Mimi's Chilling Tales For Grown Ups Only

GHOSTS IN THE HIGH SEAS by mimi illenberger-mapa        It is a common notion that seamen are a superstitious group of people. Perhaps it is the nature of their profession – the loneliness for families and loved ones; the deeper awareness of their surroundings; the ever-present danger from unpredictable forces of nature; and having more time on their hands to ponder on things unseen. All these contribute to making them what they are reputed to be - lusty, superstitious and garrulous men.     There are many superstitious beliefs involving the sea and lakes around us. One universal belief among mariners is that when their bodies are given a sea burial, their souls rise as sea birds - albatross or sea gulls. Sea birds, then, according to sailors, must be treated with great kindness; otherwise they bring bad luck to the ship.        Stories involving ghostly sightings on board sea vessels are also commonpla...

Matilde had a pleasant home life until she bought an  ancient armchair  that came from an era where suspected witches were tortured and burned at the stake…… The Phantom Lover (and the horror of spectrophilia)           This was circa late 90s and I was somewhere in Granada Hills, California. I knew my $100 would go a long way since all I wanted to buy were second hand handicraft books and a few carpentry tools. But as it was, my wire basket was already full of cute stuff I knew my daughters would fancy as pasalubongs . These were not in my list but I was simply unable to resist the giveaway prices.           “Haay naku, Pinay ka nga …” my younger sister Rori teased, shaking her head in mock disbelief. “Akala ko ba, this time you will stick to your list. We’re  still checking on that advertised  garage sales in Beverley Hills remember?”      ...

The fragrance of field flowers suddenly filled the entire church as a figure in white slowly floated down the aisle, chose a pew and knelt down to pray ….. FOR THE MARRYING MONTH OF JUNE… A MUST READ FOR BRIDES-TO-BE. The Ill-Fated Bride by mimi illenberger mapa Wedding traditions abound in superstition. Leonard RN Ashley, author of the book The Wonderful World of Superstition, Prophecy and Luck warned: The marriage will be ill-fated if the groom sees the bride on the wedding day before they meet in church…if a dog passes between the couple on their wedding day…if the party meets a funeral cortege en route to the church…if the bride tears her gown or bursts a seam…if it rains…it the bride stumbles across the threshold of her new home He also wrote: Don’t get married on February 1 or any day in May (it brings poverty), any day in Lent, June 2, November 2 (All Souls Day), December 1 and December 28 \9\holy Innocents Day. There are also beliefs in gem stones. Pearls ar...

(A Paranormal Tale from Cebu) by mimi illenberger mapa All it took was one visit to the site for my husband and I to make up our minds. We were enchanted with this prime property that nestled in the slope of a hill so high up in the mountains you were almost walking on clouds. The rolling terrain, the sparkling blue lake at the foot of the hill and the seemingly endless carpet of green that surrounded the property was simply too much to resist. We knew this was the perfect place for our second home and so we immediately set out to buy the property. Ancient trees and flowering shrubs lined the slope. The road to our property was the same one that led to governor’s mansion higher up on the plateau and it excited Carlos and me to think that we were in good company. We imagined our place to have been the site of an ancient mansion once upon a time. You see, scattered within a hectare’s radius were moss-covered bricks and stones, crumbling stone walls and the remnants of wh...

The Witch Cauldron (A Story from Dumangas, Iloilo ) by mimi illenberger mapa A few years back, there was this alleged sighting of a mananagal in Metro Manila. This piece of scary news was played up by a number of newspapers , and was in fact, the banner story in some tabloids. This caused quite a stir in many households with pregnant women and infants. According to Maximo D. Ramos in his extensive research of Philippine folk beliefs, one of the most dreaded character in Philippine folklore is the aswang (witch)who can self-segment. The Tagalogs have a name for this preternatural creature who cuts its lower torso at will and returns to its severed part usually before sunrise after feeding on human entrails. It is called ang manananggal, the self-segmenter. And because of its need to suck out a victim’s internal organs, the self-segmenter is also referred to as a viscera sucker Dr. Moises Ponteras (Ph.d in Philippine Studies, U.P.) also mentioned the belief in the powers o...