Here in the Philippines, instead of the candy-filled Halloween that the west celebrates every October 31, we honor our dearly departed family members every November 1, called All Saints’ Day.
During this time, we visit the graves of our deceased loved ones and remember the times we shared with them.
With death comes stories ranging from the mildly weird to the utterly unbelievable, and the spookiness turns up when your animal companions are involved. It seemed that their extra sensitive senses could detect something that can’t be explained.
In this issue, we asked our social media followers if they had supernatural encounters involving their animal companions. Here are their stories.
AN ENTITY I COULDN’T SEE by KAREN LINAO CASILE
It was the year Ondoy happened. Our house was submerged in five feet of water, so yung mga pinto, hindi nasara nang maayos.
I had a super clingy Cat then who liked sleeping beside me. One night, a few days after Ondoy, I was fast asleep and at nakatalikod ako sa pinto. Hindi ko masara yung door kasi nga nababad sa baha. All of a sudden, I felt my Cat awaken at nagising din ako.
Edward, my Cat, was staring at the door at hindi talaga siya kumikilos. Titig na titig siya and I didn’t have the nerve to check [kung] ano yung tinitignan niya. Nagtalukbong na lang ako until I fell asleep.
A SHOUT FROM THE UNKNOWN by AIFEL LINA
I remember back when we were living together sa place ng mom ng partner ko. We have three Dogs: Tony, Lily, and Elai. Tony, is the super sensitive Dog pagdating sa lahat ng bagay and easily alerted, Lily is super OA sa galit kapag may [ibang tao], and Elai is super extra sa pagtahol kapag may something that alerts her.
It was almost 3 AM, and my partner and I were still awake. Usually, yun yung oras ng shift namin sa work pero it was our day off.
Suddenly, tumahol nang bigla lahat ng Aso. Galit na galit sila, as if may intruder sa bahay.
Then, my partner asked, “Narinig mo yun?” To which I replied, no. Sabi niya, may sumigaw daw ng pangalan niya na sobrang lakas, parang galing lang sa sala. Kinilabutan ako kasi dun rin lahat nakatingin yung mga Aso habang tumatahol.
I decided to go down and turn on the lights sa sala so we won’t be spooked.
WHAT’S UNDER THE BED? by ۆداراپ رەفیننەج (JINIPER)
My Cat passed away two years ago. It was a painful death as he died of a surgery, and his wound got infected due to an incompetent vet.
Sa room namin, lagi siya nakatambay noon sa paanan ng kama ko. Then one time, yung isa naming Pusa, biglang naging uneasy and kept looking under the bed to the point na ayaw na niya pumunta pa further sa ilalim.
We were trying to make him relax pero anxious siya at mailap ang tingin sa amin. Mga two hours yata siyang ganun. So, hinayaan namin siya sa ibang area ng room.
Nakatulog na ako pero ang partner at anak ko, gising pa. They were watching TV. May narinig silang bell sa ilalim ng kama.
Pero yung isang Pusa ay malapit sa pintuan.
Nagtinginan sila.
UNCANNY TIMING by JENNIFER ORILLO
The day after my Papa died, we all went to the morgue and my husband was left at home. In the morning, he said the Dogs were howling and barking at the main door, but no one was there.
It looked like they were howling at someone standing at the front.
Then, he heard some men outside the gate, including an electrician, and then one of the men called out to his colleague, “Titing!”
It was the same nickname as my late Papa.
My husband said the timing was very weird.
THE EXTRA IN THE ORDINARY
The world is truly a mysterious place. When you see your Dog barking at nothing or your Cat staring at the wall, these animals might be sensing something we can’t.
These stories remind us that our animal companions may be closer to the spirit world than we think.
