Ghost hunting in Intramuros
WHILE the walled city of Intramuros was founded in 1571, when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi declared Manila as the capital of the brand-new colony, a thriving community had existed in the area prior to the arrival of the Spanish. Since then — through the Spanish, American, and Japanese Occupations, and everything else that came in between and after — something has always been standing on Intramuros. It is built with layers and layers of stone, and then layers and layers of souls. If one believes in the paranormal, one, two, or 10 of those souls should still be lurking in a city so old.
On Oct. 30, the night before Halloween, guided tour group and content creators WanderManila will hold an immersive online tour called “One Night in Intramuros,” to be streamed on Facebook.
“The ‘One Night In Intramuros’ tour is, for all intents and purposes, an audiovisual presentation. I will not actually be walking around Intramuros during the tour,” explains Benjamin Canapi, Head Tour Guide of WanderManila. “As per GCQ regulations, tourism initiatives are still not allowed in Intramuros, and this definitely includes touring. Instead, I will be at the comfort of my home, presenting my stories while aided by music, photos, and videos.”
This is the second time the group will conduct the Halloween tour — though the one last year was, of course, live. Mr. Canapi says that it had been their biggest tour, with over 70 participants. “That tour got good reviews and feedback, hence our desire to stage it again for this year’s Halloween. However, since GCQ prevents us from doing a live tour, we pivoted to a live presentation instead,” said Mr. Canapi in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.
While the elite of Spanishera Philippines converged in Intramuros, by the Japanese Occupation, they had moved on to other communities. Intramuros, then less of a residential hub, still hummed with activity with the presence of the oldest churches in the country (among them San Agustin Church, the country’s oldest stone church), numerous schools and universities, and other establishments. One can imagine the number of people who lived — then died — in Intramuros.
“I will say that all the stories I will relate are historically accurate and have been checked for accuracy by the Intramuros
Administration itself. I need to sing le out R e y n a l d o Cadiz, the Intramuros Administration’s resident archeologist, for showing me stories, research material, articles, and maps that helped with the research of this tour. A paranormal expert (who must remain unnamed, unfortunately) gave me insights on certain locations in Intramuros,” said Mr. Canapi.
There would be several reasons for ghosts to thrive in Intramuros: it bears the scars of historical trauma.
There’s old Fort Santiago, which held many prisoners, including Jose Rizal, in its long history. Deaths among them would be expected.
Then there is the fact that Intramuros had been one of the most damaged sites during the Battle of Manila in 1945, when Japanese and American forces each tried to wrest control of the city. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were caught in the crossfire. Intramuros, and most parts of Manila, were pulverized.
“To be perfectly frank, Intramuros is not overly haunted, but,
yes, there are a lot of areas in Intramuros that have massive negative energy. If the Battle of Manila did not happen, we would be dealing with simple run-of-themill ghost sightings we usually get from typical old structures,” said Mr. Canapi. “However, Intramuros suffered massive trauma due to the Battle of Manila. Intramuros was one of the worst hit areas of Manila. Absolutely no building inside Intramuros survived the bombing and shelling except for the San Agustin Church. Thousands of people died within the walls, either through the indiscriminate carpet bombing of the Americans, or through any number of inexplicable massacres the Japanese forces committed on innocent Filipino citizens.
“It’s not that nobody else died outside Intramuros, it’s that there was so much death and destruction in such a compact, concentrated area. Some of the problematic zones in Intramuros coincide with massacre sites. It all adds up,” said Mr. Canapi.
Some ghosts around the world are either those of celebrities, or else have become celebrities themselves. Do any such famous ghosts wander Intramuros? “Now here’s the thing. If you go to Intramuros expecting to see a ghost, you may be disappointed,” said Mr. Canapi. “There are ghost sightings, but not so much. Instead, what most people FEEL (emphasis his) is a palpable heaviness in certain areas. If you’re lucky/unlucky, you might photograph light orbs, or a stray foot or hand where it doesn’t belong, but that’s mostly it.”
While paranormal tourism is a small niche in many tourist spots around the world, it still creates some buzz. It adds a layer to a city. The lost souls become a boast that something has always been there, and something always will be.
Mr. Canapi said, “For a city as historically rich and significant as Manila, ghost stories by themselves are good and all, but the stories behind these sightings give depth and meaning to the city. For example, one of the favorite stories of Intramuros employees is the ghost of the mother and baby running inside the Plaza San Luis Complex. That in itself is freaky, especially if you’ve seen it. But, when you take into account why that particular ghost was running inside the complex, whether it was to run away from the Japanese, or seeking shelter because of an earthquake, the sighting is now given context and meaning, which in turn provides another thread in the tapestry which is Manila.”
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