Cresta del Mar Resort in Bauang, La Union, was once a popular beach destination along the Lingayen Gulf coast during the 1960s. Today, the resort stands abandoned — its concrete structures reclaimed by vegetation, its swimming pools filled with stagnant rainwater — and locals insist that three distinct entities now occupy what tourists once enjoyed.
The most frequently sighted is the kapre, a towering, cigar-smoking tree spirit from Filipino folklore. Witnesses describe seeing a massive dark figure perched in the branches of the large trees that have grown up through the resort's crumbling structures, the glowing ember of its cigar visible from a distance. The kapre is a fixture of Philippine supernatural belief — a giant, bark-skinned being that inhabits old trees and is generally considered territorial but not inherently malicious, unless provoked.
The second entity is a woman dressed entirely in black who has been seen walking through the resort's corridors at dusk. Unlike the "white lady" apparitions common throughout the Philippines, this figure is described as wearing dark, possibly mourning, clothing, and she moves with purpose rather than drifting aimlessly. Some witnesses believe she may be connected to a death that occurred at the resort during its operational years.
The third presence is a headless figure reported near the resort's entrance, seen most often by motorists driving past on the national highway at night. The figure stands motionless, and drivers who have slowed for a closer look describe the immediate and overwhelming urge to accelerate away.
The resort's abandonment coincided with a period of economic decline in the region during the 1970s, and the building has deteriorated steadily in the tropical climate. Local youth occasionally dare each other to enter the grounds after dark, but few venture past the perimeter. The combination of a kapre, a black-clad mourner, and a headless sentinel has made Cresta del Mar one of La Union's most feared locations.