In my province Samar Philippines, local folk talk about Biringan City, otherworldly place inhabited by engkantos or those mythical environmental spirits that are said to have the ability to appear in human form. I heard different stories about the lost city of Samar since I was young. But I am a type of person who doesn't believe in fairy tales and such fantasy and mysterious stories. The legends of Biringan City take a chilling turn when the inhabitants are described.
As the phantom featured in local broadcasting network, it reaches the far islands and even different cities of the Philippines, and now its famous from it's name "The Invisible City".
Biringan is located somewhere between the towns of Pagsanghan and Gandara in Samar. Biringan means “the black city” in Waray, the local dialect for “hanapan ng mga nawawala – where one finds the lost” in English.
They said that the black city cannot be seen in naked sight, but only to people who are being invited into the invisible city. Fishermen who saw the in invisble city while at sea described it as magnificent, with tall buildings and wonderful lights. Those who have seen the city compare Biringan to the likes of New York or Hong Kong. However, rather than skyscrapers, they described it as unparalleled magnificence and architecture with massive cathedral type buildings that can only be seen in fantasy and sci-fi movies.
Locals believe that when an engkanto become interested in someone, they'll put him or her in an exceedingly trance and lead that person into Biringan. Other beliefs about Biringan City tells how only people’s consciousness are taken there, leaving their bodies within the physical world. Usually, those people who have seen the city don’t come back the same.
"In the documentary by GMA News, locals tell of delivery trucks from Manila and Cebu fully loaded with construction materials that have been paid in advance finding their way to Samar and looking for an address in Biringan. To the bewilderment of locals, the persons who paid for the deliveries had long been deceased. Upon learning that Biringan City is not an actual place, the truck drivers just returned to Manila or Cebu with their haul, frustrated."
Bus and truck drivers from around the area have blamed their being lost to the phantom city. The locals explained that the engkanto have possessed the drivers and have them swerve from their purposive path. When the drivers regains their normal state of mind, they find themselves lost in the area where Biringan is allegedly exist.
The locals also said that the fishermen who disappear are lured to Biringan City. If there's scarcity of food within the sea, a fisherman will suddenly find himself in calm seas with an abundance of aquatic life. While attempting to catch fish as much as possible, the fisherman don't realize that he's afloat in the skies of Biringan and no longer in the sea.
And businessmen who vanish from the area are also said to have been lured to Biringan City. The engkantos will disguise as entrepreneurs with irresistible deals. They said that when a businessman entices into a deal with engkanto, they are never seen again.
Philippines is such a place where elementals and spirit of ancient times inhabited. Regardless of Catholicism being spread throughout the country, the beliefs in the existence of spirits separable from bodies hold firm onto the people. Not as ignorant superstitions, but in understanding nature, the land, and our health, by connecting all that surrounds us. It may seem like abracadabra to a refined mind, but science is very close to explaining how the energy of everything (including our soul) is connected.
Until now, there isn't precise explanation of the existence and exact location of Biringan City, but one thing is certain, the accounts of the persons who claimed to know the story have similarity which can't be denied. And the fact that Biringan shares with traditional Philippine folklore is also eerie.
Regardless of your personal beliefs in the unknown, Biringan is definitely one of those folk stories which can’t be contemn as a simple urban legend. If it doesn’t cross your thoughts while you’re awake, it will certainly visit your imagination while you sleep.
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Haha glad to read this article. i thought users never written this ,and i always thinking to write this article too before.cause we are KABABAYAN @Jane a high tip as usual