De La Salle University — 99 years of rich history; 99 years of quality education; 99 years of producing “Lasallian Achievers for God and Country who will lead in building a just, peaceful, stable progressive Filipino nation; 99 years…haunted?
Since the establishment of De La Salle College in 1911, the institute has been a transitory setting for many historical events. These said events, however, ended up being the subject of horror stories passed around by word of mouth. For example, when sixteen brothers and twenty-five civilians were massacred in 1945 in the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament (MBS) in St. La Salle Halle (LS), people have talked about the bloodstains on the walls that no matter how many times the walls have been painted over, the stains never disappeared; or the weird sounds that could be heard there after 6pm, or the unfortunate student who died in the SPS elevator who is said to haunt the building itself. These have been the foundation of Lasallians’ paranormal fears in the university.
Four of The LaSallian’s staff members stepped forward to prove if these rumors of ghostly presences in DLSU were true or not, and that there is nothing to fear within its halls. The group consisted of AJ Tang, a skeptic of the existence of spirits and whatnot, Krystyn Lee, a believer. Keena Angeles, a neutral skeptic/believer, and Ian Meru, the photographer who would capture the escapade of the three Menagerie writers. All four staff members would be staying in DLSU overnight to see if the hallowed halls really are haunted as well.
Behind-the-Scenes
The staffers were to stay inside the campus from 10pm-5am, accompanied by Jupiter Daquioag, a DO. However, they were only permitted to roam the vicinities of the LS building. They could still visit other buildings (with exceptions of Br. Andrew Hall, the Science and Technology Research Center, Enrique Razon Sports Center and the Gokongwei Hall), but only until the ground floor. Nevertheless, LS is the building that houses the most history as it is the only building in existence since DLSU moved to Taft Avenue.
The group hypothesized that they wouldn’t be able to experience anything creepy. Of course, they’re hoping for an interesting incident, but they’re not exactly expecting one.
As the Events Unfold
Our dauntless assembly of pumped-up journalists started going around the school around 10pm. The university was still particularly lively; DLSU employees were still roaming the university or still in their offices, security guards were doing their rounds, and janitors were still cleaning. Mr. Daquioag said that the employees usually leave at around 11pm. The buildings were still lit, its hallways bright with the illumination from fluorescent lights. There were also people in Yuchengco Hall. The staffers eventually discovered that they were not going to be alone for the night. Apparently, these people were to do an all-nighter, setting up the things for an event the next day.
The MBS Chapel was still open at this time, for the same reason why there are people in Yuchengco. The staffers searched for the infamous bloodstains, but to no avail. The rumor about weird sounds coming from the chapel was disproved as well as the silence there was deafening. The staffers walked around LS, passing through all the hallways and corners. The halls were still bright with light. The school was not yet shutting down at this time.
Since the atmosphere within the university was still lively, our somewhat fearless group of journalists waited for a more suitable hour to go ghost-hunting. It was still too early for such occurrences to manifest. Also, they were hoping that the workers would finish and leave to facilitate a more ghost-friendly environment.
As time passed…
Our intrepid posse of mammalian adventurers decided to head to St. Mutien-Marie Hall past midnight. It was around this time where the liveliness dropped as most of the people left the campus grounds. The workers were still in Yuchengco though.
As far as the group was concerned, there have been no reported incidents in Mutien-Marie. However, many students fear the place since they considered it as secluded and abandoned. It was visually-impairing dark inside the building. Creepy as it may be, nothing supernaturally relevant took place.
The group then ventured back to the LS building. The lights were out all over the building except for the staircases. The group then took a break in the vicinity of the LS building while Krystyn went to the bathroom. There had been rumors of creepy stuff happening in bathrooms all over school. Krystyn had gone to the bathroom several times alone, two of which were in bathrooms in LS, but no such events ever took place.
A Curious Incident
As our fine protagonists of our small adventure walked past the amphitheater, they saw a suspicious piece of thick, dark cloth on the ground. Earlier, this was not here when they walked past this location. As they closely inspected the estranged object on the ground, AJ picked it up give it a closer look. But the group discovered that this was no ordinary cloth, this was far worse than anyone ever imagined. It was a thick, black piece of female undergarment. AJ was holding a mysterious piece of black thong-like pair of panties. No one wanted to know any further details on this matter. Several minutes later, the group came back to find out that the panties weren’t there anymore. Let us however hope that AJ washed his hands after this strange ordeal.
In the End…
By 4:30am, everyone was already tired and had given up hope in searching for anything paranormal, scary, creepy, or even just plain interesting. All the searching has come to nothing.
The entire experience was as expected from the previous hypothesis. The so called supernatural phenomenon that had happened in the university did not manifest in the staff’s search for them. There were no ghosts, eerie noises, and creepy occasions that appeared, happened or sparked the group’s senses. This may prove that the paranormal activity in the school may just be the figment of all our imaginations or perhaps, caused by electromagnetic fields, which is an entirely different story.
Even if such phenomena were true, they would probably not be revealed to those who are searching and expecting such occurrences. The incidents that occurred to the victims of the supernatural were usually alone. The group, however, traveled together and did not venture alone within the university. Also, human presence was particularly abundant in the campus the entire night. Workers in Yuchengco did not leave until about six in the morning.
Even if the our horde of heroes were not able to experience the paranormal during the stay, this does not say there were no moments that somehow made them feel afraid while roaming around the campus. In a sense, they may be just scaring themselves by imagining and anticipating what may never happen. By the end of the campus stay, they realized that this was not really about ghost-hunting; it was about fear-hunting. They were engulfed by the uncertainty around them and thrust all their fears into the unknown shadows surrounding them.
