in past episodes we have examined instances of mysterious hauntings which have been reported in the aftermath of high-profile accidents and Infamous crimes this week we will be visiting one such location an abandoned building in Manila that was once the scene of a tragic loss of human life a location where the spirits of the Dead continue to reach out to the living forever in search of help foreign [Music] in January of 1981 it was announced by the government of the Philippines that a large amount of funding had been set aside for an extensive National media project
this proposal was the brainchild of the first lady at the time Imelda Marcos and was specifically designed to raise the global profile of the country's film industry it would involve the creation of a new International Film Festival the foundation of a laboratory to develop new filming techniques and the creation of a permanent film archive key to the success of the whole program would be a national Media Center constructed in the heart of the capital which would play host to all the other individual components but was the majority of those who read the proposals were enthusiastic
doubts surrounding the projected cost and time frames were soon raised in order to stay within the 25 million dollar budget and meet the date of the new film festival it would be necessary to complete construction of the media center within 12 months ignorant of her critics project leader Betty Benitez announced the employment of 4 000 laborers who would immediately commence work on the media center continually working in three shifts over a rolling 24-hour period the workforce threw themselves into the task quickly silencing those who had been skeptical of the timeline the building's main lobby which
should normally have taken up to six weeks to construct was ultimately completed within a mere 72 hours but on November the 17th just as the project was nearing completion the dangers inherent in working at such a Breakneck Pace would be brutally exposed at around 3 AM several of the buildings newly constructed upper floors collapsed along with the temporary reinforcement which had been put in place to support them hundreds of workers either fell to their deaths were crushed beneath the falling debris or became impaled upon the jagged metal remains of the scaffolding they had been working
on the collapse had been caused by a miscalculation in the amount of concrete which had been poured that evening and as the surviving workers run to help a further danger presented itself in addition to having been too heavy for the scaffolding to support the excess amount of concrete had not been able to dry as quickly as it would otherwise have done many of The would-be Rescuers soon found themselves trapped alongside their immobilized colleagues as the concrete they were walking through began to harden around their legs upon her arrival at the site in the aftermath of
the accident Benitez had quickly given orders for the military to cordon off the scene stating that a total media blackout should be enforced and it soon became apparent that her main priority was to ensure construction resumed as soon as possible rather than affecting the rescue of the dead and dying when it became clear that there was no rapid way to free those trapped within the concrete orders were given to remove them from the site by any means possible trapped limbs were severed with laborers carried screaming from the rubble the rudimentary tourniques which had been applied
failing to stop their severe bleeding the bodies of those who had died which were deemed too difficult to retrieve were similarly dismembered or simply left in situ with fresh concrete swiftly poured over them despite the loss of an estimated 170 workers construction was quickly resumed with a ruthless and brutal efficiency as a result the center went on to open in time for its Maiden Film Festival which took place during the final week of January 1982 with those in attendance having little to no idea that the foundations they were walking upon contain the remains of those
who had died during its construction almost immediately rumors and stories about mysterious happenings which were taking place during the film festival started to circulate amongst the local community the organizers received calls from a number of female visitors who complained that their dresses had been stained with what appeared to be wet concrete or in some cases blood but despite a number of methodical checks of the building no visible weaknesses in the concrete could be found or any secretions which resembled the mark seen on the dresses alongside this a number of ambulances ended up being called to
attend to some of the guests who had suffered what presented as temporary or passing medical episodes several visitors reported feeling extreme chills that were so overwhelming in their nature that they incapacitated them for a short period of time in other cases Festival attendees stated that they had experienced a sudden and overpowering crushing sensation on their chests these patients had fallen to the ground crying out that they were being trapped or pinned before the symptoms then subsided just as quickly as they had begun so disconcerting with these reports that when the building had closed one evening
Betty Benitez quickly arranged for several priests to attend the sides these holy men were ordered to identify and neutralize whatever was causing the discomfort experienced by those attending the film festival the following morning the priests left stating they had done all they could to appease the spirits of those who had died during construction but that they could not remain any longer despite these issues the center's inaugural Film Festival was later deemed to be a complete success having attracted high-profile celebrities from all around the globe it also led to a massive expansion of the Philippines film
industry with movies exported around the world and several Awards being received by the country's actors but this success would be somewhat short-lived when the government pulled the funding which had initially been promised after the festival the building would go on to be abandoned for lengthy periods of time where it soon began to fall derelict due to the poor construction techniques which had been employed alongside her creation Betty Benitez would also be the victim of an unexpected and harrowing degree of misfortune one evening whilst being driven home from her office by a colleague the car she
was traveling in had left the carriageway and collided with an adjoining wall when police later arrived at the scene the man who had been driving the vehicle was recovered completely uninjured whereas Benitez was found alongside him in the passenger seats crushed to death by the vehicles crumpled interior one bizarre incident reported to have transpired inside the building was also rumored to have taken place during the inaugural Film Festival after closing as the cleaning crews were tidying up from the day's events several armed men arrived on site it was explained that these were members of the
presidential support group sweeping the building ahead of a visit from the first lady which was taking place the following morning but not long after the security staff had arrived there was a sudden commotion and the cleaners were herded into one of the theaters at gunpoint a headcount was carried out before it was then demanded that whoever had been playing tricks on the government officers stepped forward it was only once they had been released that the cleaners caught sight of one of the agents being led off site in a distressed state by his colleagues they later
learned that The Bodyguard had been checking around the lower levels of the building when he caught sight of a movement in the darkness ahead of him on issuing a challenge he observed a shadowy figure running away and immediately drew his weapon and gave Chase he followed the figure along several corridors when it suddenly disappeared directly through a closed door approaching the doorway torch and sidearm in hand the agent had tried the door handle but found that it was locked having used his radio to call for backup he then kicked the door open and burst into
the room only to find that it was completely empty standing alone in the dark space his torch beam flitting from wall to wall the security officer suddenly experienced a freezing sensation which completely paralyzed him then out of nowhere a disembodied and hushed voice whispered a single word directly into one of his ears too long the filipino word for help as more officers arrived to assist him they found their colleague backed into one corner of the empty room he's gone up and waving around from side to side scared out of his wits following a major earthquake
which rocked the country in the summer of 1990. the Manila Film Center was abandoned altogether and stood unoccupied for many years throughout this period groups of local youths would regularly go onto the site exploring the vacant theaters and seeing if anything of value had been left behind one of the most haunting Tales associated with the building involved one such group who had snuck inside during daylight hours and began to roam the empty corridors but as the boys ventured deeper and deeper into the media Center's interior they began to notice the temperature dropping rapidly around them
the daylight streaming in from the broken windows above gradually seemed to dim until they could only see just a few feet in front of them it was at this point that they noticed what seemed to be some sort of viscous substance gently flowing Down the Walls either side of them moving closer they realized to their horror that this material was wet concrete with the main panels of the walls appearing to be in the process of melting and dripping down onto the corridor below turning to flea the group suddenly heard a chilling scream and turned back
to see one of their numbers staring down in complete shock at the ground below him following the boy's gaze they were horrified to see a human arm somehow reaching up out of the solid concrete floor its hand wrapped tightly around the boy's leg the disembodied limb was stained with dark blood where it had apparently been sliced open with portions of gray bone exposed and covered by drying cement crying out in fear the youth had yanked himself free from his apparent capture and then joined the rest of his friends in fleeing the building as quickly as
they could it was only later after they were back in the sunlight and with the film center now several miles behind them that they finally stopped to pause for breath the others watched in horror as the boy in question pulled up the leg of his jeans to reveal a series of livid and purplish bruises left on his skin perfectly resembling the human handprint it would not be until late 2001 that the Manila Film Center was once again being used for entertainment purposes in December of that year it was leased by a company named The Amazing
Philippines theater it would utilize it on a regular basis to perform shows but with their tenure rumor soon began to circulate within the city that a new ghost had taken up residence within the haunted building not long after performances of the amazing show commenced at the film Center the body of a young female performer was found lying on the steps of the building the police investigation into her death was limited and ultimately unsuccessful with detectives stating they believed the matter to be drugs related but ever since that time The Apparition of an unknown female has
been repeatedly cited in and around the building on some occasions rehearsals or live shows had to be halted when performers complained that an unknown woman had walked on stage only to then disappear again and these sightings were not only limited to the building's interior with the recurring incident having been reported by several of the city's taxi drivers on more than one occasion passing cabs have been flagged down by a local female standing outside the center in the early hours of the morning who appears to have suffered minor injuries the lone passenger looks upset and intimidated
asking the driver if he will take her to a local hospital to seek treatment for her injuries but at some point during their Journey sometimes even Midway through a conversation this young woman will simply vanish both at the time of the Manila Film Center disaster and in the years that followed the Marco's regime denied that any workers had been buried within the building foundations but in the aftermath of their ousting from Power it proved impossible to verify their claims with no trustworthy or accurate records to be found regarding the incident testimony from the families of
those involved in the few photos taken by journalists who are able to gain access to the scene suggest that many laborers did indeed lose their lives the stories that have emerged from the building since it was constructed all seem to suggest the same argument that the brutality and horror inflicted upon those dying in the incident by their employers was so incomprehensible their Spirits could never move on from what occurred they forever remain trapped within the concrete walls and Foundations they had worked so long and so hard to construct constrained between this world and the next
reaching out in search of anyone who can offer the one thing they were ultimately denied help foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] for you [Music] Bill Gates named Microsoft after his penis yes he did yes he did