Writing and Reality

Four years ago, the writing world said goodbye to one of the most inspiring scifi/fantasy/suspense writers who ever lived.


For more of these visit us at our FB page: SPRGCases
And follow us on IG @santos.sprg

For Innocent Victims of War

For more of these visit us at our FB page: SPRGCases 
And follow us on IG @santos.sprg

Monsters

I guess, you love. Love other monsters too.

Suicide Attempt

Have you ever had those moments where you were sure what happened to you was more than coincidence? A moment where you were sure that it's more than luck and almost like a miracle?
If you have stories like these send it via private message at our FB page: SPRGCases 

Share your #morethancoincidence story and let's use it to inspire people! :)

Have an amazing day!

Diary of a Psychic

"Talking to ghosts is addicting. One afternoon, during her senior year at Colegio de Santa Rosa in Intramuros, Aileen was playing Spirit of the Coin with her classmates. “Spirit, spirit, are you in?” they asked. The spirit eagerly answered their questions. When the Angelus bell rang at noon, Aileen and her friends said good bye. “No,” the spirit answered..."

SPRG Trilogy author A.S.Santos was interviewed by MANILA BULLETIN staff this past Halloween week, and the article is now online!

Read it here:
http://www.mb.com.ph/diary-of-a-psychic

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.

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. :-)
  

What The Dead Can Teach Us About Living

Top 3 Things About The Paranormal
(That Give Us Insights On How To LIVE) from A.S. Santos

One Benefit Of Reading Ghost Stories: They Allow Us To Face Our Fears

As regular human beings, we encounter a lot of things in life that make us feel afraid. 

We fear failure, we fear death, we fear rejection, we fear ridicule, we fear not being good enough. 

But whether or not our fears include "ghosts" and the "unknown," one benefit of reading ghost stories is that it helps us -- through fiction, and maybe sometimes fact -- to face something fearful

...and realize that we'll be alright in the end.

Well, maybe not all horror fiction ends on a happy note, but the SPRG series does.

Mostly. ;-)

Check out the fr*e chapters and see for yourself:

• First 5 Chapters of Book 1: Voices In The Theater 
• First 5 Chapters of Book 2: Corpse In The Mirror 

The Ghost Who Visited Me While I Was Still In My Mother's Womb

You could say that my very first paranormal experience was when while I was still a baby... inside my mother's womb.

Mom and Dad had been married for only a year when my Mom's father -- the grandfather I never got to know -- had a heart attack and died on the spot.

Since Mom was the eldest child and the first one to get married, my grandfather had been looking forward to seeing his grandkids, but never had the chance. He'd already been dead a few months when my Mom finally got pregnant with her first child, which turned out to be me.

Mom says I was about 7 months old in her womb when she woke up suddenly one night. She didn't know what time it was, and was about to go back to sleep when she noticed something strange about the bedroom wall right in front of her.

At first she thought she was looking at smoke, and wondered if there was a fire. But she didn't smell any fire, and pretty soon from out of the smoke she saw the figure of her recently-deceased father, walking towards her as if coming from a long way off.

Within a few moments he was in front of her, in their room, standing at the foot of their bed (my Dad was sleeping soundly right next to her).

Grandfather was breathing heavily -- as if he'd really traveled from a far off place -- and Mom said he looked exactly the way he did when he was still alive.

My grandfather never said anything. He simply stood there, smiled at her, and smiled at her womb and the grandchild she was carrying (me). After a few more moments, he slowly disappeared.

My mom says she never felt any fear all throughout the experience... and never had any visits from her father ever again.

When Grandmother Said Goodbye

Grandma's Favorite Dog 

Our grandmother died at 3am on January 1, 2010. She had just finished celebrating the coming of the New Year, and a few hours later she was gone.

After her funeral we adopted and brought home her favorite dog, "J," a cute brown shih tzu, because everyone thought we could take better care of him.

J was friendly, toilet-trained, and became instantly protective of the kids in the family; he stayed wherever they were, and usually slept in their bedroom.


40 Days Later

One night--about a month after grandmother's death--something strange happened.

It was a Saturday night and the kids were allowed to stay up late. They were in the living room watching a movie, and J was on the floor near them, looking like he wanted to go to sleep.

According to the kids, "all of a sudden J's ears perked up, his tail started wagging, and he started bouncing around joyfully, running and barking at an empty wall."

A few times he even excitedly stood up on his hind legs, like he was reaching up to someone he loved.

The kids were too weirded out to react or move (it was a quiet night; the adults were reading in their rooms). It really seemed to them that J was playing with someone/something they couldn't see.


5 Minutes Of Playing With Someone Invisible 

After five minutes of this strange behavior, J just as suddenly settled down, returned to his spot on the living room floor, turned around a few times, then lay down and curled up to sleep.

To this day we believe it was our grandmother who came to our living room that night.

The kids couldn't see her, but J could... and she stayed around to play with him, until she had to say goodbye.

After all, J was her favorite dog.