Alyosha RobillosHalloween is the time for watching suspense and slasher flicks, experiencing ghost tours and haunted houses, and exchanging horror stories. But these spooky occurrences happen anytime, anywhere — even while travelling.
Here are real-life creepy encounters we gathered from real-life travellers. These stories aren’t for the faint of heart, so you might not want to read this alone. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Stories of real-life creepy encounters
1. Orbs and opening windows
“We were staying in a safari-themed lodge, so the place was all wood with animal heads mounted on the walls. The owner wasn’t around anymore but the staff said his hobby was hunting. The weird thing was every time we would take photos inside the area with the animal heads, there were weird circles of light. It didn’t matter what phone we used. Those orbs were in every photo as long as we were in that living area. If that wasn’t weird enough, we were staying in one of the biggest rooms in the place. One night, the curtains began to move and the French doors that led to the veranda suddenly flew open as if someone pushed them forcefully. It was a chilly night, but we were sure there was no wind. It definitely spooked us out.”
2. Hallway horrors
“I was checked in a hotel for a work trip and it was pretty old. On our last night there, I took my time finishing my dinner, so my colleagues left me behind. I was walking to my room and suddenly I started getting this eerie feeling that someone was watching me. I tried to ignore it, but much to my horror, some of the lamps that lit the hallway turned off one by one. I know it sounds unreal, but I swear it happened. I dismissed the first lamp since it could be faulty wiring. But when the third light went off, I ran to my door as fast as I could, slammed it behind me, and locked it. Minutes later I checked the hallway and all the lights were working perfectly. I wanted to bring it up with the management but I never got the chance to.”
3. TV time
“They say this hotel we stayed in was burned down before it was restored. They also say that a lot of lives were lost to that fire. Wish my roommate and I found out before checking in because there was one night our TV suddenly turned on and then switched back off. It was just a flicker, but both of us in the room saw it. This kept on happening and my roommate, who had gotten irritated at this point, suddenly asked me “Are you going to watch, or not?” The catch? I thought he was the one playing with the remote control, but it wasn’t with either of us. In fact, it was on the desk across our beds. My roommate suggested that we just unplug the TV because it could be power surges. We were surprised to discover that the TV wasn’t plugged the entire time. So it was turning on and off even without power.”
4. The phantom of the bathroom
“We were staying in an old dormitory in a small town that only had one other accommodation option. In the middle of the night, we heard water trickling from the shower when no one was in the bathroom. Let’s just say we didn’t sleep well that night.”
5. Unexpected roomies
“I’m a photojournalist and I was on coverage in a far-flung province. We were staying in an area that used to be an internment camp. That night, I couldn’t sleep. All I could feel was my body’s temperature getting warmer and warmer, especially my back, as if someone was beside me in bed. Ironically, I could also feel the AC blowing cold air in my direction so I was pretty sure the warm sensation was something else. I struggled but eventually, I fell asleep. The next day, my roommate told me something terrifying. He, too, was wide awake. And he shut his eyes because apparently, he saw three people sitting on my bedside, with my back turned to them. They seemed to be wearing old, ratty clothes and were sort of huddled near me, whispering to each other. Thankfully, that was our last night in that accommodation.”
6. An unforgettable conversation
“I wasn’t with my family when this happened because this was one outing I missed. And this isn’t a creepy story with ghosts and all, but the first time I heard it, it really freaked me out. Apparently, my parents and my three brothers were touring the area and decided to visit a nearby church. At the church, an old lady smiled at my dad and talked to him. She said, “Oh, three boys. But there’s one more—a daughter. But she isn’t with you right now.” After that, she just kind of smiled again and continued walking down the church’s steps. This stranger knew that my parents had 4 kids—one girl (me) and three boys (my brothers). To this day, we always talk about it and to this day, we have no idea who this lady was or how she knew about our family. CREEPY.”
7. Hitchhiker on the bridge
“We were travelling to a wake outside of the town centre. The person had just died; the casket was also being transferred to the house where the wake was being held while we were on the road. We were riding a motorcycle and we passed this bridge. While passing through, the motorcycle slowly stopped and its lights went out. It was already night time so the only source of light we had was the motorcycle. We were definitely scared. The worst part was we were told that the bridge had a resident spirit who liked to hitch a ride from time to time.”
8. Crying in the comfort room
“We were fixing our things inside our dorm, which had a window facing the woods. I swear I felt like I was being watched the entire time. Suddenly I heard something loud scratching on a hard surface near my area but when I looked around to investigate, there was no one there. I thought I would find an animal somewhere but there was nothing there. That night, we headed to the communal bathroom to brush our teeth. You could imagine me brushing my teeth in front of the mirror, taking my time. I was so slow, I was left behind but I didn’t mind. UNTIL I heard someone crying from the last cubicle. I was starting to have goosebumps but of course, I wanted to see who it was. When I checked, there was no one there. I wanted to scream but I knew it would be embarrassing so I ran outside instead without even bothering to finish brushing my teeth.”
9. Child on board
“My aunt and uncle went on a vacation several years back. Let’s call them Gary and Regine. After checking in, they decided to take a nap before dinner. Regine woke up from someone’s knocking on their hotel door, so she got up to answer while Gary was still asleep. It was a little girl who was asking for food. Unfortunately, Regine didn’t have any to share, so she told the kid to go down to the front desk and ask where she could get something to eat. She then went back to sleep, thinking she could have given her money instead.
Two days after, Regine and Gary were heading back home. It was around 10pm. Regine was sleeping in the car, while Gary was focused on his driving. He then saw something on his rearview mirror that made him hit the brakes abruptly. Regine woke up and asked why the sudden stop, then Gary said it looked like someone was behind their car, like a girl running towards their sedan. He stepped out to check but found the roads empty. It was just them.
The rest of their journey back, they talked about their encounters with a child. They then realized they both saw the same kid in a denim jumper. They were scared, to say the least. Upon reaching home, just right in front of their gate, Gary, who is a long-time pastor in a Christian church, then said something to Regine: “Hon, don’t look behind you. Pray with me.” Regine peeked at the rearview mirror and saw the kid sitting inside the car, smiling.”
10. Good evening
“While on vacation, my friend brought me to a secluded part of their province where witchcraft was supposedly practised. I wasn’t a believer, but her family told me not to answer the doors past 9pm because “it wasn’t safe”. I have to admit this scared me, but I didn’t think anything would happen. That night, we were staying in a small hut and it was probably a little past midnight when we heard knocking. “Mayong Gab-i”, the voice said. In English, that translates to “Good Evening”. We were so scared that we never got out of bed and just waited for whoever was outside to leave. Whoever she was, all I could think of was, “Why would she be knocking on her neighbour’s door to say good evening at such an ungodly hour?!”
11. Bodies underwater
“There’s this waterfall I’ve visited that’s said to take one life each year. Oddly enough, it seems pretty accurate. One visitor really drowns or disappears at the sight every year or so. Locals believe there are creatures in the lake below that abduct humans, but some experts think there’s a strong current that pulls people down into an underwater cave. Either way, it scared the hell out of me. Imagine all the bodies that never surface. They’re all in that cave.”
12. The woman in black
“My husband and I had just finished dinner with our friend, a resident of the province. The city had a warm old town feel—everything was in the centre, within walking distance from the church, the city hall, and the plaza or small park. Our hotel was also nearby and several quaint old buildings in the vicinity had choice restaurants on the ground floor, perhaps the best of which we were walking from that night. As we ambled down a dark street flanked by old houses, an enveloping vacuum seemed to be descending from the back and above. The hair-raising sensation began just as I glanced up a narrow flight of wooden stairs that led to the only lighted open doorway on the second floor of one house. Silhouetted was a female figure…an all-black seated shape on the top step. It felt like a suffocating blanket of darkness coming at me from above. My two companions were chatting away about five feet ahead of me, oblivious to my terror. So I quickened my steps without actually breaking into a run. When I caught up with them, we had gotten to the well-lit avenue of our hotel and my eerie dementor-like pursuer had gone but my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.”
13. Animal attack
“My buddies and I went mountaineering in an area that’s known to be a mystical place. It was quite popular for people who wanted to connect deeply with nature. Unfortunately, we experienced something different. In the middle of the night, while we were talking amongst ourselves in our tent, we suddenly heard what seemed to be HUGE wings flapping nearby. I can’t even describe what we were hearing. It just sounded like a bird’s wings that were as big as our tent. The nearer it flew to our tent, the stronger the wind that hit our tent, too. Eventually, it just stopped and flew away. But we were careful not to make too much noise after that.”
14. Mountainside funeral
“Another story my mountaineer buds will never forget is that of Ferdie, our friend who joined us only once and never climbed again. The reason? On his first trek, he saw a woman crossing the trail he was on. He even said that he greeted the woman but she ignored him. He swore that following the woman was a casket floating in midair. We never found out if this was true, of course, but you should have seen Ferdie’s blood-drained face as he told us the story in a panic. As I said, he never joined our climbs again.”
15. Devilish visitors
“We were staying in a heritage town, in an old house that was turned into a hotel. On our first night there, we already noticed that on every floor, a door of one unoccupied room was left open. We wrote this off as mere coincidence so we didn’t give it much thought. On our second night, one of our companions apparently woke up to someone, or more like something, on top of him. He said it looked like a naked woman who hasn’t bathed in days. And when she bared her teeth, they were sharp and jagged. The woman suddenly disappeared and he convinced himself that it was just a nightmare so he could sleep. The following morning, another companion who was billeted alone in her room requested that she be assigned a roommate because she experienced the same thing, except that her otherworldly visitor looked male. One of the hotel’s staff eventually explained to us that these occurrences are not new to them. That’s why, he said, they keep doors open on every floor because that somehow confines the mischievous spirits that dwell in the property. It was only later on that we found out, one of our colleagues had actually closed one of the doors that were supposed to be left open. The hotel staff said this was probably why the nightmarish creatures travelled to other rooms.”
Also read: Top 10 Haunted Places to Visit in the World
It’s difficult to prove if these creepy encounters are real or not. But naysayers, beware: The next time you travel alone, be sure to check that empty bed beside you. Or pray that you fall into a deep slumber that will go uninterrupted till the next morning.
Note: Entries in this article were translated and edited for style and clarity.
