Excerpt: The Baguio Horror Festival is set to return this October, but a petition questioning its themes, public presentation, and the idea of positioning Baguio as the “horror capital of the Philippines” has led to a formal dialogue involving organizers, concerned groups, and city officials.

Why the Baguio Horror Festival Is Facing Controversy

The upcoming Baguio Horror Festival 2026 has become the subject of public discussion after concerns were raised over its themes, imagery, and possible impact on children and young people.

The issue has since reached the Baguio City Council, with a formal petition seeking a review of the festival and a dialogue involving organizers, concerned groups, and local officials.

Festival organizers, meanwhile, maintain that the event is intended to be a community celebration of costumes, art, performance, storytelling, and creativity.

How the Baguio Horror Festival started

The festival traces its roots to the Baguio Zombie Walk, which began in 2011.

According to the Baguio City Council, the event was initiated by Carl Paolo Corpuz after he was inspired by a similar zombie walk he witnessed in Canada.

The organizers say the early event brought together locals, dancers, students, tourists, and costume enthusiasts. It returned in 2012 and continued to attract more participants in the years that followed.

By 2019, the concept had expanded into the Baguio Festival of Horrors, incorporating film, storytelling, literature, costumes, and other forms of art associated with the horror genre.

Activities were interrupted during the pandemic years before resuming in 2025.

For 2026, organizers have announced a Horror Convention on October 24 and 25 and a Halloween Parade along Session Road on October 25.

Why was a petition filed?

During the Baguio City Council’s regular session on September 7, 2026, Gerard Ericson Pangilinan of Endtime Harvest Christian Ministries International appeared before the council to present concerns regarding the festival.

According to the City Council, the petition raised questions over themes and imagery involving death, horror, the macabre, and occultism, particularly their possible impact on children and young people.

The petitioners invoked Ordinance No. 39-2023, or the Character City Ordinance, and asked the city to review whether the festival is consistent with Baguio’s character-building policies.

They also sought a review of the festival’s permits and a dialogue involving organizers, petitioners, and city officials.

The petitioners clarified that they were not seeking to criminalize private Halloween celebrations and were not calling for anyone involved in the festival to be declared persona non grata.

Their concerns instead focus on the conduct of the festival as a public event and how it relates to the city’s policies and values.

Why the “Horror Capital of the Philippines” idea matters

Another part of the controversy involves the festival organizers’ stated vision of making Baguio City the “horror capital of the Philippines.”

For the organizers and supporters of the event, the phrase can be understood as a form of creative branding built around Baguio’s long association with ghost stories, urban legends, folklore, film, storytelling, costume-making, and other forms of artistic expression.

Baguio’s cool climate, foggy surroundings, historic buildings, and long-running supernatural stories have also made the city a natural setting for horror-themed creative work.

For critics, however, there is a difference between holding an annual Halloween event and deliberately associating the identity of the city with horror.

This is where the debate becomes broader than the festival itself.

The question is no longer only whether a Zombie Walk or horror convention should be allowed. It also becomes a discussion about whether residents want Baguio itself to be publicly identified or promoted as the country’s horror capital, particularly while the city also promotes its identity as a Character City.

What do the organizers say?

The Baguio Horror Festival organizers describe the event very differently from how it is portrayed by critics.

In a statement posted on the festival’s page, they described the Halloween Parade as a community costume event where children, parents, artists, dancers, photographers, videographers, hobbyists, and other participants can express their creativity.

The organizers said children are welcome to join with their parents or guardians and encouraged families to dress up together.

Participants may come as ghosts, mythical creatures, horror characters, fantasy characters, or other fictional creations.

For the organizers, costumes and horror-related imagery are forms of artistic and creative expression.

They said they hope the parade will be seen as a “safe, family-friendly space” for costumes, dance, music, photography, videography, food, performance, and community participation.

They have also invited those who are uncertain about the event to attend, watch the performances, meet the artists, and see the work behind the costumes.

Why the issue has become a wider debate

The controversy is no longer simply about whether people should celebrate Halloween.

It has become a discussion about how horror-themed events should be presented in public spaces, especially when children and families are part of the audience.

For those raising concerns, the festival’s imagery and wider branding should be examined in light of Baguio’s Character City policies.

For organizers and supporters, horror can exist as fiction, entertainment, storytelling, performance, filmmaking, costume design, and visual art without necessarily representing the beliefs or values of those taking part.

The debate therefore touches on several questions at once: artistic expression, community standards, the participation of children, the use of public spaces, and ultimately how Baguio chooses to present itself.

Formal dialogue called

In a letter dated September 9, 2026, the Office of Councilor Yuri K. Weygan, chairperson of the Committee on Tourism, Special Events, Parks & Playgrounds, formally invited the Baguio Horror Festival organizers, councils, and concerned parties to a dialogue.

The letter confirmed that a formal petition for review had been filed by Gerard Ericson D. Pangilinan, representing Endtime Harvest Christian Ministries International.

According to the invitation, the petition raises concerns and recommendations requiring careful consideration, transparent discussion, and mutual understanding among organizers, local authorities, and community stakeholders.

The formal dialogue was scheduled for September 14, 2026 at 9:30 AM at the basement of the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center.

The Baguio Horror Festival page also acknowledged the dialogue and encouraged supporters of the arts and creative community to participate while calling for respectful discussion.

“We are not there simply to speak for what we love. We are there to understand one another.”

For now, there has been no announcement that the Baguio Horror Festival has been cancelled.

Based on the organizers’ latest announcement, the festival remains scheduled for October 24 and 25, 2026.

The dialogue gives both petitioners and organizers an opportunity to explain their positions. But beyond the immediate question of whether the festival proceeds, the discussion may ultimately come down to something larger: how Baguio balances creative expression with community concerns, and whether becoming known as the “horror capital of the Philippines” is an identity the city itself wants to embrace.