The Ghost Taxicab

Taxicabs are one of the main transportation we can find in big cities. Unlike jeepneys and busses, taxis are more private, for-hire vehicles. What I mean is, taxis can only take limited passengers inside, not as much as that of the former two vehicles. They're also more comfortable compare to other passenger vehicles, because aside of being air-conditioned, they can bring you on locations of your own choice.

Anyway, I have read a lot of stories about taxicabs. Some of them are criminal in nature (a modus operandi), and some of them are ghostly. Two taxicab caught my attention, and it was owned by the Maligaya Taxi Cab and Malaya Taxi Company.

Story

[Taken from Internet:]

It was late at night when a student from school, decided to hail a Maligaya Taxi Cab. Upon entering the vehicle, the student felt something uneasy and sudden chill on the spine, but just ignored and dismissed probably because of the cold breeze of night. She tried to make conversation with the driver which was unusually silent, but no chat was formed. Arriving to her destination, she reached for her wallet in her bag for paying the fare. When she turned to the driver, his face was full of oozing blood from his head. Cause of fright, she ran out of the vehicle only to turn around and find that the taxi vanished.

[Taken from Internet:[1]]

The Ghostly Taxi Driver of Maligaya I'm sure anyone would recall the story about a woman who hailed a maligaya taxi cab late one night from work. Upon entering the vehicle, the woman already felt a sudden chill on the spine but she dismissed that as probably caused by the coldness of the night. She tried striking a conversation with the driver who was unusually silent. As they reach her destination, she took her wallet in the bag for the fare and when she turned to the driver, he was headless... In sheer horror, she ran out of the vehicle only to turn around and find that the taxi was no longer there... The taxi driver actually met a gruesome accident with the cab in total wreck. The number of the taxicab is 416. When the owner of Maligaya was asked about this issue, he just denied the story saying either the taxi does not exist or even if it did, the driver has retired.

[Taken from Internet:[2]]

Headless Maligaya Taxi Driver Art of Jive Gerard Medina Davao city, the exact date or year is yet unknown, late at night a woman hailed a taxi to get home. The Maligaya taxi, one of the major taxi operators in the city, stopped in front of her and the lady took a seat in the back of the vehicle. Suddenly she felt an unexplainable chill on her spine and the shivers got all over her. Because it was cold that night, the feeling was brushed off as insignificant and was not given any further thoughts. Along the way the woman tried to start a conversation with the driver but he remained silent until the destination was reached. The driver turned his head when she wanted to pay for the ride and asked for the fare, in sheer horror she saw that small streams of blood were flowing from his deformed head, completely terrified she jumped out of the car. After grabbing herself together she turned around and saw that the taxi was gone. Later the woman learned of an urban legend about a Maligaya taxi, holding the number 416, that was involved in a gruesome accident that ended the cab as a total wreck. The driver got killed in the mishap, but it is presumed that his restless ghost was caught between two worlds and is still driving the car in and around Davao. The proprietor of the Maligaya Company absolutely denied the story, claiming the taxi with the number 416 never existed.

Variations:

Some stories say that it was a mother, and a woman from work, instead of a student from school.

Instead of an oozing blood from the head of the driver, it was headless.

Some say, it was a ghost of the taxi driver who met a gruesome accident with the cab in total wreck.

Some versions include the number of the Taxi as 416.

[Taken from a Book:[3]]

Taxi #45 By: Ronald Gary Bautista Chris and Julie were walking down the bayside road that night. It was really dark and the first vehicle to pass was taxi. Chris waved for it to stop. The taxi stopped a few meters ahead of them. Chris approached it to talk to the driver. As he leaned down to look inside, he was horrified to find the taxi empty. Is it okay with the driver, Chris? Julie called out. Chris looked at his girlfriend. He turned back to the taxi and got even more terrified. The taxi was now full of people, their eyes staring fiercely at him. Chris couldn't bear it anymore and ran back to his girlfriend. Another vehicle stopped near them. When they saw that it was Gary, Chris immediately went inside and pulled his girlfriend in with him. I told you guys to wait for me at the beach party. It's not good to be walking along this road, Gary scolded the couple. Suspecting that Gary knew about the weird taxi, Chris asked his friend, Gary, what do you know about the taxi back there? BEEP! Gary honked the horn before answering. Two years ago, the Malaya Taxi Company's car number 45 had a terrible accident on this very road, said Gary. BEEP! The driver died, along with his five passengers. BEEP! After the accident, rumors ran rampant that taxi #45 was seen travelling this road. BEEP! The Malaya Taxi Company denied that they produced another taxi unit with the same number, Gary continued. BEEP! How do you know all this? Chris asked Gary. I'm a journalism student, remember? I covered this story once, Gary replied. Gary dropped the couple at Chris' house and said, There's more. Some say that taxi #45 crosses the path of vehicles that travel the bayside road. Is that also true? Julie asked. They said that if taxi #45 passes by, you honk once, Gary answered. Chris said, Hey! Didn't you honk many times while we were on the bayside road? Yes! The taxi passed us five times tonight, and each time the taxi passed, one of them disappeared, Gary said. While we were on the bayside road, the five dead passengers appeared, Gary said in a whisper. What? You mean you saw the five passengers on the road? cried Julie. No, in my car! Gary said.

Information

Christopher Maynard, in his book Ghosts, enumerated six types of ghosts. One of them is the Replay Ghosts. Now and then, if a death involves powerful emotions, a new ghost is created. It lingers on haunting the place for centuries. They can be children, adults, animals, even cars, planes, and ships. These ghosts inhabits the place where they die or is buried in tragic or violent circumstances. They act out an event over and over. It might be the details of a crime or an everyday routine.[4] They are not dangerous, but they are absolutely scary.

If you notice, the description given by Christopher Maynard is similar to that of the Malaya and Maligaya Taxicabs. They both act an everyday routine.

When I searched for Malaya Taxi Company, I found nothing. The only thing that pops in Google is the horror story of Mr. Ronald Gary Bautista. I can't find any information of the said company. (If some of you knew anything about them, you can e-mail me or comment below.)

On the other hand, I found something about the Maligaya Company. It was one of the main taxi operators in Davao City, which means the urban legend spread first there.

Sources:
[1]http://hccc.friendhood.net/t158-maligaya-taxi-ghost-rider-davao-urban-legends
[2]http://jive.dunked.com/headless-maligaya-taxi-driver
[3]The Best of True Philippine Ghost Stories. 2008. PSICOM Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-971-0372-85-0. Quezon City, Philippines.
[4]Informania: Ghosts. Christopher Maynard. ISBN 0-7636-1114-X.
Image Source:
http://tomdharris.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/taxi-in-fog.jpg?w=545