Starmall Alabang
Embedded from YouTube. Open this video on YouTube if the player does not load. It is also on our Facebook page.
Synopsis
For years it was Metro Manila's default haunted mall. Then it burned down and was rebuilt under another name.
Long before fire gutted it in January 2022 and it reopened as The Terminal, the Alabang mall widely known as Starmall Metropolis held a reputation as the most talked-about haunted building in Metro Manila. The stories were passed around by the people who worked there, which is exactly why they spread.
- Category
- Haunted Places
- Location
- Alabang, Metro Manila
- Narration
- Tagalog narration
- Story type
- Urban-legend retelling
The reputation
The mall's haunted reputation was built on staff accounts rather than on visitors: closing crews, security guards and stallholders describing lifts, corridors and washrooms after the shutters came down. Retail buildings empty out completely and predictably, and the last hour of a shift is spent alone in a space designed to hold thousands of people.
We are describing a reputation, not a confirmed haunting. None of the accounts attached to the building has been substantiated, and we do not identify or quote anyone.
What actually happened to the building
The mall was destroyed by a major fire in January 2022 and later rebuilt and reopened as The Terminal. That part is a matter of public record, and it is the reason the legend is now told in the past tense.
It also changed the story's shape. The haunted-mall accounts now refer to a building that no longer exists, which is a common ending for Philippine urban legends attached to commercial property.
What kind of story this is
A retelling of a widely circulated urban legend about a real, publicly named building. The fire and the rebuild are documented. The hauntings are reputation only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Starmall Alabang really haunted?
It had a widely known haunted reputation built largely on accounts from people who worked there after closing. None of those accounts has been verified.
What happened to Starmall Alabang?
It was destroyed by a major fire in January 2022 and was subsequently rebuilt and reopened as The Terminal.
The Folklore Behind It
More Filipino Horror Stories Like This
Robinsons Snake-man
The country's most successful corporate rumour: a fitting room, a trapdoor, and something in the basement.
Junjun — The Call Center Ghost
Every BPO floor in the country has heard the name. Nobody agrees on which building it happened in.
Ozone Disco
162 people went in for an ordinary night. The fire was not the worst part — the exit was.