The Laperal White House on Leonard Wood Road in Baguio City has completed one of the most unusual transformations in Philippine haunted-house history: from a family vacation home, to a wartime Japanese headquarters, to a legendarily haunted mansion, to a museum, and finally to an upscale French restaurant that actively promotes its ghostly reputation as a dining attraction.
Built in the 1920s by Roberto Laperal as a vacation home for his wealthy family, the white colonial-style house sits on elevated ground in the heart of Baguio's exclusive residential zone. During World War II, the house was occupied by Japanese soldiers who used it as a command post during their control of Baguio. The Laperal family suffered losses during this period, and the combination of family tragedy and wartime violence seeded the hauntings that would define the house for the next eight decades.
The ghosts of the Laperal White House are attributed to two sources: members of the Laperal family who died during or after the occupation, and the victims of Japanese soldiers who used the house during the war. Manifestations include apparitions in the upstairs windows, the sound of footsteps in empty rooms, doors that open and close on their own, and the persistent feeling of being watched from the staircase landing.
In 2007, Filipino-Chinese business magnate Lucio Tan purchased the property and converted it into a museum showcasing Filipino artworks in bamboo and wood. Since 2022, the building has housed "Joseph's Baguio," an upscale restaurant specializing in French cuisine. The restaurant has embraced the building's supernatural heritage, incorporating the ghost stories into its branding and atmosphere — diners eat beneath the same ceilings where apparitions have been seen, and the restaurant's marketing acknowledges the possibility that their meal may be observed by entities who are not on the guest list.
The Laperal White House's evolution from haunted ruin to commercial venue reflects a broader trend in Philippine supernatural tourism: the monetization of the uncanny, the transformation of fear into a marketable experience, and the recognition that in a country as spiritually rich as the Philippines, ghosts are not obstacles to commerce but attractions in their own right.