This Cyclist's Scary Stories Are Taking TikTok by Storm
If you've been hanging out on TikTok, you've most likely encountered Buji Babiera on your FYP (For You Page). He's quite known in the cycling community as the founder of First Bike Ride, an initiative that promotes cycling and safe mobility. But on the short-form video platform, Babiera is followed by 3.1 million netizens for another reason, his knack for telling scary stories.
These videos, which have garnered millions of views, are a mix of supernatural encounters (about ghosts, aswang, and white ladies), crime stories he has read in news reports, urban legends, personal accounts, and anecdotes or tales shared with him by relatives, friends, and social media followers. He has an engaging style of storytelling that transports his audience into a world of suspense and mystery, sometimes with a touch of comedy.
On his TikTok account, he has shared creepy stories from his time teaching at the University of Santo Tomas, his chats with taxi drivers during heavy traffic, his family vacations, and stories from his childhood. But surprisingly, horror is actually his least favorite genre. "Madali kasi akong matakot," Babiera admits with a laugh.
His mother hails from the island of Panay, so he grew up hearing stories about aswang and multo. "Yun ang panakot sa amin nung bata kami, and that really scared the shit out of me. And for some reason, matandain talaga ako sa mga kwento. Tumatak talaga siya sa akin," he says. Little did he expect that he would later be able to use those stories in his career.
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Scary Story Time
Babiera's Scary Story Time series on TikTok actually came about by chance. He was a newbie on TikTok and wanted to build the habit of creating videos, so he dared himself to a 30-day challenge to produce and upload content daily.
He was nearly finished with the challenge when news broke that the Ayala Avenue bike lanes were going to be removed. As a biking advocate, Babiera became increasingly occupied with his advocacy efforts—conducting interviews and distributing videos—to rally support for the retention of the bike lanes on Ayala Avenue.
In order to have content amid his busy schedule, he decided to recyle an old story he wrote sometime in 2021 for First Bike Ride's blog.
In the fictional story, a cyclist tragically lost his life in an accident due to the lack of bike lanes. Babiera, witnessing the incident, was asked to call an ambulance but decided to walk away instead.
Later, when a bike lane was created, he encountered a mysterious cyclist, who admonished him, "Kapag sinabi kong tumawag ka ng ambulansya, tumawag ka ng ambulansya." To his horror, this was the same cyclist who had perished in the accident. Babiera ended the video by talking about his cycling advocacy and the importance of bike lanes. To his surprise, the said video went viral, inspiring him to create more scary content.
Content creator and cycling advocate Buji Babiera
Elevator Encounters
Babiera has yet to personally see an aswang or multo, but he's certainly had his fair share of eerie encounters. Once, while attending an event, the content creator met the father of a friend. During their conversation, Babiera learned that the elderly man had previously worked for a security agency that serviced the condo where Babiera resides. "May namatay daw na cyclist sa building namin. Inatake sa puso," Babiera was told.
"Sa building namin, iisa lang ang kilala kong cyclist. He lives a couple of doors away from my unit," he says. Sharing an interest in the sport, he and this neighbor would often exchange greetings whenever they ran into each other in the lobby or inside the elevator.
"When my father's friend mentioned the cyclist who had died, sabi ko, siguro hindi naman siya. Kasi bata pa naman siya and he seems healthy," he thought to himself. He forgot about the conversation until he realized that he hadn't seen his cyclist neighbor for quite some time.
"Baka lumipat na siya ng bahay," he thought. Then one day, he saw the unit of his cyclist neighbor being cleaned up. He got confirmation later on that the cyclist had indeed died.Â
Then one day, as he was heading to the grocery store, the hallway was strangely quiet when the door of the cyclist's unit began to move, as if pushed by a strong wind. "Nag-freak out talaga ako, praying na sana bumukas agad ang elevator. Now, whenever I pass by his unit and ride the elevator, I'd whisper a prayer for him," he says.
Travel Chronicles
Babiera's love for traveling takes him to various places, which also serve as sources of his stories. For instance, it was during a visit to Tacloban that he discovered the story of the "taong basa."
"Nakuwento lang ng isang friend ko na na-meet ko sa Tacloban na tuwing ganitong panahon daw, malapit na ang anniversary ng bagyong Yolanda, nagpaparamdam ang taong basa sa mga jeepney at tricycle drivers doon," he shares.
The story goes that passengers would board the PUV, but when the driver glanced back, they would vanish, leaving the vehicle wet. "People I've spoken to were saying that these are the victims of Yolanda. Yung mga nalunod, yung mga natangay ng tubig," he says. "Before I uploaded that video, I asked many random people in Tacloban if they knew about the taong basa. They did."
Does he ask people he meets to share horror stories during these trips? "Honestly, I'm scared of horror stories [so I'm quite hesistant to ask]. But there are times when people recognize me and start sharing their experiences," he says.
But one of his favorite sources of stories are the taxi and Grab drivers. "Madalas, kapag stuck kami sa traffic, nagpapakuwento ako. I would ask, 'Kuya, may naisakay ka na bang kakaiba dito?' Tapos, sobrang dami nilang kuwento. Some of the well-received stories on my TikTok account ay galing sa mga taxi drivers," he says. These aren't necessarily paranormal stories, but freaky just the same.
One time, three men boarded a taxi somewhere in Quezon City. One of them had passed out from being overly drunk. They requested to be brought to Caloocan. Upon reaching Caloocan, the two conscious guys offered the driver a huge sum and requested to be taken to Tarlac. "Wala na kaming masasakyan," they pleaded.
Throughout the journey, he noticed that the drunk guy wasn't moving at all. When they reached Tarlac, the two men directed the car to stop at a funeral home. "Dun lang inamin noong dalawa na patay na ang kasama nila. Itinakas lang daw nila sa hospital kasi hindi na nila kayang bayaran ang bill," the passengers told the driver. The taxi driver couldn't bring himself to drive back to Manila that night, utterly shocked by what had transpired.
"Then, I used the video as an opportunity to comment on the healthcare system sa Pilipinas. Na hindi mangyayari 'yun kung maayos ang healthcare natin, kung afford ng mga tao na bayaran ang bill sa hospital. Parang nakakawalang dignidad for the dead na isakay mo lang sa isang random na taxi. But I guess, they were forced to do that. Itinakas lang nila sa hospital. It happened years ago, but I believe it's still happening until now," says the content creator.Â
Babiera says there are many more stories left untold—scary and otherwise. And he's grateful for his platform, as it allows him not only to entertain viewers but also to discuss his other passions and advocacies, such as climate justice, renewable energy, and other important issues.
