Every Halloween season, horror stories take the spotlight, filling our screens with fear and mysteries. Beyond Halloween parties and scary movies, even celebrities have their own real-life horror stories to tell that no script or camera could ever capture.
Check out the unforgettable horror encounters of some of your favorite stars:
Dasuri Choi
South Korean dancer and host Dasuri Choi shared that the Philippines has far more ghost stories than her home country and one chilling experience proved it to her. In an interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Dasuri recalled her eerie encounter that happened years ago in Marikina, back when she was still starting out in the industry.
“Well, I was in Korea, and in fairness, we don’t really have a lot of ghost stories there. But here in the Philippines, there are so many,” she realized. “Naniniwala po ako sa mga spirit, mga another world. Sa Marikina may parang sports center na hindi pa tapos yung [construction ng] building. Dun kami nag-practice dati nung early twenties pa ako. Wala akong budget masyado. So dun kami nag-practice sa construction area. And then, nagpicture lang po kami para sa dance video namin.”
READ: Dasuri Choi shares her secrets to looking young at 37 years old
When they checked the photos, something strange caught their attention. “Tapos nakita namin na parang may fog na may kamay. Sa harap ng parang harang, may isang bata na naka-uniform. Pero para siyang blurry.”
Startled, they called the security guard at the site and showed him the photo. The guard’s response made the moment even more scary. “Sabi niya, matagal na yung bata na yan dito. After nun, [I] prayed.” After that, the whole group fell silent, and she tried to turn into prayer. Even now, Dasuri admitted that she can still remember the fog, the faint hand, and the blurry figure of the child.
Lorraine Galvez
In an exclusive interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Tawag ng Tanghalan Season 5 grand finalist and It’s Showtime Online U host Lorraine Galvez never expected that her singing journey would come with a spooky episode she would never forget.
“During TNT days nung pandemic, pinagstay kami sa tinatawag nilang TNT house. House 'yun na yung lahat ng mga contenders, magkakasama. May sari-sarili kaming kwarto.” But one night, something strange happened while she was rehearsing alone in her room. “Dun sa kwarto ko habang nagre-rehearse ako, gumagalaw yung mattress parang lumulubog. Parang may pusang naglalakad. Nung nakita ko, wala namang tao at walang pusa. Nakaupo ako sa mattress tapos sa tabi ko parang may tumatapak, parang pusa.”
She later learned from others that her experience was not unique and that there was a ghost child playing in the TNT house. Since that night, Lorraine said she never stayed in that same room again.
Tuesday Vargas
In an exclusive interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Tuesday Vargas recalled when she was a freshman that the University of the Philippines Diliman. When she was reading alone in a dark section in the Arts and Sciences building, an entity wearing a classic red outfit from the 1950s interacted with her.
READ: Tuesday Vargas opens up about the lowest point in her life and how faith restored her
“Merong tumabi sa’kin [a member of the UP Paranormal Society], sabi niya: Ate kanina may katabi ka dito na girl kausap mo pa nga. Alam mo yung pangalan niya?” Tuesday answered, “Oo, Sarah. Yung naka-red. Tinatanong niya kung saan yung isang room tapos naglakad na siya papunta sa 2nd floor.” According to the paranormal society, she had a full conversation with an entity: “Actually, wala kang katabi kanina.” Hearing that, Tuesday immediately walked away from the building, scared of who and what it could have been.
She also recalled another creepy experience in one of the comfort rooms in ABS-CBN. “Walang tao pero nakita ko yung anino ng may paa tapos umupo sa katabing cubicle. Tapos namatay yung ilaw. Wala talagang tao promise. Walang lumabas, walang pumasok.”
Jodi Sta.Maria
Award-winning actress Jodi Sta. Maria revealed that her 2019 horror film Clarita left a deeper mark on her than she ever expected. In an episode of Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast hosted by seasoned directors JP Habac and Antoinette Jadaone last April, Jodi opened about the experiences she went through following the film’s production.
“Dun sa filming namin noon, may mga lines na sinabi in Latin, in German. I had to memorize those lines and then sinasabi ko siya isa-isa while the character was possessed. Nalaman ko na lang later on na actual transcription siya nung possession kasi true story siya e,” she noted.
“During filming, wala naman talagang anything na nangyari na kakaiba. But then it was after the movie was shown, parang I felt weird things started to happen to me. I started having nightmares. I started hearing voices. I was doing a serye Sino Ang May Sala and kung ano-ano yung nakikita ko. Parang may smoke screen or smoke effect yung set. Ang hazy hazy lagi,” she continued. Jodi also recalled that after Clarita, she kept hearing voices calling her name.
She eventually asked for a two-week break and sought help from a spiritual counselor, a counselor, and a psychiatrist because at one point she felt like she was crazy. According to Jodi, she later learned that she was experiencing what her spiritual counselor described as “demonic oppression,” a state where a person feels like a negative spiritual force is causing fear, anxiety, depression, or other disturbances, without being possessed.
After Clarita, Jodi decided to take a break from horror projects. She then returned to the genre with her next film, Untold, premiered in April 2025.
Anne Curtis
Kapamilya actress and host Anne Curtis recalled a moment from the filming of her series It’s Okay to Not Be Okay during an episode of It’s Showtime in 2024.
READ: ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay’ stars bid farewell and share messages to their fans, characters
"Merong isang eksena habang nagsusuklay ako ng hair, nakaharap ako sa salamin, nag-cut [si direk] sabi [niya] 'Sinong dumaan?’ [pero] walang dumaan. Walang tao. So lahat kami parang ‘Sino yun?’”
Her co-hosts asked if they checked the playback to see what had happened. “Hindi namin pinanuod. Walang gustong mag-playback. Okay let's move on, nagkaniya-kaniyang pray na lang [kami].“
Janella Salvador
Actress and singer Janella Salvador shared a terrifying encounter with a mysterious presence that attached itself to her while she was filming her 2015 drama, Oh My G!
Janella remembered that when she visited a monastery, a religious brother approached after seeing her in the show. “He approached me and told me na habang nanunuod siya ng Oh My G!, may dalawang eksena daw na may nakakapit sa’kin na dalawang kamay na kulay black sa shoulders ko. Sa TV niya raw nakita yun. So siyempre natakot ako...Ibig sabihin daw nun meron daw dumikit sa’kin na parang demon, may entity na kumapit sa’kin. It attached itself to me,” Janella described.
To drive the entity away, Janella underwent a series of deliverance rituals at her home, which she described as mild exorcism. “Meron silang pinahawak sa’kin na cross, metal ‘yun. Pinahawak nila sa lahat. Pag malamig, ibig sabihin okay ka. Kung mainit, ibig sabihin meron talagang nakadikit sa’yo. Pinahawak nila sa lahat, malamig. Nung sa akin na sobrang init, napaso ako. When they were spraying holy water sa akin and praying over me, sabi nila kumakapal na raw yung forehead ko and sobrang pinapawisan ako.”
It took seven sessions of deliverance and prayer before she finally felt the presence of the entity lifting from her body. She recalled: “Actually, nalaman namin na hindi lang ako yung may entity. Pati yung mama ko. May nakadikit din sa kanya,”,referring to her singer-actress mom, Jenine Desiderio.
From college halls to family homes and even on set, they all had
—By Alyana Cabuhat De Guzman