The funny thing about urban legends is... they are sometimes true.... well, in this case... who knows?

1. the giant snake in a Chinoy-owned business establishment- has anyone heard of a mall run by a chinese which was built over a snake pit or the home of a large snake? This was usually incorporated with Felcris or NCCC but this was not substantiated. I have heard of this particular folklore when i was 7. Legend has it that there is a trapdoor or a hole big enough for 1 human being to fit and this may have attributed to a number of disappearances during the 80's as people might have fallen into to the deep dark snake pits to become snake chow. It was also said that the snakes or the giant snake brought luck to the family who ran the business that's why they never really closed the hole.

2.Davao's Haunted Compound- Im sure thrillseekers have set foot in the long abandoned compound in Champaca st. the area was under close watch after a highschool student was reportedly "possessed" by one of the spirits residing in one of the houses when they went inside the compound. It was said that the family that lived there some years ago was brutally massacred in that compound. Until now, they still haunt the place to seek justice. However, like most urban folklores, it wasn't really substantiated. Some say the story was brought up just to keep juvenile rugby addicts off the said property. it was also said that the property belonged to the city mayor's parents.

3.The ballad of Maria Labo-the thing is, the story of Maria Labo has found its way in the local papers so most probably, this story was partly true. this story caused a stir in the city some 5 years ago. this was about a young woman named Maria who went to Canada to be a caregiver. Before she went abroad, she had taken care of an elderly man who was said to have possessed the so-called "aswang" curse. When the old man died, he passed his powers to Maria.

Finding no luck in Canada, Maria went home. It was then that her thirst for human flesh started there. When her husband, a policeman, went home one night, he was looking for their kids. It was said that the deranged Maria pointed to the stove where she said she cooked her children. Enraged, her husband struck her with a bolo ("labo") where she obtained a scar on her face, earning her the monicker Maria Labo. it was said that she fled to Visayas, then to Mindanao, in a quest to satiate her hunger for human flesh and viscera. Like a typical aswang, she has the ability to change her appearance. sometimes she appears as a beautiful young lass... at other times, she appears as an old woman. I even managed to obtain her cellphone number but all I heard was some growl of some animal or something... Turned it it was a fake.

4. the HIV injection scare in movie theatres-Next to bomb threats, this also caused a stir in big malls in Davao city when there were rumors about some HIV positive persons went a little too "needle" happy with syringes or needles smeared with HIV or AIDS infected blood. It is said that these people would sit beside a lone or unsuspecting moviegoer then prick them with a needle, sometimes leaving them morbid notes like "Welcome to my world" or "Congratulations, you're one of us now.." i was often warned never to go inside movie theatres when i was in elementary for the fear of these needlepricking sticking infected needles on me. another variation surfaced just some months ago when this time, they inject HIV positive blood in Ketchup dispensers in fastfood chains.

5.The ghostly taxi driver of Maligaya- im sure anyone would recall the story about a mom (or in some versions, a student) who hailed a maligaya taxi cab late one night from work (or from school). upon entering the vehicle, the mom or the student already felt a sudden chill on the spine but she dismissed that as probably caused by the cold of the night. she tried striking a conversation with the driver who was unusually silent. upon reaching the destination, she reached for her wallet in the bag for the fare and when she turned to the driver, blood was oozing from his head or in some versions, the driver was headless... in sheer horror, she ran out of the vehicle only to turn around and find that the taxi was no longer there.... some say it was the ghost of the taxi driver who met a gruesome accident with the cab in total wreck. the number was sometimes 416. When asked about this issue, the owner of Maligaya denied the story saying either the taxi does not exist or even if it did, the driver has retired.

this is all i have collected so far... feel free to add... or maybe do some corrections in case i got it wrong...