SPRG Series Author A.S.Santos Talks to Tourism Students About the 6 Different Kinds of Paranormal Activity at Haunted Locations

Last September 27, 2014 the Tourism and Events Management students of Lyceum Philippines invited author A.S.Santos to talk about Dark Tourism in the Philippines. 

 

A.S.Santos is the author of the young adult paranormal romance novels under the SPRG Series (SPRG stands for Student Paranormal Research Group) and has done extensive research on the science, spirituality, and psychology of the paranormal. 

In order to help Tourism students understand the special considerations involved in putting together a haunted attraction or ghost hunting tour, A.S.Santos talked to them about "The Paranormal Side of Dark Tourism," particularly the 6 kinds of paranormal phenomena that may be present at haunted locations. 

The event was attended by about 200 tourism students from different universities.

Here are some of the snapshots. :-)

Hosted by LPU's H457 Enigma: Illuminating Dark Tourism
Photos by Karen Lucille Escabusa

#LPUEnigma2014

Miniature lamps to "illuminate" Dark Tourism.

The lovely ladies manning the registration table.

A.S.Santos shows an actual shot of an unexpected apparition
(behind the woman in the photo) taken at a popular tourist destination.

The most important thing in putting together ghost tours: RESPECT.
Respect the history, the rules, and the significance of a location.

A.S.Santos (far right) with the winners of the ebooks
"Voices in the Theater" and "Corpse in the Mirror"
-- books 1 and 2 of the SPRG series.

The tourism and events management students behind the event.

A.S.Santos receives tokens of appreciation from the team.

The event's venue: Maestranza Plaza in historic
Intramuros, Manila.

When Lola Iyay Said Goodbye

January 1, 2010 / 3:00am

It was New Year's Day in 2010 when we got the phone call at 3am.

And you know that it's urgent when someone calls you at 3am.

"It's Lola Iyay," my brother said on the other end, his voice shaking. "She had a heart attack. She's gone."

The 3rd Floor Balcony Was Empty

Photo by bjearwicke

Lola Iyay was our mom's distant cousin, and she was the one who took care of us while we were growing up. She'd been part of our family ever since we could remember.

As we drove up to the building in Caloocan that day, we half-expected to find her where we usually found her whenever we came over for New Year's Day (and any other day we came to visit):

Standing at the 3rd floor balcony, looking out for the sight of our car, excitedly waiting for us to arrive.

But she wasn't there.

The 3rd floor balcony was empty. She was never going to wait for us there again.

Her Spaghetti Was Still There. But She Wasn't.

That day we ate the last platter of the dish she prepared the night before, for New Year's Eve: spaghetti.

Her death hit us hard at that moment. This was the last time we were going to taste her cooking.

Her spaghetti was still there, but we couldn't tell even her how delicious it was.

The Strange Story

As we finished Lola Iyay's spaghetti, I told her friend Eden: "I didn't know that December 28 was the last time we would see Lola Iyay alive."

My cousin's wedding took place on December 28, 2009 in Batangas, and most of the family attended.

After the wedding, on their way back to Caloocan, they all made a stopover at our house for a quick snack, drinks, and a much-needed bathroom break.

They also dropped off my sister at our house. She was catching a flight to Singapore early the next day, and was staying the night with us since our house was closer to the airport.

I remember my sister giving Lola Iyay a tight hug, telling her to take care of herself, and not get angry too much so her blood pressure doesn't get too high.

We all hugged Lola Iyay, too -- we hugged everyone -- and as they left to make the rest of the trip back to Caloocan, we all saw Lola Iyay at the back seat of the vehicle, waving at us from the window the way she usually did.

That was the last time we saw her alive.

"But Lola Iyay didn't attend your cousin's wedding," Eden suddenly said.

What?

"She wasn't feeling well that day," she continued. "I remember it clearly. She stayed in bed the whole day, she didn't go anywhere."

When we asked the rest of our family and relatives, they all said the same thing: Lola Iyay didn't go with them to the wedding, and she certainly didn't visit our house.

More Strange

What made it even stranger than it already was was the fact that my sister said the same thing: Lola Iyay wasn't there at the wedding, and she wasn't there when they dropped her off at our house.

She had hugged Lola Iyay back in Caloocan, just before they left for the wedding.

NOT in front of us, in our house near the airport.

Most "Ghost Stories" Are Actually "Love Stories"

We still have no clear explanation about what happened, or which laws of science made it possible (alternate realities? out of body experience? distorted perceptions?).

All we know is the effect: We were comforted to know that -- 4 days just before her death -- Lola Iyay came to hug us one last time, even though she was actually sick in bed several miles away.


---

In Book 3 of the SPRG Trilogy, "Darkness in the World," there is a scene in Chapter 7 that deals with alternate perceptions like this.

Read the sample chapters of Book 3 here: http://tinyurl.com/darkness-sample.

SPRG Series Author A.S.Santos Interviewed by Saksi on GMA 7 About Dark Tourism in the Philippines

The GMA 7 news team once again interviewed A.S.Santos -- author of the Student Paranormal Research Group trilogy -- about haunted locations in Manila, Philippines.



This time the interview focused on Dark Tourism and Paranormal Tourism, and was featured in the Halloween 2014 Special of the TV program Saksi.

Information You Need About The SPRG Series

Not sure where to start?

Here are the quick links to help you get what you need to know:

• ABOUT The SPRG Series 
  Is this your first time to hear about the Student Paranormal Research Group? Learn the basics here!
  
• ABOUT The Author
  The SPRG paranormal romance trilogy is written by A.S.Santos, a former television scriptwriter and magazine editor. Find out more about the author here.
  
• FEEDBACK: What Readers Say 
  What readers like you think about the novels!
  
• CHARACTERS: Meet The Members 
  Inside information on the series characters.
  
• CHARACTERS: Pick Your Team! 
  There are actually three love angles in this series. Which team are you on?
  
• RESOURCES: Download Your Sample Chapters 
  If you haven't read the novels yet, get your fr*e sample chapters here!
  
• RESOURCES: Download Your Book Discussion Guides 
  Want to encourage your professor to discuss these books in class? Show them these book discussion guides, so you can get to talk about ghost stories and get actual grades for it!
  
• RESOURCES: Get Your Ghost Hunting Kit 
  Want to try being a ghost hunter for a day? Check out this page!
  
• RESOURCES: Top 3 Things Teens Need to Know About the Paranormal
  Have you had strange experiences? Do you seem to have psychic abilities? Is it actually okay to go "ghost hunting" with your friends?
  The answer to your questions are in this Special Report. A must read for teens!
  
• RESOURCES: Buy The Books Today!
  Because nothing beats the full experience of being part of the story. :-)
  

Even When A.S.Santos Writes Ghost Stories, They Still End Up Being About Love

Get the book now! Click here!

Thanksgiving Sale: Get Books 1 & 2 of the SPRG Series for LESS THAN the Price of One!

This special Thanksgiving Bundle offer is until December 1, 2013 only.

Click Here Now To Get The Discount!

Want To Be A Ghost Hunter For A Day?

SPRG series author A.S.Santos teamed up with Cyburban.org to create a Virtual Ghost Tour anyone can take in Intramuros, Manila (Philippines) starting Halloween 2013.

For fans (and future fans) of the SPRG Series, this ghost tour is your chance to experience being a paranormal investigator for a day (and at your own schedule!).

Here's the feature about it on GMA News TV, filed under "Dark Tourism."








If you'd like to experience this ghost tour,
click here for your complete "Intramuros Ghost Tour" kit.

Book 2 of the SPRG Series Launches This Halloween 2013

The SPRG (Student Paranormal Research Group) Series -- the teen/college romance that is set in Manila, Philippines -- now offers the second book in this paranormal trilogy!

Book 1: Voices In The Theater 

When we first met Samantha Davidson in Voices in the Theater, she was still coming to terms with her secret: she could hear other people’s thoughts.

Transplanted to a strange country and estranged from her family and peers, she had to learn to trust others and, most especially, the voice that she had long suppressed—her own.

(Click here to read the first five chapters of Voices In The Theater.)

Book 2: Corpse In The Mirror 

Samantha now returns in the second installment of A.S. Santos’ SPRG Series, Corpse in the Mirror.

This time, we see her powers deepen as she realizes that she can now also see things through others’ eyes.

They aren’t much—momentary glimpses, really—but these are dark things. Twisted things. Things she can’t bear to watch. But since she is the only one who can see them as they happen, she may be the only one who can prevent them from happening again.


(Click here to read the first five chapters of Corpse In The Mirror.)



Corpse in the Mirror launches on October 30, 2013, but you can start pre-ordering from iTunes and Kobo.

Paranormal Series Author Giving ‘Ghost Talks’ This Halloween

Manila, Philippines (October 2013) — Student Paranormal Research Group (SPRG) Series author A.S.Santos is offering to deliver a highly informative talk about The Top 10 Things Teens Need To Know About The Paranormal during this Halloween month of October to high school students,college groups, and organizations who reserve their spot by emailing info(at)flipside.ph this September.

A.S.Santos is the author of the SPRG Series, a paranormal romance trilogy for college students set in one of the well-known universities in Manila. Beginning with book one titled Voices In The Theater (released last year) and now followed this year by book two, Corpse In The Mirror, the series follows Filipino-American Samantha Davidson as she comes to terms with her growing psychic abilities, and as she tries to find answers by joining her school’s newly-formed Student Paranormal Research Group.

“It was during my teens that I started having paranormal experiences of my own,” reveals Santos, “And in my current work with teens and new adults, I’ve come to realize that many of them encounter many strange experiences, too. They just don’t often know how to make sense of them.”

The SPRG Series has become the author’s way of helping teens make sense not just of their ghost experiences, but also of the other mysterious experiences that come with the territory of young adulthood: changing relationships with parents, managing priorities, nurturing friendships, and--of course--figuring out this mysterious phenomenon called love.

“All of our strangest experiences seem to happen during our teens,” the author says, smiling.

“One of my own personal experiences with the paranormal happened when I once used a Ouija board to contact a spirit. In response to my question, the spirit spelled out the full name of the person I was supposed to marry. At that time I didn’t know anyone by that name, but that same week a classmate told me someone from a neighboring school wanted to meet me, and when I asked who it was she mentioned the exact name that the spirit gave me through the Ouija board.”

(Before we continue this story, Santos gives us a warning: DO NOT ever play with the Ouija board, or Spirit of the Glass, or Spirit of the Coin. The author will tell you exactly why during the talk The Top 10 Things Teens Need To Know About The Paranormal.)

“My classmate asked if I wanted her to arrange a meeting between me and this person,” continues Santos. “At that moment I realized I was about to make a major decision in my life. I knew that if I actually met this person--at that moment in time, when I was only fifteen--I would always carry around in my mind the idea that this was the person I was going to marry. This idea would naturally influence my decisions,until, eventually, I probably will end up marrying this person. Not because of my complete choice, but because an unknown spirit had planted the idea in my mind.

“So I told my classmate, ‘No, please don’t introduce us.’ If I was really supposed to be with this person, then I knew we would have the chance to meet each other eventually. But at that point in my life, I knew that our meeting each other would not be good for me at all.”

As of this writing, Santos still hasn’t met the person-mentioned-by-the-Ouija-board. In fact, the author is now happily married to someone else,“Someone I really chose to be with,” the author says, “And not because of the influence of some spirit.”

Santos realized then that our paranormal experiences often have something to teach us, not just about life and death, but also about who we really are.

The author concludes that “This is what my characters go through in the SPRG Series as well. Because every kind of experience we have helps us become who we’re supposed to be.

“Even the paranormal ones.”




For more information on the SPRG Series and to read more about the author’s other real life ghost stories, please visit  www.StudentParanormalResearchGroup.com.

To reserve an October talk schedule for your school group or organization (YES, bookstores, cafes, and radio show invites are also welcome!), please email info(at)flipside.ph with the subject heading “We want to invite A.S.Santos.” Schedules will be booked on a first come, first served basis.

Something Paranormal Happened During A.S.Santos' Radio Interview

On Halloween morning October 31, 2012, DJs Vince & Lexi interviewed A.S. Santos on the their radio show called The Wake Up Show at the Manila station Mellow 94.7fm. 


DJ Vince didn't believe in the paranormal but was very open-minded, while DJ Lexi had experiences of her own. As they talked about the four kinds of ghosts, however, they were experiencing something strange in the booth, too.


DISAPPEARING CALLERS

At first, it was very trivial.

They were inviting their listeners to call in with their ghost stories, but for the first hour they weren't getting any calls.

Correction: the station phone was always ringing, but whenever DJ Vince picked it up, they'd find that the call had been dropped.

Now, this wasn't so extraordinary. A lot of people try calling up radio shows and then chicken out at the last minute. But the fact that it was happening consistently was a bit strange.


THE NEXT HOUR

The next hour was different, because the calls were finally getting through.

But then the conversation would get cut midway (like the caller would be talking, and then there'd be that unmistakable pot-pot-pot sound telling them the caller was no longer there). Sometimes it happened before they even had the chance to put the caller on air.

Still, a lot of the callers did make it to the end of their short personal experience stories about the paranormal, and things were going well.

Until...


THE SPOOKIEST THING HAPPENED

An interesting call came through; the caller was an Engineer by profession, and he was telling A.S. Santos about how his college professor introduced him to the concept of "white noise," and how spirits can supposedly contact us through it.

For those of you who don't know, white noise is that static you get on the radio when you're flipping in between stations; it's also the video and audio static you get on your television sets.

The theory is that white noise is a source of energy and a possible open channel through which human beings (with normal senses) can receive messages; therefore, it's an ideal tool that spirits (which are made up of energy) can use to manifest and communicate with the living .

(There was even a 2005 film about it titled White Noise, starring Michael Keaton.)
 
But this is the call where it happened.

As A.S. Santos was explaining all this energy and white noise stuff to the caller, a sudden loud burst of WHITE NOISE filled all of their headphones, and the entire show went off the air for about 2 seconds.

The burst of static was so loud that DJ Vince jerked back on his chair with a rather loud "Whoa!" while DJ Lexi jumped up from her seat, jerked off her headphones, and looked at everyone with wide eyes.

Two seconds later they were back on air, and A.S. Santos continued talking to the caller, who was still on the line.

Meanwhile, the show's Twitter and Facebook pages suddenly lit up with messages, with people asking "What just happened?!" and "Was that a prank?"

And it was totally not.

The sad part is that they didn't get to record what happened. A.S. told DJ Vince it would've been interesting to listen to and review that burst of white noise, since it might have contained an audible message.

DJ Vince laughed nervously, and said since he was the senior deejay, he'd simply assign DJ Lexi to do the reviewing.

Later, he told A.S. that what had happened really couldn't have been because of something technical. The only thing that could've caused something like that was a "blackout," and if it was a blackout then they couldn't have gone back on air for at least an entire minute.

Also, a blackout would've just created a quiet "ssshhhhhh" sound in their headsets as the connection disappeared; it wouldn't have cause the loud burst of sound that they actually heard.


CAN YOU HEAR THEM?


The first book in the SPRG Trilogy is called Voices in the Theater, and deals precisely with paranormal phenomena that we can sometimes hear. You can get it from Amazon.com and instantly read it on your laptop, tablet, phone, or Kindle. 


Just click on the cover photo to check it out.

The Paranormal Romance for College Students

While most popular teenage romance series nowadays deal with future worlds, demigod powers, immortality, or magic, the paranormal romance trilogy that begins with Voices In the Theater actually has regular teenagers in it... except that one of them has developing psychic abilities.

Old School = Creepy Ghost Stories

If you've ever studied in an old school or university, you know how very common ghost stories associated with them are. And if you've heard the same story enough times, you may have entertained thoughts of checking out if any of it was true... or maybe even actually did your own investigation with your friends.

In Manila, Philippines, just about every major university is old enough to have its share of historical post-war ghost stories, or even those that came after more recent student tragedies. And for some reason, many of these ghost stories seem to be associated with school theaters or auditoriums.

Creepy Theaters & Shadowy Ghosts

One of the more popular school-theater-related ghost stories in the area happened when a student allegedly took a group photograph of her classmates after their successful stage play, and when the film was developed they saw that:

...a nun was with them during curtain call. The nun had no face, was floating, tip-toed, and her hands were clasped as though in prayer. Her hands were pointed downwards and her head was cracked as though she had been hanged...

- OSC Anthea Lamigo

Voices In The Theater: Does Your School Have Them, Too?

One such theater story is the focus of the investigation in Voices In The Theater. While the main ghost story featured in the novel is fictional, many of the other paranormal situations mentioned throughout the book are based on true events experienced by various people connected to the author.

Check out the book now from Amazon.com; just click here. :-)