Mrs. L's Halloween Special

Hello, hello! Since it is that time of the year again when horror stories sound more interesting than in any other season, I’m going to tell you some weird experiences of mine. All these happened in the middle of sleep so that until now they make me wonder if: namalik-mata lang ba ako? Nanaginip lang ba ako? Or imagination ko lang?

I’m a fan of scary stuff, in fact, we have a podcast hehe it’s called Para Normal. We have not been able to update the past few months but if you’re a sucker for paranormal stories like me, you can check it out by clicking here.

By the way, katuwaan lang ang pagku-kwento ko nito ah? Wala akong “statement” na gustong panindigan or whatever. Just think that we are under the moonlight in our own backyard talking among friends.

Photo credits to Para Normal FB page

THE SLEEPING QUARTERS

For around seven years, I worked in the BPO Industry and since I mostly worked graveyard shifts, I’ve been sort of a regular in our sleeping quarters and that’s where some of my weird experiences are centered on.

Let me give you a mental picture of our quarters first; it’s modern and NOT AT ALL scary. There were about eight or nine bunk beds in double size pushed against the walls. One of the walls is made of frosted glass, so the light and noise (although muffled) from the pantry outside wafts in. The male and female sleeping quarters are separate. Bed sharing also isn’t allowed. A female guard comes in to check every hour.

Most days, my colleagues and I race from our stations to get a bed during lunch breaks. We’d all rather sleep than eat, you know.

One time, during said lunch break, I successfully got a bed. Yayy! After I don’t know how long, I woke up with a start. I saw a woman with long hair staring at me. She was kind of blurred, out-of-focus, but I attributed it to my bad eyesight. I wasn’t wearing my glasses after all. She leaned over and whispered something inaudible. I thought she was my Team Manager but then I realized: wait lang, near-sighted ako, so nung lumapit sya, dapat luminaw na yung mukha nya. I got freaked out but just like that she was gone in a blink.

I don’t know if I just dreamt the whole thing or if it was just my imagination, I was hal-asleep after all. Di ko alam mga misis. Ang alam ko lang, ang wirdo ni atey. After that, I couldn’t get back to sleep kahit na 15minutes palang pala ako’ng nakatulog.

THE SLEEPING QUARTERS PART 2

You’d think by that experience I’ve learned my lesson right? Hindi pa din. If you work graveyard shifts, you’d value every minute of sleep that you can get kahit pa may threat na multuhin ka, deadma, take it from someone who’s worked nights for seven years!

This time, I scored a bed on the upper bunk and this was before my shift started so I got around three hours to sleep before work starts. Ang himbing ng tulog ko when I woke up, suddenly, and found that I couldn’t move. I knew instantly it was sleep paralysis because during those years it was a weekly occurrence for me. I was annoyed, more than scared, because all I really wanted to do was catch on sleep. As I said, normal na sa akin during those times ang hindi makagalaw while half-asleep kaya I rarely get freaked out anymore.

I was trying to move an arm or at least a finger, which is what I usually do during those moments, when I noticed that there was a man sitting on the side of my bed. I didn’t notice him before because I had an arm partly covering my eyes. He was facing my direction but his face was obscured. He was just sitting there not moving, and I noticed, not even breathing. My heart began to bang heavily against my chest and I desperately tried to move. Hindi ko alam kung sino siya at bakit siya nasa higaan ko. I was praying for the guard to come in for inspection but no such luck. I don’t know anymore how long he sat there eyeing me, pero alam ko matagal. Then bigla ko naisip: how would there be a man on my bed when the male sleeping quarters is separate from ours? He wouldn’t have been able to come in because men don’t have access cards to our sleeping room, just like we don’t have access card to theirs. Then, as abruptly as it started, I could move again and at the exact same time that the blanket of sleep paralysis was lifted off me, he was gone.

Panaginip? Maybe. Pero freaky pa din beh!

Photo credits to Para Normal FB page

“PARATING NA SIYA”

Ito na yata ang pinaka-creepy sa mga experiences ko. This one happened back wheen I was living alone. Dahil matatakutin nga ako, bukas lahat ng ilaw ng apartment kapag gabi.

I was asleep when I woke up in the middle of the night because someone from the upper bunk of my bed (I used to have a double-deck) peeked and woke me up, it was a girl wearing a red long-sleeved top. I could only see the upper half of her body but again, medyo out-of-focus meaning hindi malinaw ang mukha nya. She urgently pushed me out of sleepiness and whispered, “Parating na sya!”

I immediately got up to see who she was referring to (and who she was!) when I woke up. Oo, panaginip lang pala, but when I woke up for the second time, I couldn’t move. Sleep paralysis ulit, okay fine, but this time there was this noise that kept getting louder and louder. I can’t even explain it, it sounded like there was a ton of metal and tin and several other materials mashed together being dragged! What’s more scary is that whatever it was, was getting closer!

I gave all my strength just so I can move a muscle because I know one little move will get me out of sleep paralysis but to no avail! The sound was getting ever closer and I started getting so scared I swear if I could only cry I would have wailed at that moment. Then, thankfully, I was able to jerk myself out of the dream and turned to my side abruptly. That was when I saw myself, lying right beside me, asleep -wearing the exact same thing I was wearing that night with my hair tied just as how I remembered it before I slept. On an impulse, I screamed and then I woke up. For the third time. Finally, really woke up. I sat up, every inch of my body shaking and drenched in sweat. Needless to say, hindi na ako natulog ulit until the sun broke.

Thankfully, I don’t experience sleep paralysis as much as before at nagpapasalamat akong ganito lang ang mga nangyari sa’kin, I’ve heard much worse happening to a lot of other people.

Wala naman akong gusto ma-achieve sa pagkukwento nito hahaha! Gusto ko lang maki-Halloween. I like hearing and watching scary stories so if you have any, feel free to share in the comments section. Happy Halloween!