By Ma. Emilia Nicole Bertulfo and Ralph Louise Esma

​​Far Eastern University (FEU) Guides welcomed the season of Halloween festivity with its shift to a face-to-face annual flagship event originally designed as a campus night tour which commenced last October 28. 

Spooky stories of bewilderment lingered in thy happy halls of the green and gold community with the annual eerie-themed tour, popularly known as Creepiyu by the brave Tamaraws. 

As the tradition extends to its seventh installment, FEU Guides, the official ushering and tour-guiding organization of FEU, spearheaded its much-anticipated return with fervent zeal and creative passion after two years of conducting the event through a virtual setup amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Under the theme of “Nasaan ang Katotohanan?” an intriguing fictional storyline threads the horror-feels campus tour in search of the ultimate truth about Sophia’s mysterious and sudden disappearance. Will the courageous Tamaraws take charge in searching and battling for the truth after discovering that Sophia has vanished? 

From reel to reality: The Making of Creepiyu 

After adapting Creepiyu through various virtual platforms for the last two years due to the pandemic, FEU Guides left no stone unturned in their one-month rigorous planning and preparations. The FEU Guides were laser-focused in their preparation, considering the Tamaraw community’s heightened excitement with Creepiyu’s face-to-face return to campus. 

Blood, sweat, and tears have paid off as the annual event sparked cultural awareness among its studentry while allowing the petrifying aspect to remain intact. Despite the increased demands and pressure to deliver an exceptional comeback, FEU Guides smoothly transitioned and shifted from the virtual platform, showcasing their adaptability and dedication to their craft. 

“‘Yung process namin is really rigorous. Yung officers, the committee heads, alumni namin—it is a collaborative effort namin (Our process was really rigorous. All of the officers, committee heads, even our alumni—it was [our] collaborative effort),” FEU Guides President Earl Bual explained. 

As the main proponents of Creepiyu, FEU Guides was meticulously keen on implementing COVID-19 protocols to ensure the participant's safety by including self-testing antigen kits and social distancing. 

A partnership with FEU Red Cross Youth Council was also established to ensure that immediate yet efficient life-saving measures will be undertaken if an accident ensues. 

For this year’s Creepiyu installment, FEU Guides' primary goal is to solidify this long-embedded and imbibed tradition of advocating for the arts and culture within the Tamaraw community. 

Through this annual event, FEU Guides Vice President Mary Margrethe Pastor hoped to ‘build camaraderie and appreciation for our campus as a whole’ and believed that its celebration might relieve the angst and tension brought by the pandemic. 

“With FEU Guides, we wanted our folklore to be informative and immersive,” Pastor emphasized. 

Throughout their brainstorming process, the FEU Guides wanted to offer valuable learnings to its participants about the University’s historical and cultural vibrancy. The 2022 Creepiyu experience was designed to be more immersive, necessitating participation from both the tour guides and participants by adding the mystery-solving feature with clues along each station and centrally improving its plot based on various feedback from previous installments. 

The Day of Seeking for Sophia

FEU Guides proved that rigorous planning and preparations paid off as they overcame countless challenges executing Creepiyu.

On the day of the event, the approaching Typhoon Paeng brought a series of rain that led to the suspension of evening classes in Manila. However, FEU Guides pushed through with the provisions in anticipation of bad weather. 

Due to inclement weather brought on by the typhoon, Creepiyu started a bit late. The event eventually commenced with Bual’s opening remarks while participants lined up for registration in the FEU Plaza. 

“The event highlights will showcase the different mythological creatures of regions through a fuse of information, fiction providing education and entertainment,” Bual stated.

Before the main event, the participants were given glow stick bracelets upon registration and grouped into 15 to 20 participants each batch. The goal is to protect the given bracelets until the end of the tour, as the mythological creatures are tasked to scare and snatch the bracelets.

The tour started along the FEU Chapel and passed in front of the Admissions Building. Then, they went through the parking lot in front of the Administration Building and the walkway in front of the Architecture and Fine Arts Building (ARFAB). Next was at Pergola station, which they accessed through the walkway between the ARFAB and Science Building.

Afterward, they journeyed toward the Accounts, Business, and Finance Building (ABB). Inside the ABB Canteen was where the first interactive activity was located, where they solved a message to be able to exit the room. Then, they went backdoors through the fire exit to head to the Nursing Building (NB).

Nearing the end of the tour, the second interactive activity was located in the NB Atrium, where they were asked to look for a lamp for the last activity. The final station was NB Room 102, where they saw and interacted with Sophia. In the room, they were tasked to look for a key to escape.

Fortunately, after they got out, there was barely any rain despite the threats brought by the typhoon. The students then returned to the FEU Plaza to finish the tour and award prizes to the participants who still had their bracelets on. 

Creepiyu encounter

FEU Guides did not disappoint the Tamaraws’ excitement as Creepiyu received fairly good reviews from the participants.

Hershey Vibar, a first-year Bachelor of Science (BS) Nursing student, described her first Creepiyu experience as exciting, thrilling, and unexpected.

“Para siyang fulfilling as a freshman. Natuturuan din tayo habang natatakot (It is fulfilling as a freshman. We are being educated while being scared),” Vibar stated.

With so much thrill, acting, costumes, and personal experiences became the highlights of the Creepiyu for some participants. According to Joanne Redila, a fourth-year BS Accountancy student, it is the execution of the events that stood out for her. 

“Maa-amaze ka kasi with how they conceptualized everything (You’ll be amazed at how they conceptualized everything),” Redila highlighted. 

The participants who experienced Creepiyu for the first time mentioned how the face-to-face installment this year gave them the first-hand experience they expected from the event.

As this year’s Creepiyu also aims to be informative, participants like Therese Jade Dohinog, a first-year BS Accountancy student, expressed that she learned more about the FEU campus’ history and stories on tour.

Vibar also said she learned to socialize and work with strangers during Creepiyu.

“‘Yung mga tinuturo nila more on teamwork. It’s a good thing na nakakapag-communicate kami kahit different courses kami (They were teaching us more about teamwork. It’s a good thing that we are able to communicate even if we have different courses),” Vibar mentioned.

At the end of the tour, Angela Kate Pinlac, a first-year BS Accountancy student, was one of the participants who lost their bracelet during the tour. 

“Inatake kami. Inantay kami tumayo, pagtayo namin, hila niya agad yung akin [bracelet]. Kaya nagulat nalang din ako tapos tumakbo nalang din kami (We were attacked. They waited for us to stand up, then once we stood up, they already snatched my bracelet. That’s why I was shocked and we just ran),” Pinlac shared.

Overall, Creepiyu VII lived up to the participants' expectations, providing them with a scary, educational, and interactive FEU Campus tour. Due to this year’s success, participants expressed excitement and willingness to attend the Creepiyu next year.

Beyond the sinister and ghostly elements, this scavenger-hunting game cultivated high regard for artistry and creativity through the arts by bringing to life Filipino mythological creatures. The perfectly well-balanced fusion of entertainment through its uncanny and scary features and immersive engagement about the University’s cultural heritage truly highlighted the event’s success as the prominent tradition of Creepiyu continues to live.