THE public cemetery in Cagayan de Oro has become a scary place at night after a sizable number of Covid-19 victims were buried, some of them in mass graves ― including a few unidentified ones ― at the City Memorial Park, popularly known by its old name Bolonsiri cemetery in barangay Camaman-an.
The creepy howling of dogs from 3 pm up to midnight can be heard by nearby residents, and eerie air can be felt as well as ghostly sights that left two grave caretakers scampering for life, a few nights ago, after being hounded by a ball of fire known as ‘santilmo’ in urban legends.
“Nahadlok kaayo ‘mi pagdinaganay maayo gani wala mi nadisgrasya kay ulan-ulan danlog gikan ‘mi sa habog nga parte sa bakilid nga area sa menteryo,” a young sepultero told a radio reporter of his and his elderly companion’s encounter with the mystery fire.
The young man, with sparkling red eyes, was even called an addict by some netizens for his revelation, said mysterious circumstances at the public cemetery have worsened in this most difficult time of the pandemic.
He said that most of the Covid victims that they helped to bury have been laid to rest without the normal religious procedures.
“Naa gyod magkondenar kay kasagaran sa na-Covid lubong na diretso walay vigil ug ampo sa simbahan,” he said, noting that several graveyards have also been left unattended for many years their families have already forgotten them.
Twice encountering ‘santilmo’ at the cemetery, he described it as a ball of fire in any size of which color tends to inter-change from red to yellow and orange.
For sharing his experience, the young sepultero drew several bashers through Bombo Radyo's online posting, some would even accuse him of taking drugs because of his rapid eye movement during the interview.
“Mas siga imong mata kay sa santilmo,” one belittled him.
But he had some believers.
At least, two fishermen recalled how they drove their boat up to the speed limit after seeing one from the ‘bukana’ of Macajalar Bay or in between part of barangay Bonbon and barangay Macabalan.
“Ulanon gihapon ‘to nga kagabhion nga nakita gyod namo ang santilmo duol sa among bangka,” said Dodie Paasa, who remembered that on the same spot his cousin Gilbert Mabalacad was killed while fishing after being hit by lightning several years ago.
Along with his uncle Boyet Aguirre, Paasa recalled there was also one night off ‘buslotan,’ the seawaters area in Bonbon surrounded by Nipa trees, that somebody was coming to them at the docking area, though they could only hear a loud noise of random steps accompanied by the movement of the water.
“Grabeng tunob nga pasa-pasa sa tubig pero wala ‘mi tawo nga nakita maong dungan mi’g sakwat sa baroto inagpas nga makaabot sa daplin,” Paasa said.
A neighbor in Bonbon, Linda Ura-ura had also foretold one.
When her mother, Ceriaca was still alive, Nang Linda said they saw a similar thing on another rainy night near from their ancestral home in Barangay Kauswagan where the Couples for Christ’s Gawad Kalinga Center is located.
“It looks like a lighted candle was melting and its fire keeps dropping from it. But when we checked on the place in the morning, there was no any trace of melted candle,” Ura-ura said.
While those eerie things were either visible or invisible to human eyes, the unforgettable experience of Linda’s husband is one for the book.
Now 58-year-old, Norway Ura-ura shared what happened to him along a narrow street in Zone 5, Barangay Bonbon when he was not married yet.
Norway said he was riding a bike on his way home in their neighborhood of only four houses with big trees and tall grasses around in the distant past.
The night was still young when he accidentally ran over a small black cat along the way.
To his great horror, Norway said he felt a strong force that he and his bike were lifted and plummeted up in the air before it crashed down to a distance of some 50 meters away from where he hit the kitten.
Fortunately, the incident left Norway unharmed but traumatized him for a longer time.
“Before we became lovers, his parents have to bring him to various faith healers in town for treatment. He’s always afraid and could not sleep alone her parents would cuddle him in between them at night,” Linda said.
Looking back, Norway suspects that what happened to him was the handiwork of so-called ‘agta’ or ‘kapre,’ a dark-skinned, hairy giant who dwells in fairly large trees, according to folklore.
“Kay imposibli kaayo nga malabay mi’g layo sa akong bike kon ordinaryo lang nga iring akong naligsan,” he said.
Incidentally, it was also in Barangay Bonbon where media people flocked for coverage of a horror movie-like incident over a decade ago.
It was a scene where a female house helper appeared to have been possessed and things inside the house’s kitchen were flying and shattered into pieces it became one of the favorite tales to tell in the city during the All Saints and All Souls Days.
