The gymnasium of Saint Louis University in Baguio City stands on ground that served as a Japanese execution site during World War II — a fact that the university community has acknowledged through decades of reported hauntings that concentrate in and around the building.
During the Japanese occupation of Baguio (1941-1945), the city served as the headquarters of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the "Tiger of Malaya" who commanded Japanese forces in the Philippines during the final year of the war. The Japanese military presence in Baguio was extensive, and execution grounds were established at multiple locations across the city. The site that would later become the SLU gymnasium was one such location, where suspected guerrilla fighters, spies, and civilians who ran afoul of the occupation authorities were put to death.
Students who use the gymnasium for sports and physical education report encounters that are most active during the early morning and late evening hours — the traditional times when executions were carried out. The sounds are the most commonly reported: gunshots that echo across the gym floor, shouted commands in Japanese, and the murmur of prayers in Filipino languages that seem to come from beneath the building's foundation.
Some students have reported seeing figures in the peripheral areas of the gymnasium — along the walls, in the corners, near the exits — who appear to be standing in a line. The figures are described as thin, dressed in civilian clothing, and exhibiting the posture of people awaiting something terrible. They do not move, do not interact with the living, and vanish when directly addressed.
Saint Louis University, run by the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has incorporated the building's history into its institutional memory. The gymnasium serves its educational purpose during the day, but the campus community maintains an unspoken understanding that after dark, the space reverts to its earlier identity — a place where the condemned stood in line and waited for the end.