If Mt. Banahaw is considered a holy mountain, then Mt. Cristobal is its
total opposite. Located in Laguna, the mountain has been regarded as the
“Devil’s Mountain” by locals due to the countless horror stories and legends that pervade its slope.
The White Lady is usually a woman with a sad past, having
been murdered or dying in an accident. As we’ve said, although there are
many stories about White Ladies, the most famous concerns the one who
is said to reside in Quezon City’s Balete Drive.
According to different variations of the urban legend, the White Lady was a young woman who died either in a car accident or was raped and killed by Japanese soldiers (in another version it’s a taxi driver). Since then, she supposedly appears to any motorist brave enough to go through that area alone at night.
Sometimes, she suddenly appears in the rear view of the car, her face full of blood and bruises. Other times, she asks cab drivers to give her a ride and then suddenly disappear without a trace. Moral of the story: Never go alone when you’re driving through Balete Drive.
Siopao Made Of Cats
One of the most enduring—and nauseating—urban legends tells us that the main ingredient for siopao (Chinese for steamed buns) is reportedly made from cat meat.
The urban legend is an amalgam from when the Philippines lacked meat but had a plentiful supply of cats during World War II, and from the feline-eating cultures of such countries as China and Vietnam. Since then, it has been a sort of running gag for people to answer cat meat whenever someone asks them what the main ingredient of siopao is.
Mystical City Of Biringan
Somewhere in Samar, there supposedly lies the Enchanted City of Biringan. According to legend, this city is the hometown of the engkantos and is also a portal to another world. In fact, the mere mention of the name to locals is enough to stir fear and awe.
No one knows exactly where the city is, for it is said to appear and disappear at will. Sailors at night have attested to seeing a dazzling city on the horizon before disappearing in the twinkling of an eye.
Numerous urban legends have been attributed to the city, which includes unwitting motorists accidentally reaching it and tales of engkanto abductees being brought there. However, purposeful attempts to locate the mystical city have been fruitless up to now.
Whether it really exists or not is left to one’s imagination; nevertheless, Biringan continues to evoke an aura of mysticism whenever it is mentioned.
