another ghost story

HAUNTED SPOTS IN ASINGAN

The most popular of these is the giant tree that had been towering over the cemetery for a long, long time.

Well, which would be the nearest spot for these goblins, gremlins and other creatures that go "booo!" in the night than this tree house ( for lost souls i.e. )

Some of my classmates before from barrio Macalong have tons of stories about what they have seen lurking about in the branches of this tree. By the way the tree's local name is "Bangar.."
One time my brother and a buddy went near this spot and they saw a big white bird. They had a BB rifle and they took a shot at it. They thought they hit it but the bird just dissapeared.
The same night, the mother of my brother's buddy had a dream: A man in white appeared to her and warned her to advise her son not to take pot shots at him. Just tell him to keep away from the Bangar tree, he said. If he hit me this afternoon, something terrible would have happened to him.

The mother is one of my Mom's friends. Immediately she went to see my Mom and told her about the incident. My Mom immediately called my brother and asked him if they went to the cemetery the day before. My brother, who is not accustomed to telling lies, said yes.. I guess my brod got an earful and he promised my Mom never to go near that place again..

When I heard the story, I asked myself: "Why didn't that spirit reincarnated itself as a mouse or as a bat since these creatures do not attract much attention?"

Across the cemetery, there was also the breadfruit tree which allegedly was the haunt of a tall black ogre who was fond of smoking a long cigar. Locally, the creature is called PUGOT. During my elementary days, male pupils who cutivated garden plots for their gardening subject in school would sleep there to guard their vegetables. The garden area had the breadfruit tree near their sleeping quarters. At midnight, the boys swear they would see the creature sitting on one of the branches swinging his legs and enjoying that long cigar.

The PUGOT, do exist according to some ladies. These ladies claim at one time, a PUGOT would come to their house at midnight just to make their presence known.

This lady who was a barrio school teacher ( she is now in Canada ) in a San Vicente, Asingan, said the "mysterious admirer" would drop in around midnight in their house. The house was in a secluded place surrounded by tall trees.

His presence would be felt by a weird smell and creaking of the floor. One time she got fed up and she went out of her room to see who was there. He heard the sound of running feet towards a window in the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen she saw a pair of hairy hands with long nails grasping the window. When she approached the window, the hands dissapeared.

Dupac ( where the garden was ) and San Vicente are neighbouring barrios. I was wondering whether it was the same fellow since PUGOTS have very long limbs and they could run like the wind if they wanted to.

Another popular ghost story in Asingan tells about a tricycle driver who took a request from a lady passenger to take her to Macalong. The road to Macalong from the town proper would bring you in front of the gates of the cemetery. This incident took place near midnight.

When the tricycle reached the gate of the graveyard, the passenger ordered him to stop and he did. The passenger stepped out. Lo and behold, she looked like a walking corpse with bloody bandages on her face. People said the driver jumped from his seat and ran away screaming.
Another story I heard was about a boy who took out his carabao to the verdant grass patch beside the cemetery walls. It was around noon time. Everything was so peaceful. There was nobody around except a child who was playing in the distance. So he just continued day dreaming watching his pet nibble the grass

All of a sudden he heard a shrill scream. He turned around. The child was not there anymore. Instead he saw an old woman dressed in everyday wear but she was running towards the boy in the carabao as if she wanted to grab him. The boy saw that her face was so hideous! The boy just beat the carabao's face with a rope and the poor animal started to scamper away very fast. I guess the animal also recognized a ghost if he sees one. Minutes later he turned to see if the old woman was still chasing them. The old woman was gone.

It seems ghosts ( or whatever those creatures are ) do not just come out at midnight. They come out also during mid day if they feel like spooking somebody.---#