Scary tales from the teens of the ‘90s
During the 90’s, stories about creatures like aswang, mananangal, tikbalang, kapre, tiktik, tyanak scared us, especially for those of us who lived in the province. But since we’re doubtful these creatures really exist, because we haven’t seen one, we just outgrew the scare from the tales about them.
What really frightened us during those times were stories from family and friends about their experiences with multo (ghosts)—restless spirits that cry for help, either because they couldn’t accept their fate or they are paying a visit to their loved ones.
There is nothing scarier than seeing dead people. So it’s time for some throwback horror. Here are some ‘90s tales that you might have already heard before but still give you a fright even today.
Ozone bystanders
October 1997, a few minutes before the bell rang to signal the start of sembreak, our audio visual professor, who also produced documentary films for one of the country’s television networks, narrated a story that made us rowdy students silent and attentive.
“Don’t forget to watch our feature story on the Ozone Disco Club tragedy on Oct. 31!” he said with a voice modulated to echo in every corner of the room.
This was seven months after the tragic fire incident killed 162 people before midnight of March 18, 1996.
“Since there were rumors that ghosts show up and crying voices can be heard at the burned establishment, we decided to make a feature story on Halloween. So I sent our camera crew to Ozone, with hopes to get actual footage of the restless souls and record their cries. But, well, they failed, but our camera crew told us a hair raising story,” he started.
“Our cameramen went to Ozone before noon. While on their way inside, some bystanders were able to follow them. They called their attention and asked them gently to go outside because they are the only ones permitted to be there. Good thing, the bystanders willingly obliged.
“Apart from the eerie shades of black and gray, our crew captured the burned DJ booth where the fire started, the ceiling that went down and sandwiched disco goers, the small exit door that wasn’t used and could have saved more lives, and the door at the entrance, which is the main reason why many guests were trapped inside,” he narrated.
The door he was referring to has a one-way opening, push if you’re outside and pull if you’re inside. Since most of the guests ran to this door, the ones who were in front were not able to open the door because they got pressed before they got to pull it.
“But our cameramen were persistent,” he continued. “Hoping to get something for our Halloween special feature, they decided to go back after dinner. When they were shooting inside, they noticed that they were bystanders again standing a few feet behind them. Our main cameraman asked his assistant to tell them that they are not allowed to watch. And so he did.
“‘Mga Sir, mga Ma’am hindi po tayo pwede dito, labas po muna tayo!’ yelled the assistant.
“But everyone didn’t move a muscle and was still staring at them. So the assistant decided to go near the group to escort them out. ‘Ma’am, Sir, pasensya na po, bawal po tayo dito, labas po muna tayo,’ he commanded with an earnest voice.
“But then, someone talked, with a gentle voice, ‘Hindi po kami, makalabas. ‘Hindi po namin mabuksan ang pinto. Tulong...Tulong...Tulong…’ Then this sound slowly faded.
“The assistant attempted to shout but there was no sound coming out from his mouth. Trembling, he went back to his buddy, told him to turn around the camera. But when they about-faced, no one was there. All the time they were shooting, they were the only humans present inside the Ozone,” our professor ended the story.
BRRRING! The campus bell rang right after our professor stopped talking. We were all shocked and went nuts, some fell on their seats, some jumped on it, some threw their staffs, others wailed, “Naaaay ko po!”