Bulacan State University in Malolos, the capital of Bulacan province, has a resident supernatural entity that defies the typical taxonomy of Filipino ghosts — a hag who attaches herself to students by climbing onto their backs, weighing them down with an invisible but physically oppressive presence.
The entity is described using the Filipino concept of "namamanhikan" or "sumasakay" — a spirit that rides on the shoulders or back of a living person, creating a sensation of extreme heaviness, exhaustion, and dread. Students who have experienced the phenomenon describe walking through certain parts of the campus — particularly the older buildings and the areas near large trees — and suddenly feeling as though a heavy weight has been placed on their shoulders. Their legs buckle, their breathing becomes labored, and some report the sensation of arms wrapping around their neck from behind.
The hag herself is rarely seen directly, but those who catch glimpses describe an elderly woman with wild hair and a distorted face, clinging to the back of her victim with arms and legs that seem too long for a normal human body. The image aligns with the "pugot" or "tiktik" traditions of Bulacan and Central Luzon, where shapeshifting female spirits are believed to prey on the young and vulnerable.
In Filipino folk belief, the piggyback entity is a specific category of supernatural encounter distinct from ordinary hauntings. The spirit does not merely appear — it makes physical contact, affecting the victim's body and energy. Students who have been "ridden" by the hag report feeling drained for days afterward, as if their vitality has been partially consumed.
The university's Malolos campus sits on land with deep historical significance — Malolos served as the capital of the First Philippine Republic in 1899, and the region saw intense fighting during both the Philippine Revolution and World War II. The hag of Bulacan State University may be a manifestation of that layered history, or she may be something older still — a pre-colonial entity who has inhabited the land since before the university, the revolution, and the colonial period that preceded both.