Biringan - The Phantom City in Samar

Around the world, there are many stories about mysterious and lost cities. But unlike the famous Atlantis and El Dorado, Biringan City isn't a lost city. It is just invisible and can only be accessed if the engkantos that live there want it to be. Engkantos are spirits who have the ability to appear in human form.

This invisible city is said to be found somewhere south of the municipality of Catarman, Samar. Referring to the map below, we can see that a large forested area lies in the place where Biringan City is purportedly found.

For decades, locals of Samar told stories about Biringan City. Few people claimed to have seen and visited this place. Some of them were seafarers who claimed to have seen a "dazzling city of lights" for a few minutes. Others were locals who claimed to have visited the city and told stories about what they saw. These people compare Biringan to the likes of New York. However, instead of skyscrapers, it has massive cathedral-type buildings and other magneficent structures equiped with advance technology. Their stories are convincing and consistent that it sparked the imagination of explorers and artists all over the world.

The locals of Samar believe that Biringan shows itself only to the people being invited to to it. They believe that when an engkanto becomes attracted to a person, they will put that person in a trance and lead him or her to Biringan. Some also believe that people who get to visit the city are being lured because the place needs a prey. Other beliefs tell that only people's consciousness are taken, leaving their bodies in the physical world. In a documentary in GMA News, a local TV station, Mel Tiangco narrates that there are allegedly seven portals to enter the city, one of which is through an old tree.

Most people from Samar believe in the existence of this city. And wether this phantom city exists or not, the beliefs and sensitivities surrounding it form part of Philippine folklore and as such, should be respected.