A true story by LESTER
Some stories are just plain hard to tell, not because they’re complicated but because they’re associated with memories that we would rather forget than tell.
One such experience that I would rather not talk about is the last time I spent the night in Baguio City, and before you judge me too quickly and say, “What? What could possibly go wrong in Baguio City?” I’d like you to know that I spent that night at Teacher’s Camp.
Makes more sense?
Well, if you’re not familiar with the place then I am pretty sure that a quick search on The Internet will be more than enough to give you an idea of what I had to endure on the night of the Licensure Examinations for Professional Teachers (LEPT) no less.
It was on the 23rd of September, the night before the exams, and I had the great misfortune of being so slow on the draw that I couldn’t find any transient hotels with vacancies left, and yes, the actual hotels were jam-packed too.
There were thousands of us aspiring professionals up there in Baguio City that some poor souls like myself had to sleep in a manger. No, not really, but in hindsight? A manger would have been like a five-star hotel compared to where I slept, and that’s not me saying that Teacher’s Camp is an awful place to stay, not at all! That’s just me saying that a manger would be a thousand times less likely to be haunted than buildings that are about a hundred years old.
But I had no choice.
The night was getting really late and both my mother and uncle who were accompanying me were in bad need of rest just like the manager at the last hotel we visited said, “Teacher’s Camp always has vacancies.” ALWAYS.
Since we came in pretty late at night, we were told that the only rooms available were at the oldest buildings with usable rooms but we didn’t mind. We were too tired to care anyway.
After we were shown our room, the housekeeper asked us if we were content with it but since all the other rooms looked the same: we just nodded and thanked him. He told us that the security guards would be up all night if ever we needed anything and he was even kind enough to provide me with the remote control for the Television Set that was in the building’s main hall.
I could not have cared less about watching television that night because I had light-reading to do but I thanked him anyway and even asked him how to use it.
When the housekeeper finally left, I tucked the remote control into my pocket and joined my companions in the room. It was already past nine in the evening when we finally settled in and decided to call it a day but somehow: I just couldn’t sleep. I was too nervous to even put the reviewers down and take a short nap so I kept reading in the hopes that I would be too exhausted to continue and just fall asleep.
An hour later, when my companions were both fast asleep, I heard some noise coming from the main hall. I surmised that it was probably just another one of the guests so I didn’t pay any attention to the noise.
Well, that was until I caught a glimpse of a faint shadow seeping into the space between the floor and the door. I called out to whoever was out there but I received no response over a good two minutes of asking, “Who’s there?”
I didn’t hear any footsteps but I did hear the television come on so I thought that maybe it was just a guest that was too shy to borrow the remote.
So, I let them be. Why? Why would any sane person just come out to hand over the TV remote to some guest who for two minutes: didn’t answer his call? Well, I needed to go to the comfort room, that’s why!
I am no small person, modesty aside, I have enough experience in street fights to know how to defend myself and so when I opened that door: I was prepared to meet eyes with even the biggest of men but no… you guessed it… the main hall was completely empty.
When I checked the TV? It was on alright, and it was showing nothing but blurry images that I couldn’t make out. I pressed the power button to shut it off but the power button was busted and it could have only been turned on with the use of a remote control, and that remote was right where I left it: in my pocket.
I don’t scare easily so I shook whatever creepy thoughts I had and just walked to the comfort room at the end of the hall. It was pretty bright and well-lit so I had no issues with it until I heard the faucet turn on and I was the only one there. Any person who is afraid of ghosts would have sprinted back to their room but not me, I used to work as a medical technologist before I took up Education and so I did what my instincts told me to do: I prayed.
I prayed the Hail Mary three times as I walked until I heard someone say “Amen” and then I was gone!
As cliché as those sounds? There was no way that I was going to spend another second in a place with a ghost who knew how to pray! How would you even exorcise them if they followed you?
I ran back to our room as fast as I could and shut the door behind me as I slid to the floor in exhaustion but when I opened my eyes after running blindly? After being so afraid of seeing actual ghosts? I froze in fear when
I realized that I had entered the wrong room, and it looked like it hadn’t been used in ages!
I left as fast I could and nearly tripped as I dashed into our real room but despite the noise I made: my companions were both dreaming heavily! They were snoring so loud that I couldn’t believe that I even missed the room in the first place!
It took a few minutes before Uncle Richard woke up but he didn’t look too happy, he looked really tired! From sleeping! But that wasn’t even the worst part!
The worst part was when Mom began to groan in her sleep and woke up crying! She told us that she was crying for help in her sleep because a woman in black was trying to choke her!
It took a while to calm her enough for her to go back to sleep but the same thing happened again! She dreamt of the woman again! Chasing her in her sleep! When that happened, we decided to leave the lights on and keep watch over her so we could wake her up just in case it happened again but thankfully: there was no third time.
Sure, you might be wondering why we even let her sleep if she was having nightmares. It’s because she was exhausted from our trip; it would have been cruel to force her to stay awake so we kept watch instead.
I thought that our troubles were over when Mom stopped having nightmares so I went back to studying but at around eleven in the evening: I heard the tenants from other rooms laughing and talking to each other loudly, and yes, my uncle heard them too.
Now, I wasn’t rude enough to just barge into their rooms and tell them that it was incredibly insensitive of them to be making noise at that hour so I went to the guard station and asked for help.
Did they help? No. Were they crappy guards for not helping? Also no.
Why do you ask?
Because they calmly asked me not to panic before saying that WE WERE THE ONLY GUESTS IN THE BUILDING. It turns out that everyone else had already checked out and the ones who went out to eat were NOT back yet!
I wanted to scream and panic but if I wasted my precious energy on ghosts then what would I have left to spend on the board exams? It was a nightmarish experience! Literally!
The one time that night that I did fall asleep? I dreamt that I was looking at my sleeping body while I floated in the air! I know there’s a term for that but I can’t seem to remember what it was. It felt surreal! I tried to scream but nothing was coming out! I tried to wake myself up but it was futile! I even saw how Mom got up from bed to wake me up that morning and I probably wouldn’t be here if she had taken a minute longer to wake me up!
I don’t hate Teacher’s Camp; I think that it is a very beautiful place to stay but for the sake of my own peace: I am never sleeping there again!
N.B.
If you want to read more true stories about Teacher’s Camp, You can do so Haunted Teacher’s Camp.
This is another TRUE STORY: The Inspiring Story of BTS: Rise from Nobodies to Legends
