Pinoy Folklore: Ghost stories of Balete Drive

Posted on October 29th, 2009 by marvin19

In the spirit of the upcoming Halloween 2009, we talk about one of the most famous roads that we have in the Philippines: Balete Drive.

Balete Drive is a street located in New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines. It got its’ name from the numerous Balete Trees (Scientific name: Ficus stipulosa) that populate the road which local Folklore says that Balete Trees attract Spirits and Paranormal beings.

One of the most famous ghost stories that have been surrounding Balete Drive since the 1950’s is the story of a White Lady who suddenly appears in the backseat of your car while travelling this road. It is advised that if you are traversing Balete Drive to keep your backseat full or don’t look into the rear-view mirror unless you want to see the ghost of a lady wearing a white night gown, has long hair and has no face in your back seat.

Up to today, there are still three reputed haunted houses that are within the stretch of Balete Drive where tons of ghost stories come from. The previous owners of these big mansions are said to never have left the house to make sure that it does not fall to poor peoples hands.

Due to the popularity of Balete Drive, a local movie was made from the stories surrounding it titled “Hiwaga sa Balete Drive” (Mystery of Balete Drive) which was filmed in 1988 starring Zsa Zsa Padilla.

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