan ng mga dwende,’ she said.
(They liked my house helper, and that’s where I understood where she’s coming from. She was depressed and would go to their spot where the dwarves were. When she experienced low vibration and low frequency, that’s where they go in. At least that’s what the faith healer explained to us. Our house helper was advised to be brought to the sea so the dwarves couldn’t follow her.)
Jillian Ward
Ward shared that she had a creepy encounter while filming the upcoming movie ‘Gabi ng Lagim.’
‘Noong nagsho-shoot ako ng ‘Gabi ng Lagim,’ we were shooting at the church tapos sobrang nilalamig ako. Ako lang pala ang nilalamig sa aming lahat so kaba lang ba ‘yun or there’s something else,’ she told reporters on the sidelines of The New Nocturnals ball.
(While we were shooting ‘Gabi ng Lagim’ at a church, I felt an indescribable chill. It turned out I was the only one who felt that way. Did it have something to do with the nerves or was there something else?)