La Sampaguita: A Horror Story

In 1910 Manila, Thomas Paterno was everything the elite class adored: vastly wealthy, impossibly handsome, and worshipped by every young woman in high society. But behind the polished bamboo floors, formal tea visits, and grand estate gatherings, a quiet, deadly presence was watching his every move.

Narrated in an eerily polite, conspiratorial whisper directly to the reader, Maya reveals the terrifying truth of her obsession. She sacrificed what was needed to be sacrificed—until he is finally hers.

But winning his hand is only the beginning of the nightmare. When the public luster fades and the trophy loses its shine, Maya’s devotion turns into something far more monstrous.

Atmospheric, visceral, and steeped in late 19th-century Spanish-colonial detail, La Sampaguita is a dark Philippine Gothic story that explores the thin line between romantic desire, total ownership, and tragic ruin.