Doña Juana Rodriguez Street Haunted House


The Doña Juana Rodriguez Street is located at New Manila, Quezon City. It was the old name of Broadway Avenue (near the building of Broadway Centrum - GMA).

I don't have enough time to research and go to National Library to confirm if the author tells the truth about the article of Daily Express. I cannot say the story is real, because me, myself, haven't gone on the said location. By the way, the



The Whole Story



The Doña Juana Rodriguez St. Project
By: Anonymous


I first heard this true-to-life ghost from my professor who ran out of lessons to teach one sleepy afternoon. It was about this saleslady - let's call her Mrs. Santos - during the Seventies who was into direct-selling Tupperware products, something new in te kitchenware market at the time.

At the end of the demonstration she conducted in Laguna, a middle-aged gentleman, who looked like an important businessman - sort of like a Jaime Zobel de Ayala or a John Robert Sobrepena - approached her.

The guy - let's call him Mr. Cruz - invited her to do another demonstration in a house along Dona Juana Rodriguez in New Manila, Quezon City.

Charmed by the man's courtly demeanor, the saleslady accepted the invitation and went the following week to the address given. It was a lazy Saturday mid-afternoon and very few vehicles were passing by in front of the mansion.

In the front yard stood an old, balding man in a white undershirt, sweeping away the dead leaves. When he saw her, the old man, who was probably the caretaker readily invited her inside.

The interior of the mansion exuded a certain Old World charm, something seen in period movies like The Sound of Music or Gone with the Wind. She was ushered into the sala and was told to wait for Mr. Cruz. Mrs. Santos proceeded to see out all the Tupperware items she had brought with her. By the time she had finished, Mr. Cruz still hadn't arrived. She decided to pass the time by reading some of the reading some of the magazines. Oddly enough, she couldn't recognize any of the faces featured on the covers. Glancing at the dates, she saw they were all dated in the 1930's.



Suddenly, she heard voices coming from upstairs - animated conversation, punctuated by laughter here and there. When she looked up, Mr. Cruz, together with several men and women similar to his age and bearing, were coming down the stairs.

Mr. Cruz introduced her to his friends, who were all wearing gray suits. Some of the men were in gray coats and ties, some in gray barongs and pants - even their shoes and handkerchiefs were gray. The women were in gray skirts and long gowns. Mrs. Santos didn't pay particular attention to their attires, surmising that perhaps it was a gathering of an upper-class club or organization and such "uniform" were required.

Mrs. Santos introduced the Tupperware products and everybody seemed excited and pledge to order some items. After her demonstration, someone turned on the turntable and played old tunes, probably Bing Crosby classics. Then someone brought out some food and wine and a party began. Mrs. Santos was invited to stay for the party. She declined, saying it was getting dark,but did drink a little of the wine.

Mrs. Santos went home happy and tipsy that day. She stayed the night with a 60-year old aunt who lived in Malate. Mrs. Santos told her aunt about her rich, elegant but weird clients. The aunt was surprised when she mentioned the names of Mr. Cruz and his friends. Apparently, her aunt knew them all by name and reputation. Yes, they were all celebrities and elegantly rich! Some of them were famous artist, musicians and socialites. The only thing was, her aunt had watched and read about them during her college days, decade ago. As a matter of fact, these people had been dead for a long time. Many of them didn't survive the Second World War!

Mrs. Santos was too stunned to speak. To think that she even danced a tune or two with them and tasted some wine!

A few months after, Mrs. Santos decided to write about her experience and have it published in the Sunday edition of the Daily Express. It came out in the second week of December 1972.

When my professor read the article, he tried to find out the truth behind the story. He asked his students (at the time, he was teaching the high school students of San Beda College), to visit the mansion in New Manila with him - as a sort of adventure. So, together with a dozen of his students, my professor went to the house one Saturday morning.



To their surprise, an old man identical to that described in the Express story was there in front yard, doing much the same thing that the old man in the story was doing - sweeping away the dead leaves.

My professor made some pretext about the needing to interview Mr. Cruz about the old houses. The old man ushered them all inside, and there they found everything as described in the 70's article. Even the old magazine were there, bearing the same dates. The old man told them to wait as he climbed the long staircase to inform Mr. Cruz about the group.

What happened next? Well, the group didn't wait around to find out as they sped out of the mansion as fast as their feet could carry them.

When I asked the professor whether the story was true or not, he dared me to find out myself. He gave me the exact location of the house, which was some blocks away from the Broadway Centrum. So one Sunday morning, I decided to see for myself. Trudging up Doña Juana Rodrguez Street, i noticed some old houses but saw no sign of the old man. Reporting back to my professor, I suggested that after 20 years, somebody might have bought the property and turned it into one of those townhouse complexes. Probably, he said. He didn't care because after the horrifying incident he never went back there. Even at the height of traffic in the area, he always made it a point to avoid the street.

As for myself, I can only report his strange incident that happened after I visited the street: One Monday morning I checked out the National Library for old copies of the Sunday Daily Express magazine. To my surprise, I discovered that all the copies of the December 1972 issues were there - except for the issue that came out on the second week. The librarian, who has been working there for decades, was also puzzled. Coincidence? Somehow, I think not.


Source:
True Philippine Ghost Stories. Book 12. PSICOM Publishing Inc.

Comments

  1. Which house is this??? I love looking at those old houses pa naman....

    ReplyDelete
  2. napuntahan ko na yan bhay totoo yan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can you possibly tell me the exact location of this place? I live nearby and I would really like to go there, just to test the atmosphere of the place. Who knows? Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. its between 12th st and broadway new manila QC.can't miss the house because of its black metal sheets that covered most the entire old gate :)

      Delete
  4. totoo ito, ako mismo ang isa sa mga saksi sa nangyari na yan, kumaripas na kami g takbo matapos umakyat ng katiwala sa taas para tawagin yung mga betlog

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really? How old are you that time?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ito pala yung house na sinasabi ng ex-boyfriend ko. Everytime na pupunta kaming Greenhills dito niya ko dinadaan pauwi. LOL. Pinapakita niya lagi sakin yang house na yan and sinasabi niya nga may ghosts daw. One time yata nung dumaan kami diyan parang may taping pa nga or something. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. There was a time when I had to stay in our Makati office late, and I took a taxi on my way home to Quezon City, near Kamuning area. Since I am familiar with the place, I told the driver to take the Mandaluyong/San Juan route so it would be quicker. At N.Domingo street, the driver asked me ( daringly, if I may add) where I wanted to pass, Gilmore or Balete Drive. I told him I have never seen the White Lady of Balete Drive, so we might as well take that route, and who knows, we might get lucky. Sheepishly he said he'd rather take Gilmore, and added that I was his first passenger in the night who wanted to take the Balete Drive route. I told him I often pass that way and nothing unusual happened. Maybe these celebrated ghosts do not like me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Intigued by the facts, I went to the National Library some months ago. Unfortunately,
    no such story was published on the Second Sunday Edition of the December 1972.
    In order to minimize the error, I checked all the complete issues but did not find the
    said story.
    Although this diminished the credibility of the Author, it is possible that he or she
    quoted a wrong newspaper or month. In any case his or her claim that the Edition
    of Second Sunday was missing was a big lie.

    I will wait for the rebuttal.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I actually went to this place last night. (A Friday night, which is most fitting). It was before 9pm, and I was with two friends. The house at the corner of Broadway and 12th streets.I told my friends to be on the lookout for an old, balding man sweeping dead leaves (at that time of night?) since he is the one who will let us inside the house. But, sadly, he was not there, and only darkness and silence greeted us as we peered inside the gate. Creepy, sure. But its a pity that such a grand and stately house should be unoccupied, at least by denizens of this world. A few more houses towards E. Rodriguez, we passed another house, that I am quite sure is the same house pictured above. Again, dark, desolate and gloomy. Despite this, I felt nothing, but my two friends were getting unnerved, so we moved on to the more cheerful area of E. Rodriguez, and from there, home. Again, I can only say that perhaps these other than wordly folks do not have an affinity towards myself.Better luck next time for me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. always pass by this house on the way to violago church every sunday am.And even late evenings.Yes the house is "freaky " But there is one light on the guard house every night at the 12 st gate.If you take a look at the house if caught in traffic inside it is pitched black.The one picture above is the house alright.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment