By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
MOST local horror booths are funny rather than scary (or perhaps I am only trying hard to appear brave). A headless bloody man appearing out of nowhere, moaning, with his arms stretched forward is so common that it becomes hilarious after having been seen many times in many other horror houses.
Most local horror booths don’t have concrete stories. You and your friends just have make your way through a dim maze and expect an overdose of pop-up surprises and screams.
“The challenge was how to make a horror house that was not traditional” Antonio N. Abaya, Jr., the general manager of local amusement parks World of Fun, said in a mix of English and Filipino.
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NICKKY FAUSTINE P. DE GUZMAN
“This is where the PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) comes into the picture. They are a natural partner because we share a common goal of staging ground-breaking entertainment,” he said.
This partnership resulted in the creation of Bahay Trese, the newest horror house in World of Fun at the Sta. Lucia East Mall in Cainta, Rizal. The horror house is open to the public until Jan. 17, 2016. The Cainta branch of the amusement park was chosen to host the scary attraction since it is the biggest World of Fun.
It is an immersive theatrical experience devoid of the common horror house ingredients, like a headless man, while serving shots of shock and terror.
INSPIRED BY TRUE STORIES
PETA artistic director Maribel Legarda, who conceptualized and directed the attraction, said Bahay Trese was inspired by what they learned during their research.
“We Googled the Massacre of Manila, which is something I have been interested for a while. I love horror kasi, ’yung mga gulatan (those shocks),” she said, “During the Japanese occupation in 1945, there was a period of daily massacres. (The Battle for Manila ran from Feb. 3 to March 3, 1945. — Ed.) It was all recorded. But it was so weird because nothing was recorded in Feb. 13, but the massacre picked up again on the 14th until the 24th.”
This is where they got the name Bahay Trese (House 13). The number 13 is believed to be a playground of bad spirits.
“It is the premise of the whole house. It’s a ‘what if?’ What happened on Feb. 13?” she said.
IMMERSIVE THEATRICAL HORROR
The experience starts with signing a waiver. “Do you have heart problems?” “Do you have asthma?” it asks. Protocol has the ushers at Bahay Trese asking the guests these questions. While it only assures one’s health condition, it also works to turn on the tension, especially if you are not scared initially. It makes you think, “Hmm… why are they asking me this? What’s inside?”
The 15-minute journey begins with a “mockumentary” explaining the story of Bahay Trese, shown in a very dark room. The script was written by PETA writers Michelle Ngu and Jmee Katanyag.
Unlike most horror booths, Bahay Trese aims to tell a concrete story, that of a doctor whose mother was driven crazy after the spirits of the victims of the Japanese rape haunted her. The doctor, his wife, children, and his lunatic mother commit suicide.
A long-haired caretaker named Mang Abe, dressed all in white, appeared out of nowhere, giving me and five other media friends a jolt. He led us through the whole house.
The home has nine chambers including a foyer, an altar room, a mad man’s laboratory, and a little girl’s bedroom, complemented with spooky atmosphere and sound effects. The set was designed by sculptor Boni Juan, the man behind Melodrama Negra and PETA’s Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang.
The rooms can be a little too dark and too foggy at times, and like any other horror house — not to spoil anyone’s experience — visitors should be vigilant of the walls and pathways. After, all, who knows what kind of monster would appear from behind, under… or above?
The actors — students from Centro Escolar University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines who were trained by PETA — are also convincing and effective. They have their own lines, unlike in traditional horror houses where the bad spirits do not talk but mumble.
The journey ends by finding the right key — which you’ll get from a coffin — to get out.
Everything is monitored, said Mr. Abaya. In case you want to back out in the middle of the experience, the booth has two exit doors with ushers to save you.
Tickets for the horror house cost P299.