University of the Philippines Diliman
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The setting:
Ikot jeep
In attendance:
The jeepney driver and the last passenger
The tale:
A trip in the iconic Ikot takes a turn for the terrifying in this story. A girl boarded a jeepney late at night, bound for one of the campus dorms. The driver said nothing when she told him her stop, but only met her eyes once in the rearview mirror. They trundled through the dark and silent campus, but the route he took was not one she could recognize. Afraid for her safety, she was wary throughout the ride, until the jeepney made a turn, and she found herself just across the street from her dormitory. Mildly shaken, she hurried to leave the jeep, but the driver stopped her, telling her that as soon as she got home, she should take off her clothes and burn them. He explained that he took a detour to ward off the evil spirit that must have been following her. “Pagtingin ko kasi kanina sa salamin,” he said, “wala kang ulo.”
Take note:
The jeepneys that ply the campus even late at night are perfect settings for stories about ghostly hitchikers. In the UP campus, these jeepneys follow a specific color code: yellow roofs for the Ikot and Toki, red roofs for the Katipunan, blue roofs for those bound for SM North, and green roofs for those bound for Philcoa and Pantranco. If you find yourself in UP at a late hour and see a jeepney approaching, make sure it’s one of those colors. Otherwise, walk away. Very quickly. And don’t turn around.
Photo of the Ikot from Wikipedia
