Top 10 Most Haunted & Ghost Places in Philippines

Sally Polly October 28, 2021 | 10:27

Philippines has many beautiful and wonderful places, but it is also famous for its haunted and ghost spots with the most terrifying stories.

Top 10 Most Haunted Places in Philippines

From secluded white sand beaches to historical places, the Philippines certainly boasts of several hidden jewels. While perfect for people searching for a quick and relaxing getaway, the question is: what happens when evening falls? Would you still be brave enough to explore?

Scattered among these beautiful attractions are supposedly haunted buildings, hospitals and more that your average Juan would never venture into. But would you? If yes, then brace yourself for strange temperature drops, unexplainable noises, and mysterious shadows. Here are the top 10 most haunted and ghost places in the Philippines:

List of top 10 most haunted and ghost places in Philippines

10. Balay Negrense (Negros Occidental)

9. Clark Air Base Hospital (Angeles, Pampanga)

8. Malacañang Palace (Manila)

7. Balete Drive (Quezon City)

6. University of Santo Tomas

5. Bahay na Pula

4. Laperal Mansion, Baguio

3. Manila Film Center

2. Fort Santiago, Intramuros

1. Diplomat Hotel, Baguio

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What are the most haunted and ghost places in Philippines?

10. Balay Negrense (Negros Occidental)

Photo: Nomadic Experiences

An artistically crafted museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental, showcasing the Negrense sugar baron lifestyle of the 19th Century is popularly known as the Balay Negrense Museum. It is the first museum to come up in the Negros Occidental province and is one of the most visited heritage houses in Silay City.

Formerly the house was an ancestral property owned by Victor F. Gaston. Prudencia Fernandez and Yves Leopold German parented Gaston.

The sugar cultivation was started by the eldest Gaston after he married Prudencia Fernandez from Calatagan Batangas. He began experimenting with sugar cane production at his farm and then later relocated to Negros.

The front of the house has a nice garden and a water fountain. The house is structured like a “house of stone” that incessantly reflects colonization in the Philippines. The basement however has a brick construction instead of stone.

The foundation pillars for the building used trunks of local hardwood, the balayong tree. The tree wood forms the floorboard of the building as well—galvanized iron coats wood for the upper storey instead of tile.

Thanks to the locals’ preservation efforts, this historic home is both a tourist attraction and a museum. But if your visit is purely for leisure or education’s purpose, here’s a word to the wise: don’t go looking into the mirrors because you might catch a glimpse of something more than you asked for.

9. Clark Air Base Hospital (Angeles, Pampanga)

Photo: Pinterest

CLARK AIR BASE HOSPITAL WAS used during WW2 and the Vietnam War. It now lays abandoned inside the Clark Freeport Zone.

Due to the number of soldiers that died in this hospital, the locals believe that it is haunted. The neglected infrastructure provides some unusual acoustics, which, added to the darkness of the inner rooms, can easily lead one to think of supernatural phenomena. Different sections of the hospital exist. Some have been reclaimed by squatters, but the sections that have been most ravaged by time and weather can be explored easily.

The building that now sits abandoned was once used as a military hospital during World War II and the Vietnam War. Residents and paranormal investigators claim that the place is haunted, with reports of hauntings and sightings of soldiers’ ghosts.

8. Malacañang Palace (Manila)

Tatler Asia

Malacañang Palace, or as it's officially known, Malacañan Palace, is the residence of the President of the Philippines. The palace is located along the North bank of the Pasig River in Manila. It's called Palasyo ng Malakanyang in Filipino, and Malacañan Palace, when referred to as the official residence of the President of the Philippines. In popular media and everyday parlance, it is simply referred to as Malacañang, and this shorter name is also used when referring to its role as the office of the president. The state and historic rooms of the palace aren't often seen by the public. The palace is closed and heavily guarded during times of political unrest, although prior to the Marcos administration, access was far more restricted than in the modern era. This lack of access by the public was particularly notable during the Ramon Magsaysay administration, in the 1950s. Rallyists often congregate along Mendiola Street nearby, to air their protests against the government.

It's possible for some that having a paranormal experience at the Palace is more of a luxury than a haunting. It is alleged that several of the staff have reported seeing a kapre and a faceless inhabitant while on duty. Some people also think that the spirit of the late president Manuel L. Quezon haunts the palace.

While others have reported seeing a lady clad in black peering out of a window.

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7. Balete Drive (Quezon City)

Photo: Travel Up

In the heart of New Manila in Quezon City is a strip called Balete Drive, a road that connects main thoroughfares such as E. Rodriguez and N. Domingo Streets. The street was named so because of the gargantuan Balete trees that used to line the premises, alongside the huge Spanish houses (such as the 200-year-old “Bahay Sentenaryo”) and ancestral mansions. The Balete trees however provide more than beauty to the road, it is said that on random nights, a famous white lady called “Babae sa Balete Drive” (the girl in Balete Drive) appears and haunts motorists starting midnight.

Pinoy culture dictates that Balete trees are supposedly enchanted and regarded as home of some otherworldly spirits and beings thus children were always warned against playing near a Balete for fear of disturbing these mysterious creatures. Other age-old beliefs regarding the Balete tree is that fairies and elves live there, and they usually invite kids to their kingdom, but once the kids eat something from their table, they will be trapped inside forever.

The story of the white lady at Balete dates back to the 50s when stories about a lady in white either floating while crossing the street, appearing out of nowhere, sometimes appears in the rearview mirror or sitting at the backseat of one’s car. Various versions of the story have surfaced and each on is unique. But who is this mysterious being? And why is she roaming around scaring people?

One story says that this notorious character, as retold by a barangay officer living near Balete Drive, is a student from the University of Philippines who was molested and murdered by a cab driver on her way home and her body thrown by the Balete tree. Since then, her spirit has been wandering around, either trying to seek for justice or looking for her perpetrator.

Another version claims that a lady residing in one of the old mansions along Balete Drive was killed by her own family and now, she flags every car to seek for help. Some say she was a real person killed in a hit-and-run case along Balete Drive.

6. University of Santo Tomas

Photo: Rappler

The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST, and officially as Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel de Benavides, Archbishop of Manila, it has the oldest extant university charter in the Philippines and in Asia, and is one of the world's largest Catholic universities in terms of enrollment found on one campus. It is the main campus of the University of Santo Tomas System that is run by the Order of Preachers.

UST was granted the title “Royal” by King Charles III of Spain in 1785. Pope Leo XIII made UST a "Pontifical" university in 1902. Pope Pius XII bestowed upon UST the title of “The Catholic University of the Philippines” in 1947. UST houses the first and oldest engineering, law, medical, and pharmacy schools in the country.

The main campus is the largest university in the city of Manila and is home to 22 degree-granting colleges, a parish church, and a teaching hospital. In 2011, four of the university's structures were declared National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum.

Founded in February 1611, the university is undeniably the country's oldest university - and is one of the biggest Catholic universities in Asia. The institution has withstood wars, bombings and natural calamities. As old as it is, it isn't much of a surprise that there are several ghost stories attached to it. Case in point, there's one story that tells of dead patients riding in the school's hospital elevators. Another of no one wanting to move a piano in the Albertus Magnus Building, out of fear of angering a ghostly child and several of young ladies hanging themselves in the washrooms.

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5. Bahay na Pula

Photo: Esquire Philippines

A lone house stands beside the highway near the border of San Miguel and San Ildefonso, Bulacan. In its vicinity, trees of tamarind, camachile, and duhat stand, their leaves littering the pavement. It is a shell of its former self—only the frame and foundation remain of what was once a beautiful house. This is Bahay na Pula.

The blood-red color, however, seems unfading. Bahay na Pula got its name because the striking hue stood out in a vast green field, where there was no other house in sight. Also known as the Ilusorio House, it was built in 1929 in Barangay Anyatam by Don Ramon Ilusorio, a wealthy man who owned acres of land in the area. The color, however, turned out to be a foreshadowing of the bloody crimes that would eventually take place within its walls.

During World War II, Japanese forces took ownership of Bahay na Pula and used it as one of their barracks. On November 23, 1944, the Geki Group of the 14th District Army under Japanese Imperial Army General Tomoyuki Yamashita attacked Mapaniqui, Pampanga. The town was suspected by the army to be a stronghold of the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon or Hukbalahap.

The men were rounded up, beaten, and executed. One man had his genitals hacked off and was forced to eat them. The bodies were thrown into a pile and set on fire.

As punishment for the town, the women were brought into the infamous red house where they were raped routinely and repeatedly. Some of them were girls as young as eight or nine years old.

Sisters Lita and Mileng from Mapanique were just two of the women who survived abuse inside this house. In an interview with BBC, the women, who are now in their 80s, recounted how, after looting their village and killing all the men who were suspected of being guerillas, the Japanese ordered more than a hundred girls to carry supplies to the house.

While the survivors continue to fight, the house itself is facing its own battle. After decades of neglect and even a rumored clash within the family about ownership of the land and house, Bahay na Pula has fallen into disrepair.

The house’s history did not help its reputation at all. The locals have since believed it to be haunted. While some of its caretakers deny the existence of paranormal activities, there are persistent rumors of ghostly apparitions from the windows and veranda. Some even claimed to have heard cries of help, most likely from the souls who met their end there. People from nearby villages claim they continue to dig up skulls in the area.

This reputation paved the way for movie directors and journalists alike to use Bahay na Pula as a location for films and TV series, including Okatokat in the ‘90s. For Halloween, shows like Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, Motorcycle Diaries, and Kasindan-sindak have also investigated the rumored hauntings of the place.

4. Laperal Mansion, Baguio

Photo: The Poor Traveler

They say that behind the mist that blankets the hills and streets of the City of Pines are countless mysteries and tales of horror. The map of Baguio, they say, is dotted with haunted houses and cursed hotels that have sheltered restless — and sometimes hostile — ghosts and spirits. One of them — the Laperal White House.

The Laperal White House is an eye-snatcher along Leonard Road, just beside the allegedly equally spirit-infested Teachers’ Camp. There have been many stories. Some unfortunate passersby have seen a little girl standing motionless on the third step of the staircase that fronts the house. Some have spotted a woman looking out its glass windows. Some have heard angry voices and loud noises from inside the house even when it was completely empty. Others have claimed they had this awful feeling of being unwelcome and being watched. The guards are also terrified to go in at night.

One day, the caretaker of the house, who stays in another house within the premises, ordered a guard to cut down a fortune plant on one side of the house. The guard fell ill and could not walk for days. A guard also shared his personal experience inside. Once while he was doing the rounds inside, he received a call from his wife. The call went fine until she asked who he was with at the time. The wife apparently kept hearing a woman’s voice. Thing is, the guard was all alone.

Even the residents and staff of neighboring establishments have their share of White House spooky encounters. One incident involving a clairvoyant happened at PNKY’s Restaurant just across the notorious house. “At that time PNKY’s was just on ground level,” Ferdz Decena of Ironwulf.net narrates. “When the Clairvoyant looked at the mirror of the restaurant, she was stunned when she saw a woman standing behind her along with the reflection of the house.”

The White House’s Amityville reputation might have been a product of its long, bloody history. Boasting an American Colonial architecture, this house was built in 1920, back when the country was under American rule. It was the home of the Laperal family, one of the oldest clans in Baguio, headed by Don Roberto. His wife Dona Victorina was said to be very fond of the fortune plants in the garden.

At the height of World War II, terror knocked on their door in the form of Japanese soldiers. The house was transformed into a garrison, where — again, if some stories are to be believed — they brutally tortured and murdered many. Among them, the Laperal family, except Don Roberto, who would survive the war only to accidentally slip and fall to his death from the stairs in front of the house.

But who are the little girl on the stairs and the woman by the window? The little girl was said to have been killed in another accident. Running after her nanny who was on the other side, the poor girl crossed the street and was run over. The nanny (not sure if the same nanny or another) was also killed in one of the bedrooms of the house. It is believed that the woman standing by the window, looking over the street was the nanny.

3. Manila Film Center

Photo: - Wikipedia

Haunted infrastructure is often believed to bear a tragic past and the Manila Film Center is no exception. Located in Manila near the Cultural Center of the Philippines, it was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Manila International Film Festival, the Asian equivalent of the Cannes Film Festival in France.

In 1981, former First Lady Imelda Marcos commissioned the building of a Parthenon-inspired film center that was to be the highlight of the 1st Manila International Film Festival in January 1982. According to reports, 4,000 workers were contracted to work around the clock in order to fast-track its construction. OnNovember 17, 1981, the ceiling of the film center collapsed at around 3:00 a.m., burying scores of worker under its debris. Per footage shot by GMA news, there was one worker who was buried in cement from the waist down. After several hours of trying to rescue him, he was finally freed but had already passed away.There are little to no reports about the incident itself - not from the film center, the Pasay City police or even in newspapers. There are, however, many stories about the building being haunted by the souls of workers who were left to die in the debris as construction continued so that the Film Center could be revealed on time. According to one survivor, several men were left behind and buried in wet cement. While project contractor Eliodoro Ponio says that they were able to dig up the bodies of each and every victim.

2. Fort Santiago, Intramuros

Photo: Hotels.com Philippines

Fort Santiago (Spanish: Fuerte de Santiago; Filipino: Kutà ng Santiago), built in 1593, is a citadel built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is located in Intramuros, the walled city of Manila.

The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Empire and World War II. José Rizal, one of the Philippine national heroes, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. The Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and the fort features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution.

It is only a few meters away from the Manila Cathedral and the Palacio del Gobernador (lit. Governor's Palace, currently the office of the Commission on Elections).

Fort Santiago was home to both the American and Spanish colonial government before the Philippines was liberated. While it's old walls still stand tall and mighty during daytime, they give off a dark and domineering feeling at night. Nowadays, many of the Fort's residents say that they still hear screams from the dungeon and have seen apparitions of Filipino soldiers of the past. This isn't much of a surprise though as this was also, unfortunately, where many Filipino soldiers and guerillas were tortured and killed by the Japanese during World War II. In fact, when the Americans had finally taken over after the Japanese occupation - they found a small room under the fort where you could only enter by crawling in on your stomach. There, water from the surrounding area would rush in and drown the trapped prisoners - 20 bodies were presumably uncovered.

1. Diplomat Hotel, Baguio

Photo: Wikipedia

THOUGH IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT as a retreat house for friars of the Dominican Order, much of this dilapidated building’s history has been anything but peaceful.

The Dominican Hill Retreat House was built in 1913 atop a hill in the famed Philippine City of Pines. With the outbreak of World War II, it became a camp for refugees escaping the Japanese army, but was eventually invaded. The Japanese secret police, the Kempeitai, committed terrible acts of brutality, massacring, raping, and torturing many of the inhabitants, and even decapitating nuns and priests.

In the 1970s, the wartorn building was converted to the sophisticated and beautiful Diplomat Hotel, but the hotel was shut down by the ’80s, and left abandoned. The deserted, deteriorating building became infamous for being one of the most haunted ruins in the country. Various folklore and ghost stories surround its gray and washed-out red walls. Many people saw headless apparitions at night, and reported hearing screams, cries, banging on doors, and other strange and desperate noises. Some believe the building is haunted by the restless spirits of its grim history.

The supposedly haunted ruin attracted an influx of visitors, and the old hotel is now under rehabilitation by the national government as a Heritage and Nature Park. The hotel has two floors and an accessible roof deck with a panoramic view of the city, and its west wing has been cleaned and remodeled as an event space. It’s now a place to experience both beauty and eeriness in Baguio City’s cold climate.