Tempting the unknown: Night at Razon

Exactly a year ago, The LaSallian released an article recounting the overnight adventure of eight staffers who explored the depths of the unknown inside the main campus of De La Salle University. Limited by logistical and security concerns, last year’s quest involved just the areas and buildings enclosed within the University’s main campus.

Although armed with courage as they spent the darkest hours of dawn in search for what may exist, the entities that they encountered in their risky exploit gave them an unearthly welcome as they may have disturbed the other elements lurking within the walls of the University. A brief recap of the said quest narrates a black figure that was running up the St. Joseph Hall (SJ), seemingly trying to lure the group back to the fourth floor ladies’ room. Though uncertain of what- or who- it was, it could have been irked by the group’s intrusion, as the comfort room door, without any wind source except an unfamiliar chilly atmosphere, slammed shut, leaving the group with no choice but to stand back.

A year after, we continued the quest. But this time around, we are not to disturb the beings residing in SJ yet again, nor are we seeking the sources of the faint footsteps in St. La Salle Hall. This time around, we explored the training ground of La Salle’s student-athletes, the Enrique Razon Sports Center, simply known to students as the Razon building, and who inhabits the uncanny dark floors beyond the training hours.

Preliminaries at the home base: Seventh floor basketball court

This year’s team, composed of ten staffers, gathered in the seventh floor basketball court at nine in the evening of September 25. The building closes at 10 pm, and the group decided to start the journey after midnight strikes. To kill time, the group shared the various hair-rising stories that they sought to verify in the journey. Accounts of chain sounds being heard in the second floor ladies’ comfort room, a child running around the sixth floor parking lot, and dribbling sounds in an empty ninth floor basketball court were raised. As the clock struck twelve, the group gathered in a circle, saying a little prayer to protect them for what and who they may see, hear, and encounter in the risky adventure.

First stop: Ground floor and swimming pool area

The quest officially began as the proponents took the elevator to the ground floor. In an early twist of events though, the elevator stopped and opened its doors at the sixth floor. Knowing that the floor was allegedly haunted, the group freaked out, immediately pressing the ‘close’ button without considering what could have caused the elevator to stop at that floor. Whether it was an elevator glitch or not, the proponents composed themselves, sticking to the original plan of exploring the ground floor first.

Upon reaching the first floor, the group gathered near the guard’s desk. Since the guard patrols the building every night, the proponents asked for bits of his experiences. Although the guard admitted to having no spooky experiences yet since he was just recently assigned to the area, he shared a story about his coworker who fell asleep one night at the second floor and woke up feeling like he was being choked. Upon opening his eyes, the said worker allegedly saw a white figure heading towards the direction of the La Casita canteen. Also, according to the guard, the same story happened to a construction worker of a building being built across the street from Razon. As the construction worker was taking a nap, he woke up to the feeling of being choked as well. And upon opening his eyes, he saw a white figure, hanging itself from the second floor of the Razon building.

After the stories were told, the proponents continued their journey, heading to the locker area near the staircase. Things felt normal, and the area seemed uneventful as the lights from the nearby establishments lessened the darkness.

Using the front door, the group then entered the swimming pool area. The darkness made the trip more difficult than it really is and the slippery floor was also a bother. While circling the pool the atmosphere felt heavier than it was outside. What is usually a lively place filled with students students became a creepy area that looked abandoned with scattered gear surrounding the pool.

Midway through the trip, the second floor was now visible from the poolside. The stories about the “chains” and employees being choked at that place made it hard for the proponents to look up, although it actually felt like someone was watching from above. Although the aura felt unusual and different, things were also uneventful at the poolside, save for some unidentified white figures that were looking at the proponents from the second floor.

Thinking that those white figures may just be merely pieces of hanging cloth or other sorts of props from the second floor archery area, the group decided to verify it later on, and they continued to search other parts of the ground floor. After circling and exploring every part of the floor, the proponents went back to their home base, the seventh floor, to rest for a few minutes.

Second stop: Second, third, and fourth floors and the “erratic” elevators

At 1:30 am, the ten staffers decided to investigate the second, third, and fourth floors.

After two rounds at the second floor, the proponents left quite disappointed, as the place was uneventful with no signs of any unusual chain sounds or white ladies. What was clear though was the initial report of some eerie figures from the second floor archery area. A quick check of the archery area revealed no similar white objects that may resemble the figures that were “watching” the group as they were at the poolside.

It was not long until the proponents visited the third and fourth floors which house the parking area for faculty members and students alike. The wide spread of concrete gave off a feeling that someone was watching over them. But like the exploration of the second floor, the group found no unusual activity in the third and fourth floor parking lots.

In what could be telling of some mysteries at the building, what surprised the staffers was the erratic behavior of Razon’s elevators. It would visit different floors and open its doors constantly. Specifically, the elevator would always head back to the sixth floor even when the group used it for a different floor. When it was time to move, the elevator welcomed them with overload warnings. Again, whether this was a glitch or something beyond, the proponents felt one thing for sure – someone else was watching them.

Third leg: The fifth and sixth floors, and the “whistling” at the ninth

After they were all rested, the group used the elevator to go down to the fifth floor parking. It was empty, save for a couple of cars parked there. Disappointed, the group moved on to their next destination, the dreaded sixth floor. Instead of riding the elevator, they decided to use the ramp. A group of old armchairs eerily lined up in a single file was the first thing the proponents saw. Next to it were more chairs, all piled up as if they were carelessly thrown. Nothing unnatural happened so the group decided to take the elevator going to the ninth floor, unsuspecting of what was in store for them.

When the elevator door opened, one question hung in their minds. Is this really the ninth floor? The atmosphere was immensely different. It was noticeably colder and heavier. A cloud of darkness, so thick that it was impossible to see beyond a couple of meters from where they were standing, loomed before them. The absence of any sound made it all the more worse. All the courage they had built up ran away from them until the security guard, who was riding the other elevator, caught up to them. With newfound courage from the arrival of the trusty ‘kuya’ guard, they left their safe haven to finish what they came to do.

The proponents treaded through the middle of the court, hearing only the sound of their footsteps as they fell on the creaky wooden floor. They proceeded to the entrance towards the back of the bleachers, near the gym and at the opposite side of the elevators. They walked through it and came out on the other side, near the offices. Nothing abnormal happened. They pushed through and went to the place where the ‘whistling’ sound was heard–the varsity shower room.

The group entered the shower room and found nothing unusual. They stayed there for a while to formulate a plan in order to get more successful results. One of them suggested to divide the group into pairs and have them explore each room in the tenth floor, but the idea got shot down at once as most of the members refused to walk around in such small numbers. In the end, they decided to form two groups of five and they went outside. Once they got another look at the court, they abandoned all that they had planned to do and went inside one of the rooms to discuss what they were going to do next. After a couple of suggestions, the group decided to form a circle in the middle of the court and sit down facing each other. They went out of the room and executed their plan.

Sitting in a circle with only their handheld lights eerily illuminating each of their faces, they waited for something, anything to happen. Minutes passed. The group grew bored and agreed that what they were doing was unproductive so they turned off all the lights that they held. Not long after they did this, one of their members said that he heard something from behind, where the bleachers were. The group dismissed it, saying that it must’ve been the guard who was seated near the direction where he claimed to have heard something. After a little while, another sound was heard. This time, by two more staffers. It was the sound of a click when a door closes. The trio who heard it tried to convince the other members but, again, it was set aside for the same reason (the guard). After a few minutes two members volunteered to explore the rooms on the tenth floor. After exploring all the rooms, they came back to the circle disappointed and with no stories to tell.

The guard went back to his station on the first floor and the group was left alone. They waited. And waited. Suddenly, all the members were on alert. Each one had heard something from the direction of the shower rooms. They hear the door clicking close again and a soft sound of whistling was truly audible. The group stilled themselves, straining their ears for some more evidence to prove that it wasn’t just the work of their imagination. Was there really paranormal activity going on?

Another sound joined the aforementioned ones. The proponents heard the creaking sound of someone sitting on the bleachers. They looked at each other and confirmed that all of them had heard it. No more guard. They were alone. No one else could have possibly made those noises. Frightened, the members hurriedly walked away from the court.

The group found themselves taking the stairs going to their next destination, the eighth floor. They noticed that the door of the Judo classroom was open. A couple of staffers went in to check the room while the others stayed outside. After that, they went straight to the comfort rooms. Alas, they found nothing.

Already finished with their business at the eighth, the group got on the elevator and on a whim, agreed to test it again and pressed the button for the ground floor. Breaths were held for a moment, watching the indicator as they neared the sixth floor. Seventh… Sixth… Fifth. Sighs of relief were released. When they reached the first floor, they pushed the button for the seventh floor, their home base. Fortunately, they were not forced to make a quick stop at the sixth. When they reached their base, it was already 4 am. The group finally retired.

One of the most haunted?

A few days after the experience at Razon, one of the proponents consulted a certain La Salle brother who claimed to see spirits from the unknown. And when asked about the ground floor of Razon, he exclaimed that it was one of the most haunted areas in La Salle. He also mentioned that he regularly spots creatures floating around the swimming pool and he also hears voices coming from the inside of the building.

The La Salle brother did not mention what-or who- those creatures were. But one thing was for sure; these souls were not willing to be seen just by anyone at anytime.

It is not conclusive whether the things that the proponents saw and heard were entirely real. Human imagination is very playful as it is, and many may argue that the experiences of the proponents were mere figments of such. But there is only one thing certain- no one is ever alone inside this building.

Now, as a last piece of advice, especially to those who frequent the swimming pool often- don’t look up.

With reports from Dan Jerusalem & Marion Mamac