"Me and Ozone"

"Me and Ozone"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

I recently read an article about the Old Ozone disco. For those who have not heard about this place , this was one of the best hang out places during the early 1990's.The place was packed with around 300 or so students who were celebrating the end of the school year. Some of them graduating students. Ozone disco will forever be remembered as one of the worst fires in Philippine history. 162 people died in that blaze and some believe that some of those spirits remain there to this very day.18 years after the event there are still hauntings that occur in the place.I at least could attest to that.

In the early 2000's I was with a couple of friends in the Timog area and decided to go to a bar there. I don't even remember the name of the place. When we entered I instantly felt oppressive presences.Quite a lot of them really and I was so uneasy in the dark environment of that bar. The lights went on and off and it was quite easy to imagine things in the edges of the big room. The place was not filled up so we could just hang out anywhere. I asked everyone to stay near the middle.The reason was simple. I could see shadows dancing on a far wall. There was no one in front of them. The light could not cast shadows without anyone being in front of it. Yet the shadows danced and danced. After a couple of minutes one of my friends got bored and decided that we should move to another bar. The shadows were still dancing. The place was a bar just adjacent to the once Ozone Disco.

A couple of years back(2010) my team and I just came from our team building in Batangas.Since a couple of us did not want to go home yet and some of my team mates have not yet heard of the urban legend that Ozone had become I asked them to come with me to Timog.During that time there was a construction ongoing near the gated area that was the site of the tragedy.Despite the people there sound seemed muted or silent. Until we came near the gate. We were hearing disco music , heavy pulsating rhythms even though there was not a club open that night. So when people say that they hear loud music in the area. I believe them because I have heard it for myself.Me and my team. Now people also heard people crying out for help.We were too creeped out to wait for those.There might be other chances for that.

I still feel sad when I remember this event. So many young lives were cut short and all because people designed things wrong(the Door swung inward) and cheated their safety inspections.And in the future I hope to prevent such things from happening ever again.