Halloween Story: Woman on the Bridge

Here's a Halloween story you can share with your friends. It's a true story that happened to my friend Rodem, as he drove along the winding, peppered with bridges route from Lupao to San Jose city in Nueva Ecija. You'll also get some tips on how to deal with bridge ghosts.

Lupao is a town surrounded by bamboo groves and thickets and carpets of rice paddies. It was garrisoned by the Japanese and was attacked in February 1945. A lot of soldiers died there during the Second World War.

The present-day road that leads to San Jose city is concrete, although you'll encounter some broken sections every now and then. There are lots of blind curves as well as bridges.

Rodem shared with me some rumors regarding bridges built in Central Luzon. Some say that a local resident is buried in some of bridge support columns to "guard" the bridge. If you want to protect a bridge from possible destruction (from NPA rebels, for example), bury a person there so that his or her ghost will haunt that bridge.

Like I mentioned previously, it is just a rumor. Really.

Anyway, Rodem was speeding along the dark and tortorous tortuous road. His headlight beams were set on high, and he was animatedly talking with his friend to keep from falling asleep at 3:00 in the morning.

As they approached the foot of one of many bridges, the car headlights caught something at the far end of the bridge.

It was a woman wearing an all-white outfit. She was waving at them, possibly trying to flag them down.

Don't stop or it might board our vehicle! warned Rodem's friend.

80 kph. 120 kph. Rodem accelerated.

There's a gap between us! cried his friend, who quickly put his backpack on the space between the driver and the front passenger.

(Even if you don't stop, the ghostly hitchhiker will ride your vehicle if there is an empty seat.)

As they passed the white lady, she suddenly vanished.

Good thing the backpack was beside them. But what about the backseat?

Before Rodem could look into his rear-view mirror, his friend twisted it so that Rodem could no longer see the backseat.

Dem, you can slow down now. Just look forward and DON'T look back... Please...

Rodem slowed down as they reached a sharp curve. At the end of the road was a huge tree, hollowed out to serve as some kind of grotto.

Perhaps that tree was hit by panicking drivers who were too busy staring at the ghostly image in their rear-view mirror.

It'll be Halloween soon. Drive carefully.

[ First posted on 10/06/2004 by Manuel Viloria ]