As October days grow cooler and the nights get longer, there are moments when you can’t help but feel as if someone were watching your every move. Do you turn your head to check who’s there, or continue onwards with the gut-wrenching feeling that someone or something is right behind you —looming ever closer?

White Lady

In the Philippines, almost every town has its own version of the white lady: A beautiful woman with long, black hair, dressed in all white, who is usually said to have experienced a tragic death and is seeking revenge. Variations of this can be seen in other countries like the Netherlands, where these spirits are called vrouven in wit (woman in white) and in Japan where they are known as yuki-onna (snow woman).

Bloody Mary

They say that when you utter the words “Bloody Mary” in front of a mirror three times, the gruesome sight of a girl drenched in blood will come to greet you. According to folklore expert Elis Bill, this particular ghost story actually originates from a coming-of-age ritual where a young woman discovers whether or not she will live long enough to meet her future husband.

Headless Priest

Most towns have their own variations of this particular ghost story, but the common element among all these tales is the headless priest prowling at night in graveyards or abandoned ruins, either carrying his head or looking for it. Manifestations of this could even be seen in many Filipino horror movies, an example being D’ Anothers (2005).

Vanishing Hitchhiker

In one of folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand’s various compilations of urban legends, he writes that people travelling by vehicle at night encounter a seemingly harmless hitchhiker who eerily vanishes without a trace after getting inside the car. Being one of the more popular “ghost story archetypes,” the myth of the vanishing hitchhiker originated years back such that even before, the vehicles involved were that of coaches and horses instead of automobiles.

Headless Nun

The city of San Juan in La Union, historically occupied by the Japanese, is said to be haunted by ghosts of those who died during World War II. If one happens to pass by a church at midnight on a full moon and hears the toll of the bell, one should make haste, as this signals the approach of a ghastly apparition. Suddenly, an eerie breeze slices through the stale midnight air. At this, you might feel the spine-tingling sensation of wavy hair brushing against your nape before you can even let out a scream at the sight of the headless nun herself.