P. Ylade

P. Ylade was born and raised in the Philippines. Her childhood was shaped by the local folklore, myths, and other oral stories told by her elderly people in the candlelight. Her family used to live in a traditional bahay kubo, nestled within untouched copses of bamboo trees. When dusk fell in the bamboo groves, children had to hurry home or else the malicious spirits and monsters would snatch them away. She watched with awe how adults put amulets around the house to ward evil spirits away. She grew up listening to dramas on the radio and reading books way above her level. She wrote short stories on school pads about local folktales spun with her own odd nightmares and daydreams. These short stories were then brought to school and eventually passed around until they couldn’t be track anymore. Her dream of writing a full-length story was realized when she published a Hiligaynon language novel as a homage to a childhood formed by myths and supernatural stories.