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Feature: Filipino Flash Fiction: #ManilaEncounters
Something beautiful happened on Twitter the previous week. A new hashtag has surfaced, calling writers to action. Micro stories popped up under the hashtag, ranging genres from Filipino folklore and horror to social justice to Jose Rizal fanfiction. These tweets will have your belly hurting from laughing to looking over your shoulder and shaking in fear.
The hashtag originates from Twitter user Nosfecatu (@bjrecio), as he went to the social media platform to search for story ideas for role-playing games (RPGs). It soon blew up, reaching such a wide audience that the creator did not anticipate.
Photo credit: https://twitter.com/bjrecio/status/1099698713948172288
Writers had a lot to work with, with our country’s rich but underrated amount of mythology, superstitions, and urban legends. Making Manila the setting of all of these tales shows the vast and busy urban life provides the proper inspiration for thousands.
Photo credit: https://twitter.com/Maharhar/status/1100263963911049216
This whole trend has given new hope for Filipino literature. It proves that it isn’t dead. There are still people that are willing to write and wiling to read about our culture. Filipinos have always had a special relationship with horror literature and the occult as shown in the numerous volumes of ‘Philippine Ghost Stories’ books that fill the shelves of local bookstores. Manila Encounters modernizes this relationship and opens its doors to the new generation of writers and readers alike.
The Manila Encounters subreddit. Photo credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ManilaEncounters
Manila Encounters still lives on with the help of Millennial of Manila, who created a subreddit to continue the sharing of eerie short fiction in the backdrop of Manila. It currently is close to four thousand subscribers. //by Kiara Gabriel
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