HGB Ep. 194 - Filipino Legends

Listen here:  http://historygoesbump.libsyn.com/ep-194-filipino-legends

 Moment in Oddity - Mother Believes Son is Reincarnated Lou Gehrig
(Suggested by: Tim Scott of History Dweebs)

Christian Haupt is an eight year old boy living in California who is considered a baseball protege and there just may be a very unusual reason why he is so skilled at baseball at such a young age. His mother believes that he is the reincarnation of New York Yankees first baseman, Lou Gehrig. Gehrig was a baseball star during the 1920s and '30s. He was known as the Iron Horse and held the consecutive games played until it was broken in 1995. He played even with breaks in his hands and back issues. He was finally sidelined in 1939 by a neurological disease that would eventually be named for him: Lou Gehrig's Disease or ALS. He died two years later. Christian told his mother when he was only two years old that he "used to be a tall baseball player" and that he died because his "body stopped working." He told his mother that he would travel to hotels by train. His mother researched things he would tell her about his past life and she would find that they would match up with details about Gehrig's life. A picture of Babe Ruth and Gehrig was shown to Christian and he quipped that the two didn't speak to each other, which matched up with the fact that the two had been friends who had a falling out. When she asked how he knew these things, he would answer, "I just know." Christian never used Gehrig's name though. He has become a baseball protege that was the youngest person to ever throw a first pitch at a Major League Baseball game, which he did when he was three and he was featured in the 2014 MLB All Star Game pregame show at the age of five. If Christian really is the reincarnation of Lou Gehrig, that would certainly be odd!

This Month in History - President William Henry Harrison Dies in Office

During the month of April, on the 4th, in 1841, President William Henry Harrison dies in office after only serving for 32 days. He holds the unfortunate honor of being the president to have held the office for the shortest length of time. Harrison ran on the Whig Party ticket with John Tyler. They ran an unconventional campaign, distributing free bottles of hard cider in little log cabin-shaped bottles to the public. It worked and they won. Harrison had a love of oration and that became his undoing. On Inauguration Day in 1841, it was bitterly cold as President Harrison stepped up to the podium. He delivered the traditional inaugural address. His would be the longest inaugural address in history at one hour and 45 minutes. He developed a cold quickly that eventually became pneumonia. Some historians believe that he had hepatitis, which weakened his immune system and he was unable to fight off the pneumonia. Upon his death, John Tyler became President. Harrison left behind a wife and three children, one of whom would father Benjamin Harrison, who went on to become the 23rd president of the United States in 1889. He served out his full term.

Filipino Legends (Suggested by April Garaci)

The Philippines is made up of thousands of islands. Together, they are an enchanting country of beautiful beaches and enchanting opportunities for outdoor adventure. The Philippines was under Spanish rule for 350 years and much of the country is Catholic because of that beginning. The influence is still seen today in the numerous historic churches and in the Spanish colonial architecture. The people of this land embrace spirituality and there is a rich culture of mythology and folklore here. The Philippines Pantheon is vast and there are dozens of creatures that are found in the local lore. Some seem silly, while others are truly terrifying. Our Filipino listener April Garaci joins us to share stories of folklore and some haunting experiences that she has experienced. Join us as we explore the legends of the Philippines!

Some of the legends and stories that April shared with us:

One Filipino "monster" is a Kapre. Its a big hairy man that lives at the top of big trees in the Philippines. He is usually depicted smoking a cigar and that he isnt usually an evil being per say but he does cause trouble for people that are traveling through the forests and gets them disoriented and lost.

When I was young my family would Drive 5-8 hours (it depends on the traffic and Philippine  traffic is horrible) to visit my great grandparents and other extend family in the province I always looked forwards to those trips since I Love playing with my cousins and my great Grand parents always had the best ww2 stories.My Great Grand parents also had the best house it was old fasioned and was designed to look like it was built during the Spanish occupation. They also had a really great back yard. It was big and had a small bamboo hut we use to play house in. The one thing that spoiled my fun was that when the sun sets we need to be inside ASAP because of the "Kapre" in the big tree in the backyard. You have to understand that since this is a very small town back then and that the electricity wasn't  centralized yet so up and down the street all you can see is the main street lights and a few house lights in the area. So I kinda understand why my parents were protective then since the backyard was pitch black and we were in a rural area.

But enough with my descriptions. One evening when most of all the parents were out and about me and my cousins were playing hide and seek in the back yard. it was getting dark but since this was our last game of the day we decided to risk it and finish the game. My cousin that was chosen to be "it" was counting down when he stopped altogether and started to point up at the tree. The brave kids that we were we went out of our hiding places and looked at the spot that he was pointing at. That was when we spotted a small orange circular object in the tree. I was about to dismiss it as a firefly when the tree leaves started to shake like someone was on the branches and since it was a hot summer that did not have any winds that day we made a wise decision and ran out off there and straight back to house. Looking back on it now I still don't know what it was but my family can never cut down that tree because when try weird and strange things happens and my family gave up altogether  and just accepted it as part of the backyard big and sprawling.

But here's a another story from my school in the Philippines. There is a restroom that all students and most teachers avoid going to we call it the black restroom. It is a bathroom that has no mirrors and any reflective surface in it and has all the stall doors  painted black. We (the students) think that black paint serves as a warning. There is a rumor that has been going around since my aunt was going to that school. The story goes is that the reason there is no mirrors in the restroom was that the person's reflection almost always does a different action then what that person is doing. My aunt told me that one of her school friends went inside and used the restroom and that she came out running because while she was using the toilet she can feel someone or something looking at her.

Do any of these legendary creatures of the Philippines actually exist? That is for you to decide!