Aside from visiting our dearly departed in cemeteries or simply praying for them at home, getting together with friends who we haven’t seen for quite some time, and attending costume parties and events, another activity that keeps us occupied during the Halloween season is binge-watching horror shows and flicks.

And during the 90s, it was a tradition of the “Batang 90s” to watch every year the special Halloween episode of the iconic news magazine program Magandang Gabi…Bayan hosted by veteran broadcast journalist Noli de Castro from 1988 to 2005. Although mainly focused on investigative journalism and public service, it turned particularly spooky on the Saturday before Undas (or All Saint’s Day), as it broadcast horror stories and re-enactments of alleged paranormal incidents in different parts of the country.

As avid viewers terribly missed this tradition, ABS-CBN had some of its classic episodes re-aired through its Halloween special in 2016 titled “Gabi ng Kababalaghan”, and even uploaded a few episodes on the official YouTube channel of ABS-CBN News. And in 2018, Kabayan looked back on one of their eerie experiences while filming a Halloween episode of MGB through a Rated K feature titled “Kilabot Ni Kabayan”.

Even though his current program KBYN: Kaagapay ng Bayan, which premiered last April, delivers stories of inspiration, resilience, and cooperation every Sunday afternoon, Noli treats viewers this Halloween with severe nostalgia as he presents the true-to-life horror stories from his former show.

Kicking off the KBYN: Kaagapay ng Bayan Halloween Special last October 23 were uncanny anecdotes about spirits creeping around haunted houses, bridges, and residential areas in various parts of the archipelago, as well as an aswang in Palawan.

In the “Haunted House” segment, Kabayan recounted the hair-raising stories narratives of the Gamo Family residing at an abode in Muntinlupa City being inhabited by an old devilish man and a sinister black lady, as well as the never-ending saga on the infamous Laperal White House in Baguio City as told by its caretakers and the people living around it.

We then heard once again the several eerie stories of residents from different barangays in Pagsanjan, Laguna and Cabugao, Ilocos Norte about their chilling encounters with various paranormal entities in the “Tulay” portion.

A businesswoman named Juliet Uy’s account regarding her spine-chilling close encounter with an aswang or shape-shifting evil creature – which happened to be her elderly aunt – was also aired. The footage of the MGB team’s face-to-face interview the self-confessed aswang was shown, too, in the “Aswang” segment.

And lastly, in the “Ligaw” portion, Noli featured the scary stories about the disturbances caused by wandering spirits in Barangay Sampiruhan in Calamba City, Laguna, wherein 70 people were ruthlessly killed and burned during the World War II in 1946.

The petrifying tales of drivers and conductors of a bus line plying across Dumaguete City, as well as residents of its town Amlan, about their unforgettable encounters with supernatural elements in a certain area were also rebroadcast. A footage supporting these claims was also shown, in which the MGB team was able to capture an old lady in white standing on the sidewalk and brandishing a wood while they were driving through the same road where the ghostly intrusions were said to occur.

Don’t miss this the second part of “Magandang Gabi…Bayan” Halloween throwback episode, especially made for #MGBBatang90s, this Sunday, October 30, on KBYN: Kaagapay ng Bayan.