Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Lorekeeper's Inn: A Big Thank You
Lorekeeper's Inn: A Big Thank You: I just wanted to do a short post thanking you, the reader, for spending your valuable time perusing our blog. The steady stream of view...
Monday, May 11, 2015
Lorekeeper's Inn: The Unwilling package, Chapter 2
Lorekeeper's Inn: The Unwilling package, Chapter 2: The beast hid itself deep within the leafy boughs of the cherry tree as it observed its prey below. The woman sat atop a white ...
Monday, April 20, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
Blog app
It has been a while since I have typed a post for this blog. It may seem a little unformal and there will probably be a bunch of misspelled words. Im trying out the blogger app for the first time. The app has been on my phone for around eight months now. Just not big on texting so it felt more of a hassle to type a post out with my phone than it was worth it. I think though I will start using the app more often for this blog as I am no longer using it for my stories. I will keep this blog updated as to where I am at in lorekeeps inn because I am still getting a few views a day.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Lorekeepers Inn: A Life With Magic
Lorekeepers Inn: A Life With Magic: A Life With Magic By Justin O'Neal “No Lexi, honey. Leave the fish alone. It’s dead.” “What do you mean the fis...
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Chapter 1
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Chapter 1: Akio Chapter 1 By Justin O'Neal “Someone help me please, someone!” A whimpering voice cries, as she abruptly hits her hands aga...
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Chapter two
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Chapter two: Akio Chapter 2 By Justin O'Neal The wind Slowly begins to pick up. The trees sawing back and forth as if someone was tr...
Lorekeepers Inn: Time to Pay the Piper by Eric Westfall
Lorekeepers Inn: Time to Pay the Piper by Eric Westfall: The tiger-striped tom strolled arrogantly down the dingy, dark alleyway. He had prowled the alley for the last two years and its inhabit...
Lorekeepers Inn: Elyna
Lorekeepers Inn: Elyna: Elyna By Justin O'Neal “Elyna, do you have the target acquired?” “Not just yet sir, I do not.” ...
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Part 2 Character Introduction
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Part 2 Character Introduction: Akio Part 2 Character Introduction By, Justin O’Neal Lights flickering, wires dangling from the ceiling tops. Desks, ...
Lorekeepers Inn: Remus
Lorekeepers Inn: Remus: Remus By Justin O'Neal “Remus, why don’t you go gather me some black raspberries for the dragon frost tonight?” “Ok...
Lorekeepers Inn: Who I Am (Ox's Tale) by Eric Westfall
Lorekeepers Inn: Who I Am (Ox's Tale) by Eric Westfall: Author's Note: This short story is based on a character from my novel, Ascent of the Holy Blade. It is the tale of the Nabukian gladiat...
Lorekeepers Inn: Pokemon Fan ficiton
Lorekeepers Inn: Pokemon Fan ficiton: Pokémon Fan fiction By Justin O'Neal My heart sank when I came home one day. Just after getting back from a nice ...
Lorekeepers Inn: World of Warcraft fanfic (Through the Eyes of a Fa...
Lorekeepers Inn: World of Warcraft fanfic (Through the Eyes of a Fa...: World of Warcraft fanfic Through The Eyes Of A Farmer By Justin O'Neal "Holymanz, you coming or what?" Impatie...
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Part 2 Chapter 1
Lorekeepers Inn: Akio Part 2 Chapter 1: Akio Part 2 Chapter 1 By Justin O'Neal “A-ah, m-my head. Where am I?” Akio begins to awake. “H-how did I get here? How will I...
Lorekeepers Inn: Blue Collar Fable by Eric Westfall
Lorekeepers Inn: Blue Collar Fable by Eric Westfall: Author's Note: You always hear of tales of heroic knights, dashing princes, and virtuous princesses, but rarely do you hear tales of the...
Lorekeepers Inn: Homecoming (World of Warcraft fan fiction) by Eric...
Lorekeepers Inn: Homecoming (World of Warcraft fan fiction) by Eric...: Author's Note: This tale takes place at the beginning of the Wrath of the Lich expansion. The bow of the Dolphi...
Lorekeepers Inn: Lorekeepers Inn: Opachii’s Stay
Lorekeepers Inn: Lorekeepers Inn: Opachii’s Stay: Lorekeepers Inn: Opachii’s Stay By Justin O’Neal “Oh hello there, you must be the new person in town. I welcome you with all my wa...
Lorekeepers Inn: The Call of Duty
Lorekeepers Inn: The Call of Duty: The Call of Duty By Eric Westfall Night had fallen on Aegis City blanketing the sprawling metropolis in inky darkness punctuated b...
Lorekeepers Inn: Forsaken (World of Warcraft fanfic)
Lorekeepers Inn: Forsaken (World of Warcraft fanfic): FORSAKEN By Eric Westfall Grey and white mist swirled impatiently around the rogue as he stalked his way through the alien landsc...
Sunday, February 1, 2015
German:Hermoor
Hermóðr appears distinctly in section 49 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning. There, it is described that the gods were speechless and devastated at the death of Baldr, unable to react due to their grief. After the gods gathered their wits from the immense shock and grief of Baldr's death, Frigg asked the Æsir who amongst them wished "to gain all of her love and favor" by riding the road to Hell. Whoever agreed was to offer Hel a ransom in exchange for Baldr's return to Asgard. Hermóðr agrees to this and set off withSleipnir to Hel.
Hermóðr rode Odin's horse Sleipnir for nine nights through deep and dark valleys to the Gjöll bridge covered with shining gold, the bridge being guarded by the maiden Móðguðr'Battle-frenzy' or 'Battle-tired'. Móðguðr told Hermóðr that Baldr had already crossed the bridge and that Hermóðr should ride downwards and northwards.
Upon coming to Hel's gate, Hermóðr dismounted, tightened Sleipnir's girth, mounted again, and spurred Sleipnir so that Sleipnir leapt entirely over the gate. So at last Hermóðr came to Hel's hall and saw Baldr seated in the most honorable seat. Hermóðr begged Hel to release Baldr, citing the great weeping for Baldr among the Æsir. Thereupon Hel announced that Baldr would only be released if all things, dead and alive, wept for him.
Baldr gave Hermóðr the ring Draupnir which had been burned with him on his pyre, to take back to Odin. Nanna gave a linen robe for Frigg along with other gifts and a finger-ring for Fulla. Thereupon Hermóðr returned with his message.
Hermóðr is called "son" of Odin in most manuscripts, while in the Codex Regius version—normally considered the best manuscript—Hermóðr is called sveinn Óðins 'Odin's boy', which in the context is as likely to mean 'Odin's servant'. However Hermóðr in a later passage is called Baldr's brother and also appears as son of Odin in a list of Odin's sons. See Sons of Odin.
German: Heimdallr
In Norse mythology, Heimdallr is a god who possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn, owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers. Heimdallr is attested as possessing foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, is described as "the whitest of the gods", and keeps watch for the onset of Ragnarök while drinking fine mead in his dwelling Himinbjörg, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets heaven. Heimdallr is said to be the originator of social classes among humanity and once regained Freyja's treasured possession Brísingamen while doing battle in the shape of a seal with Loki. Heimdallr and Loki are foretold to kill one another during the events of Ragnarök. Heimdallr is additionally referred to as Rig, Hallinskiði, Gullintanni, andVindlér or Vindhlér.
Heimdallr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material; in the Prose Eddaand Heimskringla, both written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; in the poetry of skalds; and on an Old Norserunic inscription found in England. Two lines of an otherwise lost poem about the god, Heimdalargaldr, survive. Due to the problematic and enigmatic nature of these attestations, scholars have produced various theories about the nature of the god, including his apparent relation to rams, that he may be a personification of or connected to the world treeYggdrasil, and potential Indo-European cognates.
German: Freyr/ Frey
Freyr or Frey is one of the most important gods of Norse religion. The name is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Norse *frawjaz, "lord". Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallicfertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.
In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, and the twin brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shiningdwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. He has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir, and Beyla.
The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it". Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events ofRagnarök.
German: Forseti
Forseti (Old Norse "the presiding one," actually "president" in Modern Icelandic and Faroese) is an Æsir god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians. Jacob Grimm noted that if, asAdam of Bremen states, Fosite's sacred island was Heligoland, that would make him an ideal candidate for a deity known to both Frisians and Scandinavians, but that it is surprising he is never mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus.
German: Dellingr
Dellingr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Dellingr is described as the father of Dagr, the personified day. TheProse Edda adds that, depending on manuscript variation, he is either the third husband of Nótt, the personified night, or the husband of Jörð, the personified earth. Dellingr is also attested in the legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks. Scholars have proposed that Dellingr is the personified dawn, and his name may appear both in an English surname and place name.
German: Bragi
Bragi is Odin's son is clearly mentioned only here and in some versions of a list of the sons of Odin (see Sons of Odin). But "wish-son" in stanza 16 of the Lokasenna could mean "Odin's son" and is translated by Hollander as Odin's kin. Bragi's mother is never named. If Bragi's mother is Frigg, then Frigg is somewhat dismissive of Bragi in the Lokasenna in stanza 27 when Frigg complains that if she had a son in Ægir's hall as brave as Baldr then Loki would have to fight for his life.
In that poem Bragi at first forbids Loki to enter the hall but is overruled by Odin. Loki then gives a greeting to all gods and goddesses who are in the hall save to Bragi. Bragi generously offers his sword, horse, and an arm ring as peace gift but Loki only responds by accusing Bragi of cowardice, of being the most afraid to fight of any of the Æsir and Elves within the hall. Bragi responds that if they were outside the hall, he would have Loki's head, but Loki only repeats the accusation. When Bragi's wife Iðunn attempts to calm Bragi, Loki accuses her of embracing her brother's slayer, a reference to matters that have not survived. It may be that Bragi had slain Iðunn's brother.
A passage in the Poetic Edda poem Sigrdrífumál describes runes being graven on the sun, on the ear of one of the sun-horses and on the hoofs of the other, on Sleipnir's teeth, on bear's paw, on eagle's beak, on wolf's claw, and on several other things including on Bragi's tongue. Then the runes are shaved off and the shavings are mixed with mead and sent abroad so that Æsir have some, Elves have some, Vanir have some, and Men have some, these being beech runes and birth runes, ale runes, and magic runes. The meaning of this is obscure.
The first part of Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál is a dialogue between Ægir and Bragi about the nature of poetry, particularly skaldic poetry. Bragi tells the origin of the mead of poetry from the blood of Kvasir and how Odin obtained this mead. He then goes on to discuss various poetic metaphors known as kennings.
Snorri Sturluson clearly distinguishes the god Bragi from the mortal skald Bragi Boddason whom he often mentions separately. Bragi Boddason is discussed below. The appearance of Bragi in the Lokasenna indicates that if these two Bragis were originally the same, they have become separated for that author also, or that chronology has become very muddled and Bragi Boddason has been relocated to mythological time. Compare the appearance of the Welsh Taliesin in the second branch of the Mabinogi. Legendary chronology sometimes does become muddled. Whether Bragi the god originally arose as a deified version of Bragi Boddason was much debated in the 19th century, especially by the German scholars Eugen Mogk and Sophus Bugge. The debate remains undecided.
In the poem Eiríksmál Odin, in Valhalla, hears the coming of the dead Norwegian king Eric Bloodaxe and his host, and bids the heroesSigmund and Sinfjötli rise to greet him. Bragi is then mentioned, questioning how Odin knows that it is Eric and why Odin has let such a king die. In the poem Hákonarmál, Hákon the Good is taken to Valhalla by the valkyrie Göndul and Odin sends Hermóðr and Bragi to greet him. In these poems Bragi could be either a god or a dead hero in Valhalla. Attempting to decide is further confused becauseHermóðr also seems to be sometimes the name of a god and sometimes the name of a hero. That Bragi was also the first to speak to Loki in the Lokasenna as Loki attempted to enter the hall might be a parallel. It might have been useful and customary that a man of great eloquence and versed in poetry should greet those entering a hall.
German: Baldur
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The second son of Odin is Baldur, and good things are to be said of him. He is best, and all praise him; he is so fair of feature, and so bright, that light shines from him. A certain herb is so white that it is likened to Baldr's brow; of all grasses it is whitest, and by it thou mayest judge his fairness, both in hair and in body. He is the wisest of the Æsir, and the fairest-spoken and most gracious; and that quality attends him, that none may gainsay his judgments. He dwells in the place called Breidablik, which is in heaven; in that place may nothing be unclean.
The second son of Odin is Baldur, and good things are to be said of him. He is best, and all praise him; he is so fair of feature, and so bright, that light shines from him. A certain herb is so white that it is likened to Baldr's brow; of all grasses it is whitest, and by it thou mayest judge his fairness, both in hair and in body. He is the wisest of the Æsir, and the fairest-spoken and most gracious; and that quality attends him, that none may gainsay his judgments. He dwells in the place called Breidablik, which is in heaven; in that place may nothing be unclean.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Japan: Icicle Woman
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Icicle Woman is a ghost story from Japan about a man who meets a ghostly woman who is as beautiful and slender as an icicle. This story is based on a Japanese folk tale called “Tsurara Onna” or “The Icicle Wife”.
There was a man who had never married. He lived alone in a small house in the wilderness of Japan. He was very lonely and longed for someone he could spend his life with.
One Winter morning, he was gazing out his window, when he happened to notice some icicles hanging under the eaves of his house.
He said to himself, “I wish I had a wife as beautiful as those icicles.”
That night, there was a knock on his front door. When the man answered it, he saw a beautiful woman standing on his doorstep. Her body was long and slender and her face was pale as snow. He invited her in out of the cold.
As time passed by, the woman never left and the couple fell in love. They decided to live as husband and wife.
There was just one small problem. The man noticed that his beautiful wife never took a bath. Whenever he tried to talk to her about this, she refused to discuss it.
One day, the husband had enough. He grabbed his wife and dragged her into the bathroom. The screamed and cried and tried to wriggle away from him. He threw her into the piping hot water, then left her there and slammed the door shut behind him.
An hour passed and all the man could hear was silence. There were no splashing sounds coming from the bathroom at all. Thinking this was strange, he opened the bathroom door and peeked inside.
It was empty. His wife was gone. All that he saw, floating in the water was a the haircomb his wife always wore.
The man was heartbroken. He assumed his wife had left him and ran away. He decided to move on with his life. A few months later, he met a new woman and they fell in love. She came to live with him and they passed the months happily together until Winter came around again.
After a night of heavy snowfall, the man looked out the window and noticed a huge icicle under the eaves of his house. He went outside to knock it off, but there was a woman standing outside in the snow. He recognized her. It was his wife.
Inside the house, the new woman heard a terrible agonized shriek. She rushed outside and found the man lying in the snow. He was dead and blood was spreading out through the snow around his head. A single huge icicle had pierced right through his eye and penetrated his brain.
The Icicle Woman is a ghost story from Japan about a man who meets a ghostly woman who is as beautiful and slender as an icicle. This story is based on a Japanese folk tale called “Tsurara Onna” or “The Icicle Wife”.
There was a man who had never married. He lived alone in a small house in the wilderness of Japan. He was very lonely and longed for someone he could spend his life with.
One Winter morning, he was gazing out his window, when he happened to notice some icicles hanging under the eaves of his house.
He said to himself, “I wish I had a wife as beautiful as those icicles.”
That night, there was a knock on his front door. When the man answered it, he saw a beautiful woman standing on his doorstep. Her body was long and slender and her face was pale as snow. He invited her in out of the cold.
As time passed by, the woman never left and the couple fell in love. They decided to live as husband and wife.
There was just one small problem. The man noticed that his beautiful wife never took a bath. Whenever he tried to talk to her about this, she refused to discuss it.
One day, the husband had enough. He grabbed his wife and dragged her into the bathroom. The screamed and cried and tried to wriggle away from him. He threw her into the piping hot water, then left her there and slammed the door shut behind him.
An hour passed and all the man could hear was silence. There were no splashing sounds coming from the bathroom at all. Thinking this was strange, he opened the bathroom door and peeked inside.
It was empty. His wife was gone. All that he saw, floating in the water was a the haircomb his wife always wore.
The man was heartbroken. He assumed his wife had left him and ran away. He decided to move on with his life. A few months later, he met a new woman and they fell in love. She came to live with him and they passed the months happily together until Winter came around again.
After a night of heavy snowfall, the man looked out the window and noticed a huge icicle under the eaves of his house. He went outside to knock it off, but there was a woman standing outside in the snow. He recognized her. It was his wife.
Inside the house, the new woman heard a terrible agonized shriek. She rushed outside and found the man lying in the snow. He was dead and blood was spreading out through the snow around his head. A single huge icicle had pierced right through his eye and penetrated his brain.
Japan: Shirime
Shirime is a Japanese ghost with no face, who has a huge eye in his butt. At night, he scares unwary travelers on lonely roads by mooning them. In Japanese, “Shiri” (尻) means “Butt” and “me” (目) means “Eye”, so the name Shirime literally means “Butt Eye”.
The Japanese legend of Shirime is a strange and funny tale. Many years ago, a samurai was walking at night on the road to the Japanese city of Kyoto. Suddenly, a man dressed in a kimono stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path.
“Who goes there?” asked the samurai nervously, readying himself for an attack.
“Excuse me,” said the man. “Could I have a moment of your time?”
Before the samurai could answer, the man turned around, dropped his clothes and bent over. His bare buttocks opened wide and the horrified samurai saw a huge, glittering eye staring at him from the man’s butt.
A strange, glowing light was emanating from the eye. When he saw this, the samurai screamed in terror and fled as fast as his legs would carry him.
Shirime is one of the most popular ghosts in Japan because he does not harm his victims. He is just a mischievous ghost wholikes to scare people.
Japan: Demon Cat
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Demon Cat (or Bake-neko) is a supernatural creature from Japanese folklore. It is an ordinary cat that has transformed into a monstrous demon. According to legend, it can shapeshift and take the form of a human being. The name Bake-neko means “Monster Cat” or “Transforming Cat”.
Long ago, in Japan, there were many superstitions surrounding cats. Many people believed that a cat could turn into a hideous demon cat, called a Bake-neko, if it lived in the same place for 13 years and if it reached over 8 pounds in weight.
They say the Demon Cat is able to walk on two legs like a human. It can also shapeshift and take on human form, sometimes devouring people and stealing their identities. The bake-neko can also reaching in through doorways with its enormous arms, looking for human prey just like a household cat pawing around in a mousehole.
A famous bake-neko story involves a man named Takasu Genbei, whose pet cat of many years went missing just as his mother’s personality changed completely. The woman shunned company and took her meals alone in her room, and when the curious family peered in on her, they saw not a human being but a feline monster in the old lady’s clothes, chewing on animal carcasses. Takasu, with much reluctance, slew what looked like his mother, and after a day had passed the body turned back into the same pet cat that had gone missing. After that Takasu miserably tore up the tatami mats and the floorboards in his mother’s room, only to find the old woman’s bones hidden there, gnawed clean of flesh.
Another famous story, called “The Devil Cat of Nabeshima”, tells of a prince who fell victim to a Bake-neko. One night, the prince was walking in the palace gardens with his favorite geisha, a girl named O Toyo. Little did they know that they were being watched by a shadowy creature who was lurking in the shadows.
After the price retired to his bedroom, the Bake-neko slipped undetected into the geisha’s apartment and waited under the bed until the girl was asleep. At midnight, the Demon Cat pounced on the sleeping woman and strangled her to death. Then, it dragged her body outside, dug a hole under the flower beds and buried her corpse in a shallow grave.
After concealing its horrible deed, the demon cat shape-shifted and took on the form of the dead geisha, fooling everyone. Each night, the Bake-neko, disguised as the geisha, slipped into the prince’s room to drink his blood.
Soon, the prince was complaining of horrible dreams. He grew very weak and pale. The doctors were baffled by his mysterious illness and the prince ordered his guards to stand in his room and keep watch over him while he slept. However, as midnight approached, the guards found themselves feeling incredibly drowsy and, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t stay awake.
Eventually, a young soldier who had served under the king came to the castle. When he heard about the strange events, he volunteered to stay up and keep watch over the prince. As midnight approached, the soldier saw the other guards nodding off, one by one. The soldier started to feel drowsy too. Desperate to stop himself falling asleep, he took out his dagger and stabbed himself in the thigh, keeping himself awake. Whenever he felt like he was going to nod off, he would twist the knife in his wound to increase the pain and stay awake.
At midnight, the soldier watched as the sliding doors of the prince’s room parted. The beautiful geisha crept silently into the room and made her way over to the prince’s bedside. The soldier rose, his knife in hand and when the geisha turned and saw him, she left as quickly and quietly as she had come.
For the next three nights, the dutiful soldier stood guard over the sleeping prince, stabbing himself every night to stay awake. The prince’s strength began to return. When the soldier tried to tell him about the geisha, however, the prince refused to listen. He would not allow anyone to question the loyalty of his favorite girlfriend. Undeterred, the soldier made plans to get rid of the geisha himself.
That very night, the soldier knocked on the geisha’s door. He told her he had a message for her from the prince. When she opened the door, the soldier suddenly drew his dagger and tried to stab her, but she easily side-stepped his attack. The geisha transformed back into a Bake-neko and sprang at the soldier in a fury, hissing and spitting as she tried to defend herself.
The two fought wildly, but when the soldier began to get the upper hand, the Bake-neko fled, springing through the window, onto the roof and down into the garden. It managed to escape into the mountains.
The next day, the soldier told the prince what had happened. The palace gardener was digging in the flowerbeds and uncovered the body of the real geisha. Grief stricken, the prince ordered his guards to hunt down the Demon Cat. It was finally killed by the young soldier who had discovered its evil secret.
The Demon Cat (or Bake-neko) is a supernatural creature from Japanese folklore. It is an ordinary cat that has transformed into a monstrous demon. According to legend, it can shapeshift and take the form of a human being. The name Bake-neko means “Monster Cat” or “Transforming Cat”.
Long ago, in Japan, there were many superstitions surrounding cats. Many people believed that a cat could turn into a hideous demon cat, called a Bake-neko, if it lived in the same place for 13 years and if it reached over 8 pounds in weight.
They say the Demon Cat is able to walk on two legs like a human. It can also shapeshift and take on human form, sometimes devouring people and stealing their identities. The bake-neko can also reaching in through doorways with its enormous arms, looking for human prey just like a household cat pawing around in a mousehole.
A famous bake-neko story involves a man named Takasu Genbei, whose pet cat of many years went missing just as his mother’s personality changed completely. The woman shunned company and took her meals alone in her room, and when the curious family peered in on her, they saw not a human being but a feline monster in the old lady’s clothes, chewing on animal carcasses. Takasu, with much reluctance, slew what looked like his mother, and after a day had passed the body turned back into the same pet cat that had gone missing. After that Takasu miserably tore up the tatami mats and the floorboards in his mother’s room, only to find the old woman’s bones hidden there, gnawed clean of flesh.
Another famous story, called “The Devil Cat of Nabeshima”, tells of a prince who fell victim to a Bake-neko. One night, the prince was walking in the palace gardens with his favorite geisha, a girl named O Toyo. Little did they know that they were being watched by a shadowy creature who was lurking in the shadows.
After the price retired to his bedroom, the Bake-neko slipped undetected into the geisha’s apartment and waited under the bed until the girl was asleep. At midnight, the Demon Cat pounced on the sleeping woman and strangled her to death. Then, it dragged her body outside, dug a hole under the flower beds and buried her corpse in a shallow grave.
After concealing its horrible deed, the demon cat shape-shifted and took on the form of the dead geisha, fooling everyone. Each night, the Bake-neko, disguised as the geisha, slipped into the prince’s room to drink his blood.
Soon, the prince was complaining of horrible dreams. He grew very weak and pale. The doctors were baffled by his mysterious illness and the prince ordered his guards to stand in his room and keep watch over him while he slept. However, as midnight approached, the guards found themselves feeling incredibly drowsy and, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t stay awake.
Eventually, a young soldier who had served under the king came to the castle. When he heard about the strange events, he volunteered to stay up and keep watch over the prince. As midnight approached, the soldier saw the other guards nodding off, one by one. The soldier started to feel drowsy too. Desperate to stop himself falling asleep, he took out his dagger and stabbed himself in the thigh, keeping himself awake. Whenever he felt like he was going to nod off, he would twist the knife in his wound to increase the pain and stay awake.
At midnight, the soldier watched as the sliding doors of the prince’s room parted. The beautiful geisha crept silently into the room and made her way over to the prince’s bedside. The soldier rose, his knife in hand and when the geisha turned and saw him, she left as quickly and quietly as she had come.
For the next three nights, the dutiful soldier stood guard over the sleeping prince, stabbing himself every night to stay awake. The prince’s strength began to return. When the soldier tried to tell him about the geisha, however, the prince refused to listen. He would not allow anyone to question the loyalty of his favorite girlfriend. Undeterred, the soldier made plans to get rid of the geisha himself.
That very night, the soldier knocked on the geisha’s door. He told her he had a message for her from the prince. When she opened the door, the soldier suddenly drew his dagger and tried to stab her, but she easily side-stepped his attack. The geisha transformed back into a Bake-neko and sprang at the soldier in a fury, hissing and spitting as she tried to defend herself.
The two fought wildly, but when the soldier began to get the upper hand, the Bake-neko fled, springing through the window, onto the roof and down into the garden. It managed to escape into the mountains.
The next day, the soldier told the prince what had happened. The palace gardener was digging in the flowerbeds and uncovered the body of the real geisha. Grief stricken, the prince ordered his guards to hunt down the Demon Cat. It was finally killed by the young soldier who had discovered its evil secret.
Japan: Demons
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Japanese demons and ghosts from ancient mythology. I will probably write longer, individual pages about these monsters and creatures at a later time. But for the moment, here are some short descriptions of these evil spirits.
Hone-onna
Hone-onna is a skeleton woman. She hides her frightening form by keeping her back to you, but when she turns, you realize she has no face, just a bare skull. She tries to lure unwitting men into falling asleep and then, she sucks the life force out of them.
Kitsune
Kitsune is an evil spirit with the head of a fox. It disguises itself as a beautiful woman and tries to trick human beings into marrying it. If you are unlucky enough to marry Kitsune, it will feed on your life essense while you are asleep.
Shinigami
Shinigami is the Japanese version of the grim reaper. He usually appears to a dying person and brings them to the land of the dead.
Wanyudo
Wanyudo is a strange evil spirit who guards the gates of hell. He appears as a severed head on a burning wheel. He enjoys scaring people and stealing their souls whenever they come close to him.
Ningyo
Ningyo is the Japanese version of the mermaid. Instead of being beautiful, Ningyo is a creepy woman who has fish scales for skin, a face like an ape and razor-sharp teeth like a pirahna. If you’re out fishing and you catch Ningyo on your hook, you must immediately toss her back into the sea or else your family members will suffer epic misfortune or even death. If you cook and eat Ningyo, you will remain beautiful and youthful for all eternity… but your family will die.
Akaname
Akaname is a hideous creature that looks like a frog with a very long tongue. It has a single claw on each foot. He lurks in filthy bathrooms at night and licks the poop off the toilet and the floor. If you encounter him, he will use that same tongue to lick your face. Eeeeew.
Nurikabe
Nurikabe is an evil spirit who appears in the shape of a wall. He has the ability to stretch endlessly and loves to play tricks on travelers. He stretches out and blocks the roads to prevent the travelers from going through. The only way you can get through is to kick the lower area of Nurikabe to make him disappear.
Japanese demons and ghosts from ancient mythology. I will probably write longer, individual pages about these monsters and creatures at a later time. But for the moment, here are some short descriptions of these evil spirits.
Hone-onna
Hone-onna is a skeleton woman. She hides her frightening form by keeping her back to you, but when she turns, you realize she has no face, just a bare skull. She tries to lure unwitting men into falling asleep and then, she sucks the life force out of them.
Kitsune
Kitsune is an evil spirit with the head of a fox. It disguises itself as a beautiful woman and tries to trick human beings into marrying it. If you are unlucky enough to marry Kitsune, it will feed on your life essense while you are asleep.
Shinigami
Shinigami is the Japanese version of the grim reaper. He usually appears to a dying person and brings them to the land of the dead.
Wanyudo
Wanyudo is a strange evil spirit who guards the gates of hell. He appears as a severed head on a burning wheel. He enjoys scaring people and stealing their souls whenever they come close to him.
Ningyo
Ningyo is the Japanese version of the mermaid. Instead of being beautiful, Ningyo is a creepy woman who has fish scales for skin, a face like an ape and razor-sharp teeth like a pirahna. If you’re out fishing and you catch Ningyo on your hook, you must immediately toss her back into the sea or else your family members will suffer epic misfortune or even death. If you cook and eat Ningyo, you will remain beautiful and youthful for all eternity… but your family will die.
Akaname
Akaname is a hideous creature that looks like a frog with a very long tongue. It has a single claw on each foot. He lurks in filthy bathrooms at night and licks the poop off the toilet and the floor. If you encounter him, he will use that same tongue to lick your face. Eeeeew.
Nurikabe
Nurikabe is an evil spirit who appears in the shape of a wall. He has the ability to stretch endlessly and loves to play tricks on travelers. He stretches out and blocks the roads to prevent the travelers from going through. The only way you can get through is to kick the lower area of Nurikabe to make him disappear.
Japan: Face Powder
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Face Powder Hag (or Oshiroibaba) is a demon from Japanese mythology. She tries to trick pretty young girls into using her special white face powder, claiming it will make them more beautiful.
Oshiroibaba (or The Face Powder Hag) is an old woman who walks through the snow wearing an oversized hat, leaning on a cane and carrying a vial of white powder. Her wrinkled face is caked in layers of white makeup.
She appears on cold nights, asking pretty young girls if they would like to try some of her special face powder. She says that if they use it to powder their faces, it will make them more beautiful.
However, as soon as the white powder touches their faces, the girls experience a horrible burning sensation. Their skin starts peeling and their flesh starts to rot and fall from their faces, leaving nothing but a hideous skull. Oshiroibaba steals the flesh and uses it for her own purposes.
The Face Powder Hag (or Oshiroibaba) is a demon from Japanese mythology. She tries to trick pretty young girls into using her special white face powder, claiming it will make them more beautiful.
Oshiroibaba (or The Face Powder Hag) is an old woman who walks through the snow wearing an oversized hat, leaning on a cane and carrying a vial of white powder. Her wrinkled face is caked in layers of white makeup.
She appears on cold nights, asking pretty young girls if they would like to try some of her special face powder. She says that if they use it to powder their faces, it will make them more beautiful.
However, as soon as the white powder touches their faces, the girls experience a horrible burning sensation. Their skin starts peeling and their flesh starts to rot and fall from their faces, leaving nothing but a hideous skull. Oshiroibaba steals the flesh and uses it for her own purposes.
Japan: Bald Man
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Bald Man is a Japanese ghost who is known Kanbari-nyudo who is obsessed with spying on people when they are on the toilet or taking a shower.
At night, The Bald Man goes from house to house, peeking in bathroom windows and watching people while they are sitting on the toilet, taking a shower or getting undressed. He is an old, creepy-looking Japanese man and he shoves his head up against the window and drools at the mouth while he spies on you, hoping to catch you in the nude.
Years ago, there was an old man who was obsessed with seeing young girls naked. This creepy and depraved individual stalked the streets of his village at night, peeking in the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of bare flesh. When his family found out about his disgusting behavior, they were ashamed and refused to have anything to do with him. To punish him, they shaved his head and banished him from the village.
The bald man built himself a hut in the mountains and went there to live as a hermit. He did his best to stop thinking about girls and nudity, but it was no use. His sinister urges were taking him over and he was powerless to resist. Finally, he gave in to his weird compulsions and, in the dead of night, he crept into the village and kidnapped a young girl. He brought her back to his hut where he kept her tied up and did horrible things to her.
One day, while the bald man was away, a thief came across his unguarded hut and decided to steal the man’s belongings. When he went inside, he found the young girl who had been kidnapped. Taking pity on the poor girl, he untied her. Just as he was helping her escape, the bald man returned. There was a big fight, but in the end, the thief managed to kill the bald man and brought the girl back to her grateful parents.
After that, the bald man returned as a ghost and began to appear outside the girl’s house. He wore a white kimono and peered through the windows at night, frightening everyone inside. The parents were worried the ghost would attempt to kidnap her again, so they hid their daughter. From that time on, the bald man’s ghost has been going from house to house, peeping in the windows of toilets, bathrooms and bedrooms, desperately looking for young girls…
They say that if you chant his name “Kanbari Nyudo” in the bathroom, his bald head will sometimes appear in the toilet bowl. If you chant, “Ganbari Nyudo, lesser cuckoo” in your bathroom on New Year’s Eve the bald man will not trouble you again.
In one story, a young girl was going to the bathroom, late one night. She stood up and reached for the toilet paper when she heard a strange chuckling noise behind her. She turned around and saw a face pressed up against the frosted glass of her bathroom window. She could make out the features of an old, bald man and he was peeping in on her and laughing quietly to himself. The other side of the window was covered in drool.
The young girl was petrified with terror and ran out of the bathroom with her pants around her ankles, screaming for her parents. When she told her father what she had seen, he flew into a rage and ran outside to confront the disgusting old man. However, when he got to the alley behind the house, he found it empty.
Then, the father looked at the bathroom window. There were iron bars across the window and there was a 10 cm gap between the bars and the frosted glass. There was no way anyone could have pressed their face up against the glass. A chill ran down his spine as he realized that whatever was peeping at his daughter while she was on the toilet, it could not have been human.
In another story, there was a young Japanese girl who was very embarrassed about her body. One evening, she was playing volleyball with a bunch of other girls. After the game, she had to take a shower, but she was too ashamed to let anyone else see her naked. Instead, she waited until all of the other girls had finished before going into the shower herself.
Alone in the dimly-lit shower room, she dropped her towel and turned on the shower. The water pressure seemed to be weak because all that came out was a slow dribble of water. She did her best to wash herself in the weak trickle of water. Half-way through her shower, she heard the faint sound of laughter.
“Hee hee hee”.
It sounded like an old man giggling and chuckling to himself. She looked around, but shem couldn’t see anyone. She listened hard, searching for the source of the weird noise, but all she heard was silence.
The girl continued showering, until she heard the laughter again.
“Hee hee hee!”
This time, it was louder.
“Hey you creep!” she shouted. “Don’t think I can’t hear you!”
She felt so vulnerable standing naked in the shower with nothing to cover her, that decided to hurry up and finish quickly.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard the laugh again.
“HEE HEE HEE!”
This time, it was very loud. It seemed to be coming from above.
She looked up at the shower head and saw something that made her run screaming from the room.
Instead of a shower head, it was an old man’s head, poking out of the wall above. He was staring down at her, grinning creepily and drooling all over her…
The Bald Man is a Japanese ghost who is known Kanbari-nyudo who is obsessed with spying on people when they are on the toilet or taking a shower.
At night, The Bald Man goes from house to house, peeking in bathroom windows and watching people while they are sitting on the toilet, taking a shower or getting undressed. He is an old, creepy-looking Japanese man and he shoves his head up against the window and drools at the mouth while he spies on you, hoping to catch you in the nude.
Years ago, there was an old man who was obsessed with seeing young girls naked. This creepy and depraved individual stalked the streets of his village at night, peeking in the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of bare flesh. When his family found out about his disgusting behavior, they were ashamed and refused to have anything to do with him. To punish him, they shaved his head and banished him from the village.
The bald man built himself a hut in the mountains and went there to live as a hermit. He did his best to stop thinking about girls and nudity, but it was no use. His sinister urges were taking him over and he was powerless to resist. Finally, he gave in to his weird compulsions and, in the dead of night, he crept into the village and kidnapped a young girl. He brought her back to his hut where he kept her tied up and did horrible things to her.
One day, while the bald man was away, a thief came across his unguarded hut and decided to steal the man’s belongings. When he went inside, he found the young girl who had been kidnapped. Taking pity on the poor girl, he untied her. Just as he was helping her escape, the bald man returned. There was a big fight, but in the end, the thief managed to kill the bald man and brought the girl back to her grateful parents.
After that, the bald man returned as a ghost and began to appear outside the girl’s house. He wore a white kimono and peered through the windows at night, frightening everyone inside. The parents were worried the ghost would attempt to kidnap her again, so they hid their daughter. From that time on, the bald man’s ghost has been going from house to house, peeping in the windows of toilets, bathrooms and bedrooms, desperately looking for young girls…
They say that if you chant his name “Kanbari Nyudo” in the bathroom, his bald head will sometimes appear in the toilet bowl. If you chant, “Ganbari Nyudo, lesser cuckoo” in your bathroom on New Year’s Eve the bald man will not trouble you again.
In one story, a young girl was going to the bathroom, late one night. She stood up and reached for the toilet paper when she heard a strange chuckling noise behind her. She turned around and saw a face pressed up against the frosted glass of her bathroom window. She could make out the features of an old, bald man and he was peeping in on her and laughing quietly to himself. The other side of the window was covered in drool.
The young girl was petrified with terror and ran out of the bathroom with her pants around her ankles, screaming for her parents. When she told her father what she had seen, he flew into a rage and ran outside to confront the disgusting old man. However, when he got to the alley behind the house, he found it empty.
Then, the father looked at the bathroom window. There were iron bars across the window and there was a 10 cm gap between the bars and the frosted glass. There was no way anyone could have pressed their face up against the glass. A chill ran down his spine as he realized that whatever was peeping at his daughter while she was on the toilet, it could not have been human.
In another story, there was a young Japanese girl who was very embarrassed about her body. One evening, she was playing volleyball with a bunch of other girls. After the game, she had to take a shower, but she was too ashamed to let anyone else see her naked. Instead, she waited until all of the other girls had finished before going into the shower herself.
Alone in the dimly-lit shower room, she dropped her towel and turned on the shower. The water pressure seemed to be weak because all that came out was a slow dribble of water. She did her best to wash herself in the weak trickle of water. Half-way through her shower, she heard the faint sound of laughter.
“Hee hee hee”.
It sounded like an old man giggling and chuckling to himself. She looked around, but shem couldn’t see anyone. She listened hard, searching for the source of the weird noise, but all she heard was silence.
The girl continued showering, until she heard the laughter again.
“Hee hee hee!”
This time, it was louder.
“Hey you creep!” she shouted. “Don’t think I can’t hear you!”
She felt so vulnerable standing naked in the shower with nothing to cover her, that decided to hurry up and finish quickly.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard the laugh again.
“HEE HEE HEE!”
This time, it was very loud. It seemed to be coming from above.
She looked up at the shower head and saw something that made her run screaming from the room.
Instead of a shower head, it was an old man’s head, poking out of the wall above. He was staring down at her, grinning creepily and drooling all over her…
Japan: Long Hair
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Long Hair Woman or “Hari-onago” is a Japanese ghost who attacks men with her hair. She is also known as Hari-onna (The Hook Woman, The Needle Woman). In other parts of Japan, people refer to her as Nure-onago (The Smiling Woman) or Warai-onago (The Smiling Girl).
Harionago is a Japanese ghost who appears in the form of a beautiful woman with extremely long hair. She has the ability to control her hair and it snakes out like writhing tentacles. The tips of her long hair form into sharp hooks or barbs.
At night, she stalks the lonely roads and backstreets of Japan, searching for young men to attack. When she spots a young man who takes her fancy, she will smile at him. If the young man dares to return her smile, Hari-onago will unleash her terrible, barbed hair and attack him.
The sharp hooks at the end of her hair, stick into the man’s clothes and flesh, trapping him in her clutches. Once she has him ensnared with her long hair, he cannot move and she uses the hooks to cut him to pieces or tear him apart.
In many small villages in Japan, there have been numerous reports of attacks on young men by Hari-onago. One night, a boy from Yamada village happened to be walking home on his own. As he turned down a narrow street, a beautiful girl came walking towards him.
As she approached, he noticed that she was smiling at him. He thought there was something strange about her, but he was attracted by her beautiful looks and smiled back at her. When he did, her hair fell down in disarray and she pounced on him.
The boy was shocked and struggled to free himself from her clutches. Her hair rose up like tentacles and the hooks snagged on his shirt, ripping it from his back. Somehow, he managed to get away and ran back to his house as fast as he could. He locked the door behind him and stood, shaking and trembling, at the front door, waiting for dawn to arrive.
In the morning, when he dared to open the door, he found hundreds of deep scratches on the other side.
So, if you’re walking down a street at night and you see a strange woman smiling at you from the shadows, you may want to think twice before you smile back at her.
The Long Hair Woman or “Hari-onago” is a Japanese ghost who attacks men with her hair. She is also known as Hari-onna (The Hook Woman, The Needle Woman). In other parts of Japan, people refer to her as Nure-onago (The Smiling Woman) or Warai-onago (The Smiling Girl).
Harionago is a Japanese ghost who appears in the form of a beautiful woman with extremely long hair. She has the ability to control her hair and it snakes out like writhing tentacles. The tips of her long hair form into sharp hooks or barbs.
At night, she stalks the lonely roads and backstreets of Japan, searching for young men to attack. When she spots a young man who takes her fancy, she will smile at him. If the young man dares to return her smile, Hari-onago will unleash her terrible, barbed hair and attack him.
The sharp hooks at the end of her hair, stick into the man’s clothes and flesh, trapping him in her clutches. Once she has him ensnared with her long hair, he cannot move and she uses the hooks to cut him to pieces or tear him apart.
In many small villages in Japan, there have been numerous reports of attacks on young men by Hari-onago. One night, a boy from Yamada village happened to be walking home on his own. As he turned down a narrow street, a beautiful girl came walking towards him.
As she approached, he noticed that she was smiling at him. He thought there was something strange about her, but he was attracted by her beautiful looks and smiled back at her. When he did, her hair fell down in disarray and she pounced on him.
The boy was shocked and struggled to free himself from her clutches. Her hair rose up like tentacles and the hooks snagged on his shirt, ripping it from his back. Somehow, he managed to get away and ran back to his house as fast as he could. He locked the door behind him and stood, shaking and trembling, at the front door, waiting for dawn to arrive.
In the morning, when he dared to open the door, he found hundreds of deep scratches on the other side.
So, if you’re walking down a street at night and you see a strange woman smiling at you from the shadows, you may want to think twice before you smile back at her.
Japan: Human Dog
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Human Faced Dog or “Jinmenken” is an urban legend from Japan about strange sightings of dogs with human faces. They have been a part of Japanese folklore for hundreds of years.
Jinmenken are dogs with human faces. They are almost always seen at night in urban areas of Japan. Those who have seen them say they look just like an ordinary dog from afar, but when they turn around, you see that they have a human face. The Jinmenken are able to speak and often challenged witnesses in a weary voice, saying things like, “Mind your own business” or “I’m free to do whatever I want.”
In some reports, they are seen outside people’s houses, rooting through the rubbish and in other reports, they are spotted chasing cars and frightening drivers on expressways.
In one story, there was a restaurant that dumped its trash outside the back door. One night, the chef saw a stray dog rummaging through the rubbish for leftover food. He went out to get rid of the dog, but when he tried to chase it away, the dog looked back over its shoulder and said, “Leave me alone.”
In another story, a man was driving on the highway and noticed a dog in his rear view mirror. It was chasing his car as he drove at speeds over 100 miles per hour. The dog ran so fast that at one point, it was side by side with the car. The driver looked over and was shocked to see that the animal had a human face and it said, “Do not look at me.” The driver was so astonished that he veered off the road and suffered a terrible accident.
The human-faced dogs are usually thought of as being a bad omen of things to come, and are often blamed for accidents and disasters.
Between 1989 and 1990, hysteria about the Jinmenken reached its height in Japan. People were calling the police and demanding that they rid their neighborhoods of human faced dogs. Auto accidents involving a sighting of the Jinmenken were so frequent that the police had to investigate the possibility that the creatures actually existed.
XSome people believe that human-faced dogs are the spirits of traffic accident victims who have been reincarnated as dogs. Others believe they are dogs possessed by evil spirits. Some even say that the Jinmenken are the human-dog hybrids who were created in secret biological experiments and managed to escape from the laboratories.
The Human Faced Dog or “Jinmenken” is an urban legend from Japan about strange sightings of dogs with human faces. They have been a part of Japanese folklore for hundreds of years.
Jinmenken are dogs with human faces. They are almost always seen at night in urban areas of Japan. Those who have seen them say they look just like an ordinary dog from afar, but when they turn around, you see that they have a human face. The Jinmenken are able to speak and often challenged witnesses in a weary voice, saying things like, “Mind your own business” or “I’m free to do whatever I want.”
In some reports, they are seen outside people’s houses, rooting through the rubbish and in other reports, they are spotted chasing cars and frightening drivers on expressways.
In one story, there was a restaurant that dumped its trash outside the back door. One night, the chef saw a stray dog rummaging through the rubbish for leftover food. He went out to get rid of the dog, but when he tried to chase it away, the dog looked back over its shoulder and said, “Leave me alone.”
In another story, a man was driving on the highway and noticed a dog in his rear view mirror. It was chasing his car as he drove at speeds over 100 miles per hour. The dog ran so fast that at one point, it was side by side with the car. The driver looked over and was shocked to see that the animal had a human face and it said, “Do not look at me.” The driver was so astonished that he veered off the road and suffered a terrible accident.
The human-faced dogs are usually thought of as being a bad omen of things to come, and are often blamed for accidents and disasters.
Between 1989 and 1990, hysteria about the Jinmenken reached its height in Japan. People were calling the police and demanding that they rid their neighborhoods of human faced dogs. Auto accidents involving a sighting of the Jinmenken were so frequent that the police had to investigate the possibility that the creatures actually existed.
XSome people believe that human-faced dogs are the spirits of traffic accident victims who have been reincarnated as dogs. Others believe they are dogs possessed by evil spirits. Some even say that the Jinmenken are the human-dog hybrids who were created in secret biological experiments and managed to escape from the laboratories.
Japan: Yama Uba
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Yama Uba or The Mountain Witch is a demon from Japanese folklore who lives in a hut in the mountains and eats anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross her path.
She is a hideous old hag with long straggily, yellowed hair, piercing eyes, tattered clothing and a gaping mouth that stretches across her entire face.
The Mountain Witch was once a normal old woman, living in a small village in Japan. But the area experienced a terrible famine and food became scarce. Her children didn’t want to feed her anymore so they drove her out of the village and left her in the woods to die of starvation.
But Yama Uba didn’t die. She made her way up into the mountains and found shelter in a cave. Living alone for so many years gradually drove her insane and she became a cannibal, existing on the flesh of people she killed.
She built a little hut, deep in the forest, and now, to survive, she preys on travelers who become lost in the mountains. She poses as a pretty young woman and offers them shelter for the night in her hut. But once they fall asleep, she kills them and eats them. Sometimes she uses her hideous hair to entangle her victims and drag them into her giant mouth.
In some stories, the Mountain Witch offers to lead a lost traveller back onto the right path. Instead, she leads him off the edge of a cliff and he falls to his death on the rocks below. The Yama Uba then rushes down to the bottom of the cliff and hungrily feasts on the poor traveller’s remains.
Yama Uba or The Mountain Witch is a demon from Japanese folklore who lives in a hut in the mountains and eats anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross her path.
She is a hideous old hag with long straggily, yellowed hair, piercing eyes, tattered clothing and a gaping mouth that stretches across her entire face.
The Mountain Witch was once a normal old woman, living in a small village in Japan. But the area experienced a terrible famine and food became scarce. Her children didn’t want to feed her anymore so they drove her out of the village and left her in the woods to die of starvation.
But Yama Uba didn’t die. She made her way up into the mountains and found shelter in a cave. Living alone for so many years gradually drove her insane and she became a cannibal, existing on the flesh of people she killed.
She built a little hut, deep in the forest, and now, to survive, she preys on travelers who become lost in the mountains. She poses as a pretty young woman and offers them shelter for the night in her hut. But once they fall asleep, she kills them and eats them. Sometimes she uses her hideous hair to entangle her victims and drag them into her giant mouth.
In some stories, the Mountain Witch offers to lead a lost traveller back onto the right path. Instead, she leads him off the edge of a cliff and he falls to his death on the rocks below. The Yama Uba then rushes down to the bottom of the cliff and hungrily feasts on the poor traveller’s remains.
Japan: Kokkuri-san
Kokkuri-san is the most famous scary game in Japan. It is similar to the ouija board and is mostly played by Japanese schoolchildren who want to summon a spirit so they can ask questions about the future.
“Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, tell me, when is the date of my death?”
Two Japanese girls watch in breathless anticipation as a 10 Yen coin begins to slide across a sheet of paper, slowly spelling out the answer.
Kokkuri-san is Japan’s answer to the Ouija board and it has been played in schoolrooms across the country for years. The game became so widespread in Japan that it sparked several hysterias in the media and many schools officially banned students from playing Kokkuri-san.
Using a ouija board can be dangerous because it can accidentally summon demons or open people up to the possiblity of being possessed. Kokkuri-san is much less dangerous since the spirit who is summoned is a trickster spirit from the Shinto religion.
Kokkuri-san is the name of the spirit who is summoned during the game and provides the answers. It is an animal spirit that is a mixture between a fox, a dog and a raccoon. Kok = kitsune (fox), Ku = inu (dog), and Ri = tanuki (raccoon). The fox can be either a trickster or a teacher, the dog is loyal and protecting and the raccoon dog is full of mischief but also a bringer of good luck. All of these qualities are combined in Kokkuri-san.
Young people ask many questions like, “Kokkuri-san, who loves me?” or “Kokkuri-san, will I become rich and famous?”, but just remember that there are some questions you are better off not knowing the answer to.
To play Kokkuri-san, you need at least two people, a sheet of paper, a pen and a coin.
Step 1: Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a “torii” (a traditional Japanese gate) at the top in red ink. Write “YES” and “NO” on either side of the torii. Beneath this, write one row of numbers (from 0 to 9) and three rows of letters (from A to Z).
Step 2: Open a window or a door so that Kokkuri-san will be able to enter the room. The torii represents the gateway to a Shinto shrine and the spirit will enter and exit through it.
Step 3: Place a coin on the red torii. Each person should put their index finger on the coin.
Step 4: Call the spirit by saying, “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, if you’re here, please move this coin.”
Step 5: You can ask Kokkuri-san whatever questions you like. It will move the coin to spell out the answer.
Step 6: To end the game, you must ask Kokkuri-san to leave by saying, “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return home.” The coin will move to YES and then come to a rest on the red torii.
step 7: When you are certain Kokkuri has left, you must destroy the paper. Either tear it to pieces or burn it. You must also spend the coin you used before the end of the next day.
WARNING: Kokkuri-san is not dangerous and it is a much safer alternative to the ouija board. However, we still don’t recommend that you play it. Many people can become upset and depressed if they receive answers they do not like. Also, always remember that Kokkuri-san is a trickster spirit and can easily lie to you.
Japan: Himuro Mansion
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Himuro Mansion (or Himikyru Mansion) is a japanese urban legend about the dark history of a haunted house and the horrible murders of an entire family who lived there. They say that the video game Fatal Frame was based on a true story. Eager to solve the mystery, many people have scoured maps, trying to find the real location of Himuro Mansion.
According to the legend, the Himuro Mansion is a large, traditional Japanese house that is located in a rocky area somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo. The mansion became famous for being the site of the worst mass murder in the history of Japan.
The Himuro family were said to have practiced ancient and forgotten Shinto rituals that had long ago been outlawed in Japan. One of these occult rituals was called “The Strangling Ritual” and involved the sacrificial murder of a young girl. The purpose of this gruesome ritual was to protect the Himuro family from bad karma which they believed would emerge from a portal in the mansion’s courtyard.
The Strangling Ritual had to be performed every fifty years to prevent the bad karma from destroying the family. They would select a baby girl from within the family and raise her in secret. They called her “The Rope Shrine Maiden”. The girl had to be kept away from the rest of the world, in complete isolation, or else the ritual would not work.
When the time came for the ritual to be performed, they dragged her out to a shrine in the courtyard and tied ropes around her neck, her arms and her legs. Next, a team of oxen would pull the ropes in different directions, tearing the young girl’s body apart. The blood-stained ropes were then placed over a portal in the mansion’s courtyard, sealing the gateway. If the ritual was a success, it would keep the bad karma away for another half century until the ritual had to be repeated.
For generations, this tradition was passed down through the Himuro family. However, during the preparations for the last recorded ritual, something went wrong. The Rope Shrine Maiden fell in love with a young boy she saw from the window of the mansion. This was a disaster because she was supposed to remain pure and free from worldly influences. Her blood and spirit were tainted and when she was sacrificed, the ritual failed miserably because she was no longer pure.
Upon learning of the maiden’s love, the head of the Himuro family became distraught. He was responsible for the ensuring that the ritual was a success. Fearing that disaster would now befall the family, he went on an insane rampage throughout the mansion. He brutally murdered the entire Himuro family, hacking them to death with his traditional Japanese sword, the katana.
The head of the family believed that, by killing them, he was saving them from certain doom. When every person in the mansion lay dead, he fell upon his own katana, committing suicide.
The local people in the neighboring village kept quiet about the story of Himuro Mansion for decades. Ever since then, people have reported a variety of weird happenings or inexplicable phenomenon taking place on the property.
Bloody handprints and large red stains have been found splattered all over the walls inside. Ghostly apparitions have been seen both at night and in broad daylight. As legend would have it, these are the ghosts of the murdered family members. It is said that they will attempt to repeat the failed ritual using whoever is daring or foolhardy enough to enter the abandoned building.
People who enter the house are occasionally found dead, with rope marks on their arms and legs indicating that they had been bound and pulled. Others have been found torn to pieces in the underground network of tunnels that lie beneath the mansion. Nobody knows who made these tunnels or what purpose they served but stories suggest that they were involved in the Strangling Ritual.
There’s also a certain window in the house that has become infamous. They say that if you take a photo of this window, the ghostly image of a young girl in a kimono will appear in the developed photograph.
These incidents have provoked fear in the people of Tokyo, and many believe that those who venture near this area will become cursed. The deaths of seven people on the property are unexplained to this day.
The urban legend of The Himuro Mansion became popular in the west when the Japanese video game, Fatal Frame, was released in English. Ghost stories about the haunted house blew into a worldwide craze. If the legends are true, the Himuro Mansion is definitely one of the most haunted houses in Japan.
The Himuro Mansion (or Himikyru Mansion) is a japanese urban legend about the dark history of a haunted house and the horrible murders of an entire family who lived there. They say that the video game Fatal Frame was based on a true story. Eager to solve the mystery, many people have scoured maps, trying to find the real location of Himuro Mansion.
According to the legend, the Himuro Mansion is a large, traditional Japanese house that is located in a rocky area somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo. The mansion became famous for being the site of the worst mass murder in the history of Japan.
The Himuro family were said to have practiced ancient and forgotten Shinto rituals that had long ago been outlawed in Japan. One of these occult rituals was called “The Strangling Ritual” and involved the sacrificial murder of a young girl. The purpose of this gruesome ritual was to protect the Himuro family from bad karma which they believed would emerge from a portal in the mansion’s courtyard.
The Strangling Ritual had to be performed every fifty years to prevent the bad karma from destroying the family. They would select a baby girl from within the family and raise her in secret. They called her “The Rope Shrine Maiden”. The girl had to be kept away from the rest of the world, in complete isolation, or else the ritual would not work.
When the time came for the ritual to be performed, they dragged her out to a shrine in the courtyard and tied ropes around her neck, her arms and her legs. Next, a team of oxen would pull the ropes in different directions, tearing the young girl’s body apart. The blood-stained ropes were then placed over a portal in the mansion’s courtyard, sealing the gateway. If the ritual was a success, it would keep the bad karma away for another half century until the ritual had to be repeated.
For generations, this tradition was passed down through the Himuro family. However, during the preparations for the last recorded ritual, something went wrong. The Rope Shrine Maiden fell in love with a young boy she saw from the window of the mansion. This was a disaster because she was supposed to remain pure and free from worldly influences. Her blood and spirit were tainted and when she was sacrificed, the ritual failed miserably because she was no longer pure.
Upon learning of the maiden’s love, the head of the Himuro family became distraught. He was responsible for the ensuring that the ritual was a success. Fearing that disaster would now befall the family, he went on an insane rampage throughout the mansion. He brutally murdered the entire Himuro family, hacking them to death with his traditional Japanese sword, the katana.
The head of the family believed that, by killing them, he was saving them from certain doom. When every person in the mansion lay dead, he fell upon his own katana, committing suicide.
The local people in the neighboring village kept quiet about the story of Himuro Mansion for decades. Ever since then, people have reported a variety of weird happenings or inexplicable phenomenon taking place on the property.
Bloody handprints and large red stains have been found splattered all over the walls inside. Ghostly apparitions have been seen both at night and in broad daylight. As legend would have it, these are the ghosts of the murdered family members. It is said that they will attempt to repeat the failed ritual using whoever is daring or foolhardy enough to enter the abandoned building.
People who enter the house are occasionally found dead, with rope marks on their arms and legs indicating that they had been bound and pulled. Others have been found torn to pieces in the underground network of tunnels that lie beneath the mansion. Nobody knows who made these tunnels or what purpose they served but stories suggest that they were involved in the Strangling Ritual.
There’s also a certain window in the house that has become infamous. They say that if you take a photo of this window, the ghostly image of a young girl in a kimono will appear in the developed photograph.
These incidents have provoked fear in the people of Tokyo, and many believe that those who venture near this area will become cursed. The deaths of seven people on the property are unexplained to this day.
The urban legend of The Himuro Mansion became popular in the west when the Japanese video game, Fatal Frame, was released in English. Ghost stories about the haunted house blew into a worldwide craze. If the legends are true, the Himuro Mansion is definitely one of the most haunted houses in Japan.
Japan: Kappa
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Kappa is the most famous of all the legendary Japanese monsters. He resembles a cross between a monkey, a frog and a turtle.
The Kappa has the face of a monkey with the beak of a turtle and a plate-shaped depression in the top of his head. He has green skin like a frog and a turtle shell on his back. His arms and legs are able to stretch out really long and his hands and feet are webbed like a frog.
Kappas usually play pranks such as delivering loud, smelly farts and peeking up women’s dresses. However, they have also been known to commit horrible crimes like kidnapping small children and killing people and eating their internal organs.
The Kappa will lurk underwater in rivers and streams, waiting for its victims. In olden days in Japan, people would go squat by the side of a river and go to the toilet. The Kappa would swim underneath you, until it could see your big bare butt hanging over the side of the bank. Then it attacks when you least suspect it.
Sometimes the Kappa grabs your butt and drags you into the water, holding you under the surface until you drown. At other times, the Kappa sticks his elongated arm up your butt, up through your insides and grabs hold of your tongue. Then the Kappa pulls your tongue out through your butt, turning your body inside-out. Finally, as you flop around on the ground, with your skin on the inside and your guts on the outside, the Kappa takes out your liver and eats it whole.
Nowadays, since people go to the toilet indoors, the Kappa lurks in sewers and bathroom pipes. He sticks his arm up into your toilet, waiting for you to come along and sit down on the bowl. So if you’re ever sitting on the toilet and you feel something moving underneath you, jump up as fast as you can. You may just avoid being turned inside-out by a Kappa.
The Kappa is the most famous of all the legendary Japanese monsters. He resembles a cross between a monkey, a frog and a turtle.
The Kappa has the face of a monkey with the beak of a turtle and a plate-shaped depression in the top of his head. He has green skin like a frog and a turtle shell on his back. His arms and legs are able to stretch out really long and his hands and feet are webbed like a frog.
Kappas usually play pranks such as delivering loud, smelly farts and peeking up women’s dresses. However, they have also been known to commit horrible crimes like kidnapping small children and killing people and eating their internal organs.
The Kappa will lurk underwater in rivers and streams, waiting for its victims. In olden days in Japan, people would go squat by the side of a river and go to the toilet. The Kappa would swim underneath you, until it could see your big bare butt hanging over the side of the bank. Then it attacks when you least suspect it.
Sometimes the Kappa grabs your butt and drags you into the water, holding you under the surface until you drown. At other times, the Kappa sticks his elongated arm up your butt, up through your insides and grabs hold of your tongue. Then the Kappa pulls your tongue out through your butt, turning your body inside-out. Finally, as you flop around on the ground, with your skin on the inside and your guts on the outside, the Kappa takes out your liver and eats it whole.
Nowadays, since people go to the toilet indoors, the Kappa lurks in sewers and bathroom pipes. He sticks his arm up into your toilet, waiting for you to come along and sit down on the bowl. So if you’re ever sitting on the toilet and you feel something moving underneath you, jump up as fast as you can. You may just avoid being turned inside-out by a Kappa.
Japan: Kunekune
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Kunekune is a Japanese urban legend about a mysterious apparition that is sometimes seen in the countryside. In Japan people call it “kune kune” which means something that is meandering, swaying or twisting and turning. They say you should never look directly at it, or it will drive you insane.
Kunekune is described as an unidentifiable white squiggle, moving back and forth in the distance. Nobody knows exactly what it looks like because anyone who has seen it has lost their mind. One Japanese man tells of an encounter he had as a child with the kune kune:
When I was young, my parents brought my older brother and I to visit my grandfather and grandmother. We didn’t see her very much because she lived way out in the countryside, in Akita.
As soon as we arrived at our grandparents’ house, my brother and I went out to play. The air was much fresher and cleaner than it was in the city. We walked through the rice fields, enjoying the wide open spaces.
The sun was high in the sky and there was no breeze. The heat was stifling and after a while, I started to get tired.
Then, my brother stopped suddenly. He was staring at something in the distance.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“That thing over there,” he replied.
The rice fields stretched as far as the eye could see, and the area was completely deserted. I squinted my eyes, but I couldn’t make out what it was. Far away, across the fields, there was a white thing, about the size of a person. It was moving and wriggling as if it was fluttering in the breeze.
“Maybe it’s a scarecrow,” I said.
“That’s not a scarecrow,” my brother replied. “Scarecrows don’t move like that.”
“Maybe it’s a sheet, then,” I said.
“No, it’s not a sheet,” he replied. “There are no other houses around here. Besides, there’s no wind but it’s still moving and wriggling. What the heck is that thing?”
I had a strange and uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
My brother ran back to the house and when he returned, he was carrying a pair of binoculars.
“Oh! Can I see?” I asked, excitedly.
I made a grab for the binoculars, but he pushed me back.
“No, me first!” he said with a chuckle. “I’m the oldest. You can have a look when I’m done.”
As soon as my brother put the binoculars up to his eyes, I noticed his expression suddenly changed. His face grew pale and he broke out into a sweat. He dropped the binoculars on the ground and I could see fear in his eyes.
“What was it?” I asked, nervously.
My brother replied slowly.
“There it is… There it is… There it is…”
It was not my brother’s voice.
Without another word, he turned and started walking back to the house. Something didn’t feel right. With trembling hands, I bent down and picked up the binoculars, but I was too scared to look through them.
In the distance, the white object was still twisting and turning.
Just then, my grandfather came running over.
“What are you doing with those binoculars?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I replied. “Just looking at that white thing over there.”
“What?” he shouted. “You shouldn’t look at that!”
He snatched the binoculars from my grasp.
“Did you see it?” he demanded angrily. “Did you look at it through the binoculars?”
“No,” I said in a meek voice. “Not yet…”
My grandfather sighed with relief. “Good,” he said. “That’s good…”
Without knowing why, I was sent back to the house.
When I walked into the kitchen, everyone was crying. My brother was rolling aroundon the ground, laughing like a crazy person. He was on his back and his body was wriggling and twisting… just like the white thing in the distance.
I couldn’t understand what was going on. It was horrible to see him like that. I burst into tears.
He wasn’t my brother anymore. He had completely lost his mind.
The next day, my parents decided to take us home. My grandmother and grandfather stood on their porch, waving sadly to us as the car pulled away. I sat in the back seat with my brother, wiping the tears from my eyes.
My brother was still laughing like a mental patient. They had to tie him up to stop him moving around. His face was twisted into a wide smile. He looked like he was happy, but when I saw his eyes, I realized he was crying. It sent a chill down my spine. His cheeks were wet with tears but he just kept laughing and laughing…
My father pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car. He took out the binoculars and furiously smashed them on the street. Then, without saying anything, he got back into the car and kept on driving.
Another Japanese man tells of his experience with the twister (kune kune) when he was a young boy:
When I was a little boy, I lived in a small town by the sea shore in Chiba prefecture. One evening, my uncle took me for a walk on the beach. As we strolled down the strand, I looked out to sea and noticed something white in the distance. It was long and thing and swaying back and forth. I wondered what it could be.
“What’s that thing in the sea?” I asked my uncle.
He gazed at it and I saw his eyes grow wide and his face turn pale. There was a terrified look in his eyes. He couldn’t stop staring at it.
“Run for your life!” he shouted frantically.
I didn’t know what was going on, but I was scared, so I ran back home and told my grandfather. He went pale.
“That’s kune kune,” he said. “You’re lucky you got away from it. You should never look directly at it. Where is your uncle?”
“He’s still at the sea shore,” I replied, my voice shaking.
“I’ve got to rescue my son,” my grandfather said and he took off as fast as he could to the sea shore. I followed close behind him, worried and frightened.
From a distance, I could see my uncle still standing on the beach. It was as if he was frozen to the spot, staring at the white meandering thing, far out to sea. My grandfather broke a branch off a tree and approached my uncle, muttering some kind of prayer under his breath. He kept his eyes cast down, careful not to look at the white thing.
My grandfather managed to drag my uncle away and brought him home. Although my uncle was saved, he suffered from fits of madness and insanity for the rest of his life. Since it happened, he has been in and out of mental homes many times. He was never the same after that.
Kunekune is a Japanese urban legend about a mysterious apparition that is sometimes seen in the countryside. In Japan people call it “kune kune” which means something that is meandering, swaying or twisting and turning. They say you should never look directly at it, or it will drive you insane.
Kunekune is described as an unidentifiable white squiggle, moving back and forth in the distance. Nobody knows exactly what it looks like because anyone who has seen it has lost their mind. One Japanese man tells of an encounter he had as a child with the kune kune:
When I was young, my parents brought my older brother and I to visit my grandfather and grandmother. We didn’t see her very much because she lived way out in the countryside, in Akita.
As soon as we arrived at our grandparents’ house, my brother and I went out to play. The air was much fresher and cleaner than it was in the city. We walked through the rice fields, enjoying the wide open spaces.
The sun was high in the sky and there was no breeze. The heat was stifling and after a while, I started to get tired.
Then, my brother stopped suddenly. He was staring at something in the distance.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“That thing over there,” he replied.
The rice fields stretched as far as the eye could see, and the area was completely deserted. I squinted my eyes, but I couldn’t make out what it was. Far away, across the fields, there was a white thing, about the size of a person. It was moving and wriggling as if it was fluttering in the breeze.
“Maybe it’s a scarecrow,” I said.
“That’s not a scarecrow,” my brother replied. “Scarecrows don’t move like that.”
“Maybe it’s a sheet, then,” I said.
“No, it’s not a sheet,” he replied. “There are no other houses around here. Besides, there’s no wind but it’s still moving and wriggling. What the heck is that thing?”
I had a strange and uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
My brother ran back to the house and when he returned, he was carrying a pair of binoculars.
“Oh! Can I see?” I asked, excitedly.
I made a grab for the binoculars, but he pushed me back.
“No, me first!” he said with a chuckle. “I’m the oldest. You can have a look when I’m done.”
As soon as my brother put the binoculars up to his eyes, I noticed his expression suddenly changed. His face grew pale and he broke out into a sweat. He dropped the binoculars on the ground and I could see fear in his eyes.
“What was it?” I asked, nervously.
My brother replied slowly.
“There it is… There it is… There it is…”
It was not my brother’s voice.
Without another word, he turned and started walking back to the house. Something didn’t feel right. With trembling hands, I bent down and picked up the binoculars, but I was too scared to look through them.
In the distance, the white object was still twisting and turning.
Just then, my grandfather came running over.
“What are you doing with those binoculars?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I replied. “Just looking at that white thing over there.”
“What?” he shouted. “You shouldn’t look at that!”
He snatched the binoculars from my grasp.
“Did you see it?” he demanded angrily. “Did you look at it through the binoculars?”
“No,” I said in a meek voice. “Not yet…”
My grandfather sighed with relief. “Good,” he said. “That’s good…”
Without knowing why, I was sent back to the house.
When I walked into the kitchen, everyone was crying. My brother was rolling aroundon the ground, laughing like a crazy person. He was on his back and his body was wriggling and twisting… just like the white thing in the distance.
I couldn’t understand what was going on. It was horrible to see him like that. I burst into tears.
He wasn’t my brother anymore. He had completely lost his mind.
The next day, my parents decided to take us home. My grandmother and grandfather stood on their porch, waving sadly to us as the car pulled away. I sat in the back seat with my brother, wiping the tears from my eyes.
My brother was still laughing like a mental patient. They had to tie him up to stop him moving around. His face was twisted into a wide smile. He looked like he was happy, but when I saw his eyes, I realized he was crying. It sent a chill down my spine. His cheeks were wet with tears but he just kept laughing and laughing…
My father pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car. He took out the binoculars and furiously smashed them on the street. Then, without saying anything, he got back into the car and kept on driving.
Another Japanese man tells of his experience with the twister (kune kune) when he was a young boy:
When I was a little boy, I lived in a small town by the sea shore in Chiba prefecture. One evening, my uncle took me for a walk on the beach. As we strolled down the strand, I looked out to sea and noticed something white in the distance. It was long and thing and swaying back and forth. I wondered what it could be.
“What’s that thing in the sea?” I asked my uncle.
He gazed at it and I saw his eyes grow wide and his face turn pale. There was a terrified look in his eyes. He couldn’t stop staring at it.
“Run for your life!” he shouted frantically.
I didn’t know what was going on, but I was scared, so I ran back home and told my grandfather. He went pale.
“That’s kune kune,” he said. “You’re lucky you got away from it. You should never look directly at it. Where is your uncle?”
“He’s still at the sea shore,” I replied, my voice shaking.
“I’ve got to rescue my son,” my grandfather said and he took off as fast as he could to the sea shore. I followed close behind him, worried and frightened.
From a distance, I could see my uncle still standing on the beach. It was as if he was frozen to the spot, staring at the white meandering thing, far out to sea. My grandfather broke a branch off a tree and approached my uncle, muttering some kind of prayer under his breath. He kept his eyes cast down, careful not to look at the white thing.
My grandfather managed to drag my uncle away and brought him home. Although my uncle was saved, he suffered from fits of madness and insanity for the rest of his life. Since it happened, he has been in and out of mental homes many times. He was never the same after that.
Japan: Oiwa
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Oiwa is one of the most famous Japanese ghost stories ever written. In Japan, it is known
as “Yotsuya Kaidan” and it tells the story of a woman who is poisoned by her unfaithful husband. Her disfigured ghost returns from the dead to exact revenge.
Oiwa – Yotsuya Kaidan
Oiwa was a beautiful young woman who lived in a small town in Japan. Her boyfriend’s name was Iemon and although he didn’t have much money, Oiwa loved him very much. She was overjoyed when her childhood sweetheart asked her to marry him. After the wedding, they moved in together and the happy couple were soon expecting a baby. Oiwa didn’t care that Iemon was poor, but, as time went on, he became angry and depressed about his lack of prospects.
Iemon soon grew to hate his happy young wife and started an affair with a rich young woman named Oume. He romanced her for months and eventually, she fell in love with him, despite his poverty and the fact that he was already married.
One day, Oume’s father came to see Iemon. He told Iemon what a shame it was that he was already married, because his daughter loved him very much. The father went on to tell him all the ways that he could ensure his future son in law’s wealth and success. Iemon listened intently.
Iemon spent a great deal of time thinking about what Oume’s father had told him. An evil plot began to form in his mind. He decided that the only way he could marry Oume was to somehow get rid of Oiwa and her unborn child. He thought that the easiest way to do this was to secretly poison Oiwa and make it look like she had died of natural causes. Poor Oiwa was totally ignorant of her husband’s murderous plans. Blissfully unaware of the fate that was about to befall her, she continued to happily prepare for the birth of their baby.
One evening, when Oiwa and Iemon were sitting down to eat dinner, she noticed her husband was strangely quiet and nervous. She encouraged him to eat his dinner, but he would not touch his food. He yelled at Oiwa and told her to stop fretting and eat her own meal. She needed to be strong for the baby, he said. Oiwa finally gave up trying to tempt Iemon’s appetite and started to eat her dinner. It wasn’t long before she felt very sick.
Iemon watched her coldly as the poison did its work, not offering her any help or comfort. But Oiwa did not die right away. Her beautiful face became disfigured from the poison first. Then she slipped into unconsciousness. Iemon was too much of a coward to finish the job he started, so he put Oiwa’s lifeless body in bed. Eventually Oiwa woke from her coma, remembering nothing of the poisoning. She had lost her baby, and her face was ugly and terrible, but Oiwa lived.
Iemon was desperate. He played the part of the concerned husband, but he was looking for any way possible to rid himself of his wife. One evening he took Oiwa for a long walk. They made their way to a cliff, and Iemon looked around to see if anyone was nearby. No one was in sight.
Iemon pushed Oiwa off the ledge. Her broken body was recovered and Iemon gave her the best funeral he could afford, spending all of his money in a great show of marital devotion. Of course, Iemon knew his money troubles were only temporary now that Oiwa was gone.
Thinking his worries were over, Iemon planned his wedding to Oume. The night before the marriage was to take place, Iemon noticed his bedside lamp was dimming. He looked at it curiously, as it seemed to be changing. The disfigured face of Oiwa suddenly replaced the lamp, growing larger and larger in the room. “Betrayal!” it hissed.
Iemon grabbed a stick and swung at the face, but Oiwa disappeared and the lamp smashed and fell to the floor. Iemon thought he heard the faint laughter of a woman from outside. Shaken, Iemon convinced himself that the vision was simply the result of drinking too much alcohol earlier in the evening, and went to bed.
The next day, Iemon had forgotten all about the specter from the night before. He and Oume were wed. When he lifted her veil, however, her beautiful young face was replaced with Oiwa’s horrible visage. “Betrayal!” she hissed.
The horrified Iemon drew his sword and swung it at the ghostly apparition, cutting Oiwa’s head off. The severed head rolled down the aisle of the church, but when it came to a stop, it had Oume’s face and not Oiwa’s. He heard the faint sound of laughter again.
Iemon ran to his tiny house, looking for a place to hide. There was a pounding at the door, and Oume’s grandfather demanded that he open it. When Iemon did so, Oiwa was standing there. “Betrayal!” she hissed.
Once again, Iemon tried to decapitate her, but when his sword finished its work, it was Oume’s grandfather that lay dead.
Iemon ran for the cliffs, Oiwa’s laughter following him. He stopped at the edge and looked down, perhaps changing his mind.
It didn’t matter. Passersby reported seeing a woman push Iemon off the cliff before she jumped after him, laughing all the way down.
Oiwa is one of the most famous Japanese ghost stories ever written. In Japan, it is known
as “Yotsuya Kaidan” and it tells the story of a woman who is poisoned by her unfaithful husband. Her disfigured ghost returns from the dead to exact revenge.
Oiwa – Yotsuya Kaidan
Oiwa was a beautiful young woman who lived in a small town in Japan. Her boyfriend’s name was Iemon and although he didn’t have much money, Oiwa loved him very much. She was overjoyed when her childhood sweetheart asked her to marry him. After the wedding, they moved in together and the happy couple were soon expecting a baby. Oiwa didn’t care that Iemon was poor, but, as time went on, he became angry and depressed about his lack of prospects.
Iemon soon grew to hate his happy young wife and started an affair with a rich young woman named Oume. He romanced her for months and eventually, she fell in love with him, despite his poverty and the fact that he was already married.
One day, Oume’s father came to see Iemon. He told Iemon what a shame it was that he was already married, because his daughter loved him very much. The father went on to tell him all the ways that he could ensure his future son in law’s wealth and success. Iemon listened intently.
Iemon spent a great deal of time thinking about what Oume’s father had told him. An evil plot began to form in his mind. He decided that the only way he could marry Oume was to somehow get rid of Oiwa and her unborn child. He thought that the easiest way to do this was to secretly poison Oiwa and make it look like she had died of natural causes. Poor Oiwa was totally ignorant of her husband’s murderous plans. Blissfully unaware of the fate that was about to befall her, she continued to happily prepare for the birth of their baby.
One evening, when Oiwa and Iemon were sitting down to eat dinner, she noticed her husband was strangely quiet and nervous. She encouraged him to eat his dinner, but he would not touch his food. He yelled at Oiwa and told her to stop fretting and eat her own meal. She needed to be strong for the baby, he said. Oiwa finally gave up trying to tempt Iemon’s appetite and started to eat her dinner. It wasn’t long before she felt very sick.
Iemon watched her coldly as the poison did its work, not offering her any help or comfort. But Oiwa did not die right away. Her beautiful face became disfigured from the poison first. Then she slipped into unconsciousness. Iemon was too much of a coward to finish the job he started, so he put Oiwa’s lifeless body in bed. Eventually Oiwa woke from her coma, remembering nothing of the poisoning. She had lost her baby, and her face was ugly and terrible, but Oiwa lived.
Iemon was desperate. He played the part of the concerned husband, but he was looking for any way possible to rid himself of his wife. One evening he took Oiwa for a long walk. They made their way to a cliff, and Iemon looked around to see if anyone was nearby. No one was in sight.
Iemon pushed Oiwa off the ledge. Her broken body was recovered and Iemon gave her the best funeral he could afford, spending all of his money in a great show of marital devotion. Of course, Iemon knew his money troubles were only temporary now that Oiwa was gone.
Thinking his worries were over, Iemon planned his wedding to Oume. The night before the marriage was to take place, Iemon noticed his bedside lamp was dimming. He looked at it curiously, as it seemed to be changing. The disfigured face of Oiwa suddenly replaced the lamp, growing larger and larger in the room. “Betrayal!” it hissed.
Iemon grabbed a stick and swung at the face, but Oiwa disappeared and the lamp smashed and fell to the floor. Iemon thought he heard the faint laughter of a woman from outside. Shaken, Iemon convinced himself that the vision was simply the result of drinking too much alcohol earlier in the evening, and went to bed.
The next day, Iemon had forgotten all about the specter from the night before. He and Oume were wed. When he lifted her veil, however, her beautiful young face was replaced with Oiwa’s horrible visage. “Betrayal!” she hissed.
The horrified Iemon drew his sword and swung it at the ghostly apparition, cutting Oiwa’s head off. The severed head rolled down the aisle of the church, but when it came to a stop, it had Oume’s face and not Oiwa’s. He heard the faint sound of laughter again.
Iemon ran to his tiny house, looking for a place to hide. There was a pounding at the door, and Oume’s grandfather demanded that he open it. When Iemon did so, Oiwa was standing there. “Betrayal!” she hissed.
Once again, Iemon tried to decapitate her, but when his sword finished its work, it was Oume’s grandfather that lay dead.
Iemon ran for the cliffs, Oiwa’s laughter following him. He stopped at the edge and looked down, perhaps changing his mind.
It didn’t matter. Passersby reported seeing a woman push Iemon off the cliff before she jumped after him, laughing all the way down.
Japan: White String
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The White String is a strange urban legend from Japan about ear piercing. During the 1980s, this legend was popular in japan and a lot of kids were afraid to get their ears pierced because they believed the legend was true.
A young girl desperately wanted to get her ears pierced. Her parents said she was too young, but she pleaded with them, saying that all the other girls in her class had pierced ears. Eventually, her parents relented and agreed to let her do it. They gave her some money and told her to go the the local mall and get her ears pierced in a jewelery store.
Instead, the girl decided to keep the money and do the piercing herself. She got her best friend to help her do it. They heated up a large needle and stuck it through both of the girl’s earlobes. It was quite painful, but in the end, her ears were pierced and she was delighted to be able to wear earrings.
However, a few days later, the girl was in school when she began to feel a pain in her left ear. Her earlobe was extremely itchy. During break time she went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her earlobe was red and inflamed. She began scratching at it.
When she looked closely, she saw what looked like the end of a piece of white string sticking out of the hole in her earlobe. Thinking it was very strange, she started picking and pulling at it. After a few minutes, there was a long piece of white string hanging out of her piercced earlobe. There didn’t seem to be any end to it.
Finally, she got a pair of scissors and cut the string.
Suddenly, everything went black. She couldn’t see.
She was rushed to the emergency room of the local hospital where a doctor examined her. When she told the doctor what had happened, he was shocked.
“I’m sorry, you will be blind for the rest of your life”, he said. “That wasn’t white string. That was your optic nerve.”
The White String is a strange urban legend from Japan about ear piercing. During the 1980s, this legend was popular in japan and a lot of kids were afraid to get their ears pierced because they believed the legend was true.
A young girl desperately wanted to get her ears pierced. Her parents said she was too young, but she pleaded with them, saying that all the other girls in her class had pierced ears. Eventually, her parents relented and agreed to let her do it. They gave her some money and told her to go the the local mall and get her ears pierced in a jewelery store.
Instead, the girl decided to keep the money and do the piercing herself. She got her best friend to help her do it. They heated up a large needle and stuck it through both of the girl’s earlobes. It was quite painful, but in the end, her ears were pierced and she was delighted to be able to wear earrings.
However, a few days later, the girl was in school when she began to feel a pain in her left ear. Her earlobe was extremely itchy. During break time she went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her earlobe was red and inflamed. She began scratching at it.
When she looked closely, she saw what looked like the end of a piece of white string sticking out of the hole in her earlobe. Thinking it was very strange, she started picking and pulling at it. After a few minutes, there was a long piece of white string hanging out of her piercced earlobe. There didn’t seem to be any end to it.
Finally, she got a pair of scissors and cut the string.
Suddenly, everything went black. She couldn’t see.
She was rushed to the emergency room of the local hospital where a doctor examined her. When she told the doctor what had happened, he was shocked.
“I’m sorry, you will be blind for the rest of your life”, he said. “That wasn’t white string. That was your optic nerve.”
Japan: Sadako
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Sadako Yamamura is the ghost girl from the Ring movies who appears in a cursed video tape. Her story was based on a real girl named Sadako who was a psychic and lived in Japan in the early 1900s. Her psychic ability was that she was able to project words and images onto film.
When Sadako was a young girl, she was very melancholy and depressed. She seldom spoke and never played with other children, spending all of her time alone.
Sadako’s mother was a psychic and she conducted several experiments with a psychic researcher named Dr Fukurai. When the doctor published the results of his experiments, other scientists accused Sadako’s mother of being a fraud and said she faked her psychic abilities.
Sadako’s mother was so distraught by all the criticism that she committed suicide.
Sadako was devastated by her mother’s death and lived with her father on a remote island. As she grew older, she began to develop psychic powers of her own. When her father learned of her psychic powers, he brought her to Dr. Fukurai in Tokyo.
The doctor forced Sadako to participate in many experiments that involved using her mind to make words and images appear on photographic film. In Japan, they call this “Nensha” which means Thought-photography or Thoughtography. Sadako produced a number of these “thoughtographs” and nobody could explain how it was done.
Dr Fukurai wanted to publish another book, but remembering what had happened to her mother, Sadako refused. She told him she was going to leave and would never return.
Nobody knows for sure what happened after that. Some people believe that the doctor murdered Sadako. They say he lured her out to the woods near the hospital and strangled her. Then, he threw her body down a nearby well and sealed it with large rocks to keep her hidden forever.
However, Sadako was not really dead. When she woke up, she was trapped in the well and couldn’t get out. She attempted to escape by scaling the walls but failed every time, breaking off her nails and fingertips in the process.
The poor girl survived in the well for seven days before she finally died with her heart full of hate. With her last breath, she vowed to have her revenge on the world.
Sadako’s rage and terror and the manner in which she died combined with her psychic powers to create a terrible curse or “grudge”. This resulted in a series of inexplicable images being projected onto a mysterious unmarked videotape.
Sadako appears in the videotape as a shadowy young woman dressed in a white gown. Her face is covered by long black hair. They say that if you watch the video, you will die in seven days.
The only way to avoid the curse is to make a copy of the videotape and give it to somebody else.
Sadako Yamamura is the ghost girl from the Ring movies who appears in a cursed video tape. Her story was based on a real girl named Sadako who was a psychic and lived in Japan in the early 1900s. Her psychic ability was that she was able to project words and images onto film.
When Sadako was a young girl, she was very melancholy and depressed. She seldom spoke and never played with other children, spending all of her time alone.
Sadako’s mother was a psychic and she conducted several experiments with a psychic researcher named Dr Fukurai. When the doctor published the results of his experiments, other scientists accused Sadako’s mother of being a fraud and said she faked her psychic abilities.
Sadako’s mother was so distraught by all the criticism that she committed suicide.
Sadako was devastated by her mother’s death and lived with her father on a remote island. As she grew older, she began to develop psychic powers of her own. When her father learned of her psychic powers, he brought her to Dr. Fukurai in Tokyo.
The doctor forced Sadako to participate in many experiments that involved using her mind to make words and images appear on photographic film. In Japan, they call this “Nensha” which means Thought-photography or Thoughtography. Sadako produced a number of these “thoughtographs” and nobody could explain how it was done.
Dr Fukurai wanted to publish another book, but remembering what had happened to her mother, Sadako refused. She told him she was going to leave and would never return.
Nobody knows for sure what happened after that. Some people believe that the doctor murdered Sadako. They say he lured her out to the woods near the hospital and strangled her. Then, he threw her body down a nearby well and sealed it with large rocks to keep her hidden forever.
However, Sadako was not really dead. When she woke up, she was trapped in the well and couldn’t get out. She attempted to escape by scaling the walls but failed every time, breaking off her nails and fingertips in the process.
The poor girl survived in the well for seven days before she finally died with her heart full of hate. With her last breath, she vowed to have her revenge on the world.
Sadako’s rage and terror and the manner in which she died combined with her psychic powers to create a terrible curse or “grudge”. This resulted in a series of inexplicable images being projected onto a mysterious unmarked videotape.
Sadako appears in the videotape as a shadowy young woman dressed in a white gown. Her face is covered by long black hair. They say that if you watch the video, you will die in seven days.
The only way to avoid the curse is to make a copy of the videotape and give it to somebody else.
Japan: Long Neck
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The Long Neck Woman, or “Rokurokubi”, is a Japanese urban legend about female creatures that look and act like normal humans. But at night their necks grow longer and longer, freeing their heads to move around almost independently from their bodies. Most Rokurokubi are young, attractive women, and they take pleasure in scaring regular humans.
Some Long Neck Rokurokubi actually prefer to live their lives pretending to be a human. Although they may appear to be completely normal people, every night, their necks grow and grow, getting longer and longer, stretching out through windows in search of human prey.
Sometimes, the Long Neck Woman will get so tired searching for her prey all night long that she forgets to retract her neck and falls asleep with her neck completely stretched out. During the day, the Rokurokubi has one giveaway sign – she will have pale stretch marks on her neck.
There is also another, more sinister form of Rokurokubi. This version is called Nukekubi or “Removeable Head Woman”. She has a head that completely detaches from her body. The disembodied head then flies around in the air at night searching for humans to eat.
These Nukekubi attempt to hide their bodies at night, and can be killed if their bodies are discovered while the heads are not attached. In fact, if you find a Nukekubi’s body without a head, you should hide the body so that she can never find it.
Japan: No Face
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This Japanese urban legend is called “No Face” and is about Nopperabou, a creature from Japanese folklore.
Though the No Face is able to appear to others like a normal person, this is just an illusion. The Nopperabou really lacks eyes, a nose or a mouth. Instead of normal human features, nopperabou have only smooth skin. People who encounter nopperabou usually do not immediately realize that they are talking to something that is otherworldly, as the creatures are able to create the illusion that they have a normal human face.
A nopperabou will wait for the right moment before causing their features to disappear, scaring the person they are speaking with. People usually run into nopperabou at night in lonely rural settings, although they can appear anywhere as long as the area is deserted. The nopperabou’s primary purpose is to scare humans, but beyond that they do not seem to have any sort of agenda.
One famous nopperabou story is Lafcadio Hearn’s Mujina. The story is short and deftly describes an encounter with a nopperabou, but it is also the source of much confusion. In the story, Hearn refers to the creatures as mujina, which is actually a different type of creature altogether (a sort of badger). This mistake has caused a lot of Western readers to mix up the names for nopperabou and mujina, and even today you will run across authors and scholars that are using the wrong name. Regardless, the story itself is a very typical tale of nopperabou mischief.
This Japanese urban legend is called “No Face” and is about Nopperabou, a creature from Japanese folklore.
Though the No Face is able to appear to others like a normal person, this is just an illusion. The Nopperabou really lacks eyes, a nose or a mouth. Instead of normal human features, nopperabou have only smooth skin. People who encounter nopperabou usually do not immediately realize that they are talking to something that is otherworldly, as the creatures are able to create the illusion that they have a normal human face.
A nopperabou will wait for the right moment before causing their features to disappear, scaring the person they are speaking with. People usually run into nopperabou at night in lonely rural settings, although they can appear anywhere as long as the area is deserted. The nopperabou’s primary purpose is to scare humans, but beyond that they do not seem to have any sort of agenda.
One famous nopperabou story is Lafcadio Hearn’s Mujina. The story is short and deftly describes an encounter with a nopperabou, but it is also the source of much confusion. In the story, Hearn refers to the creatures as mujina, which is actually a different type of creature altogether (a sort of badger). This mistake has caused a lot of Western readers to mix up the names for nopperabou and mujina, and even today you will run across authors and scholars that are using the wrong name. Regardless, the story itself is a very typical tale of nopperabou mischief.
Japan: Yuki Onna
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Yuki-onna (or The Snow Woman) is a classic ghost story legend from Japan about a young man who encounters a mysterious woman in the snow. She turns out to be an evil spirit who agrees to spare his life under one condition. It is also known as “The Snow Ghost” or The Snow Witch.
Yuki-onna
In a small town in Japan, there lived two hunters named Mosaku and Minokichi. Mosaku was an old man and Minokichi, his son, was sixteen years old. Every day, they went out together into the forest and hunted rabbits and other animals which they would bring home and cook for dinner.
One cold evening in Winter, Mosaku and Minokichi were on their way home when they got caught in a blinding snowstorm. They couldn’t find their way out of the forest and became very worried that they would freeze to death. Luckily, they came across an abandoned cabin in the wilderness where they could take shelter for the night and wait for the snowstorm to pass.
It was a tiny hut and there was no fireplace or any way to make a fire. Mosaku and Minokichi fastened the door, and lay down to rest, shivering with their coats pulled tightly around them. They hoped that the storm would soon be over.
The father immediately fell into a deep sleep but the boy, Minokichi, lay awake a long time, listening to the wind whistling through the loose boards of the old cabin and the snow beating against the door. The ramshackle hut swayed and creaked in the storm and Minokichi shivered under his coat until, at last, in spite of the cold, he managed to fall asleep.
He was awakened by the feeling of snow falling on his face. When he opened his eyes, he could see that the door of the hut had been forced open. He saw a strange figure standing in the moonlight. It was a woman, dressed all in white. She was bending over his father and breathing on him. Her breath was like a bright white smoke. Suddenly, she turned to Minokichi, and stooped over him. He tried to cry out, but found that he could not utter any sound. The white woman bent down over him, lower and lower, until her face almost touched his own.
She was very beautiful, but her eyes were glowing yellow. He was terrified and she continued to stare at him as she whispered “I am the Snow Witch. I was going to kill you, but you’re such a pretty boy, I will let you live. But if you ever tell anybody, even your own mother, about what you have seen, I will kill you. Never forget this warning!”
With these words, she turned around and floated through the doorway. The boy jumped up and looked outside, but the snow witch was nowhere to be seen and the snowstorm was still raging, driving snow into the hut. Minokichi closed the door, and wedged a log against it to keep it closed. He began to wonder if he had jest been dreaming. Perhaps the snow witch was a figment of his imagination.
He called out to his father, but the old man did not answer. The boy put out his hand in the dark, and touched his father’s face. It was completely frozen. His father was dead.
By dawn, the snowstorm was over and Minokichi had to drag the frozen corpse of his father back into town. He was devastated by the death of his beloved Dad and remained ill from the effects of the cold for a long time. He had been so frightened by the snow witch that he didn’t tell anyone about her. The police assumed his father had frozen to death in the forest and never asked any questions. He said nothing about the vision of the woman in white to his mother either, fearing that the ghost would return and kill him as well.
As soon as he was well again, he returned to hunting in the forest every day. He had to put food on the table somehow. At nightfall, he would come back with dead rabbits, which his mother helped him to cook.
One year later, in the middle of winter, he was on his way home, when he met a girl who happened to be traveling on the same road. She was tall, thin and very good-looking. As they walked down the road together, they began to talk. The girl said that her name was O-Yuki and she had recently lost both of her parents. She was on her way to her uncle’s house, where she hoped to live for a while until she could find a job. Minokichi was very attracted to this strange girl and the more he looked at her, the more beautiful she appeared to be.
They dated for a few weeks and gradually fell in love. Then Minokichi asked O-Yuki to come to his house for dinner so she could meet his mother. After some hesitation, she went there with him and his mother found the girl very pleasant and friendly. Eventually, the young couple got married and O-Yuki came to live in Minokichi’s house permanently.
When Minokichi’s mother died, a year later, her last words were words of affection and praise for the wife of her son. And O-Yuki bore Minokichi ten children, boys and girls,– handsome children all of them, and very fair of skin.
The country-folk thought O-Yuki a wonderful person, by nature different from themselves. Most of the peasant-women age early; but O-Yuki, even after having become the mother of ten children, looked as young and fresh as on the day when she had first come to the village.
One night, after the children had gone to sleep, O-Yuki was sewing by the light of a paper lamp; and Minokichi, watching her, said:–
“To see you sewing there, with the light on your face, makes me think of a strange thing that happened when I was a lad of eighteen. I then saw somebody as beautiful and white as you are now — indeed, she was very like you.”…
Without lifting her eyes from her work, O-Yuki responded:–
“Tell me about her… Where did you see her?
Then Minokichi told her about the terrible night in the ferryman’s hut,– and about the White Woman that had stooped above him, smiling and whispering,– and about the silent death of old Mosaku. And he said:–
“Asleep or awake, that was the only time that I saw a being as beautiful as you. Of course, she was not a human being; and I was afraid of her,– very much afraid,– but she was so white!… Indeed, I have never been sure whether it was a dream that I saw, or the Woman of the Snow.”…
O-Yuki flung down her sewing, and arose, and bowed above Minokichi where he sat, and shrieked into his face:–
“It was I — I — I! Yuki it was! And I told you then that I would kill you if you ever said one work about it!… But for those children asleep there, I would kill you this moment! And now you had better take very, very good care of them; for if ever they have reason to complain of you, I will treat you as you deserve!”…
Even as she screamed, her voice became thin, like a crying of wind;– then she melted into a bright white mist that spired to the roof-beams, and shuddered away through the smoke-hold… Never again was she seen.
Yuki-onna (or The Snow Woman) is a classic ghost story legend from Japan about a young man who encounters a mysterious woman in the snow. She turns out to be an evil spirit who agrees to spare his life under one condition. It is also known as “The Snow Ghost” or The Snow Witch.
Yuki-onna
In a small town in Japan, there lived two hunters named Mosaku and Minokichi. Mosaku was an old man and Minokichi, his son, was sixteen years old. Every day, they went out together into the forest and hunted rabbits and other animals which they would bring home and cook for dinner.
One cold evening in Winter, Mosaku and Minokichi were on their way home when they got caught in a blinding snowstorm. They couldn’t find their way out of the forest and became very worried that they would freeze to death. Luckily, they came across an abandoned cabin in the wilderness where they could take shelter for the night and wait for the snowstorm to pass.
It was a tiny hut and there was no fireplace or any way to make a fire. Mosaku and Minokichi fastened the door, and lay down to rest, shivering with their coats pulled tightly around them. They hoped that the storm would soon be over.
The father immediately fell into a deep sleep but the boy, Minokichi, lay awake a long time, listening to the wind whistling through the loose boards of the old cabin and the snow beating against the door. The ramshackle hut swayed and creaked in the storm and Minokichi shivered under his coat until, at last, in spite of the cold, he managed to fall asleep.
He was awakened by the feeling of snow falling on his face. When he opened his eyes, he could see that the door of the hut had been forced open. He saw a strange figure standing in the moonlight. It was a woman, dressed all in white. She was bending over his father and breathing on him. Her breath was like a bright white smoke. Suddenly, she turned to Minokichi, and stooped over him. He tried to cry out, but found that he could not utter any sound. The white woman bent down over him, lower and lower, until her face almost touched his own.
She was very beautiful, but her eyes were glowing yellow. He was terrified and she continued to stare at him as she whispered “I am the Snow Witch. I was going to kill you, but you’re such a pretty boy, I will let you live. But if you ever tell anybody, even your own mother, about what you have seen, I will kill you. Never forget this warning!”
With these words, she turned around and floated through the doorway. The boy jumped up and looked outside, but the snow witch was nowhere to be seen and the snowstorm was still raging, driving snow into the hut. Minokichi closed the door, and wedged a log against it to keep it closed. He began to wonder if he had jest been dreaming. Perhaps the snow witch was a figment of his imagination.
He called out to his father, but the old man did not answer. The boy put out his hand in the dark, and touched his father’s face. It was completely frozen. His father was dead.
By dawn, the snowstorm was over and Minokichi had to drag the frozen corpse of his father back into town. He was devastated by the death of his beloved Dad and remained ill from the effects of the cold for a long time. He had been so frightened by the snow witch that he didn’t tell anyone about her. The police assumed his father had frozen to death in the forest and never asked any questions. He said nothing about the vision of the woman in white to his mother either, fearing that the ghost would return and kill him as well.
As soon as he was well again, he returned to hunting in the forest every day. He had to put food on the table somehow. At nightfall, he would come back with dead rabbits, which his mother helped him to cook.
One year later, in the middle of winter, he was on his way home, when he met a girl who happened to be traveling on the same road. She was tall, thin and very good-looking. As they walked down the road together, they began to talk. The girl said that her name was O-Yuki and she had recently lost both of her parents. She was on her way to her uncle’s house, where she hoped to live for a while until she could find a job. Minokichi was very attracted to this strange girl and the more he looked at her, the more beautiful she appeared to be.
They dated for a few weeks and gradually fell in love. Then Minokichi asked O-Yuki to come to his house for dinner so she could meet his mother. After some hesitation, she went there with him and his mother found the girl very pleasant and friendly. Eventually, the young couple got married and O-Yuki came to live in Minokichi’s house permanently.
When Minokichi’s mother died, a year later, her last words were words of affection and praise for the wife of her son. And O-Yuki bore Minokichi ten children, boys and girls,– handsome children all of them, and very fair of skin.
The country-folk thought O-Yuki a wonderful person, by nature different from themselves. Most of the peasant-women age early; but O-Yuki, even after having become the mother of ten children, looked as young and fresh as on the day when she had first come to the village.
One night, after the children had gone to sleep, O-Yuki was sewing by the light of a paper lamp; and Minokichi, watching her, said:–
“To see you sewing there, with the light on your face, makes me think of a strange thing that happened when I was a lad of eighteen. I then saw somebody as beautiful and white as you are now — indeed, she was very like you.”…
Without lifting her eyes from her work, O-Yuki responded:–
“Tell me about her… Where did you see her?
Then Minokichi told her about the terrible night in the ferryman’s hut,– and about the White Woman that had stooped above him, smiling and whispering,– and about the silent death of old Mosaku. And he said:–
“Asleep or awake, that was the only time that I saw a being as beautiful as you. Of course, she was not a human being; and I was afraid of her,– very much afraid,– but she was so white!… Indeed, I have never been sure whether it was a dream that I saw, or the Woman of the Snow.”…
O-Yuki flung down her sewing, and arose, and bowed above Minokichi where he sat, and shrieked into his face:–
“It was I — I — I! Yuki it was! And I told you then that I would kill you if you ever said one work about it!… But for those children asleep there, I would kill you this moment! And now you had better take very, very good care of them; for if ever they have reason to complain of you, I will treat you as you deserve!”…
Even as she screamed, her voice became thin, like a crying of wind;– then she melted into a bright white mist that spired to the roof-beams, and shuddered away through the smoke-hold… Never again was she seen.
Japan: Kashima Reiko
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Kashima Reiko is a Japanese urban legend about the ghost of a woman with no legs who haunts school bathrooms. Warning: They say that after you hear the story of Kashima Reiko, she will appear to you within a month. If you don’t want to see her, don’t read this.
Kashima Reiko is the ghost of a woman who lived in the city of Hokkaido, in Japan. One night, she was attacked by a group of men. The beat her badly, abused her horribly and then left her for dead.
She tried to call for help but nobody heard her. She tried to find someone to help her, but she crawled onto a railway track and collapsed, unconcious. The train came along and ran her over, killing her and cutting her in two. Her body was severed at the waist.
Ever since then, Kashima Reiko’s vengeful ghost has wandered the world, searching for her missing legs. She is mainly encountered in school bathrooms, but also may appear in your bathroom at home in the middle of the night.
When you enter the bathroom, she will ask you questions. If you cannot answer her questions correctly, she will tear off your legs.
If she asks “Where are my legs?”, the answer is “On the Meishin Expressway.”
She will say “Who told you that?” You should reply “Kashima Reiko told me that.”
Sometimes she asks a trick question, “Do you know my name?” Do not say “Kashima” or she will kill you. The correct answer is “Mask Death Demon”. Ka-Shi-ma stands for Ka = Kamen (Mask), Shi = Shinin (dead person), Ma = Ma (Demon).
It is said that after you hear the story of Kashima Reiko, she will appear to you within a month.
Kashima Reiko is a Japanese urban legend about the ghost of a woman with no legs who haunts school bathrooms. Warning: They say that after you hear the story of Kashima Reiko, she will appear to you within a month. If you don’t want to see her, don’t read this.
Kashima Reiko is the ghost of a woman who lived in the city of Hokkaido, in Japan. One night, she was attacked by a group of men. The beat her badly, abused her horribly and then left her for dead.
She tried to call for help but nobody heard her. She tried to find someone to help her, but she crawled onto a railway track and collapsed, unconcious. The train came along and ran her over, killing her and cutting her in two. Her body was severed at the waist.
Ever since then, Kashima Reiko’s vengeful ghost has wandered the world, searching for her missing legs. She is mainly encountered in school bathrooms, but also may appear in your bathroom at home in the middle of the night.
When you enter the bathroom, she will ask you questions. If you cannot answer her questions correctly, she will tear off your legs.
If she asks “Where are my legs?”, the answer is “On the Meishin Expressway.”
She will say “Who told you that?” You should reply “Kashima Reiko told me that.”
Sometimes she asks a trick question, “Do you know my name?” Do not say “Kashima” or she will kill you. The correct answer is “Mask Death Demon”. Ka-Shi-ma stands for Ka = Kamen (Mask), Shi = Shinin (dead person), Ma = Ma (Demon).
It is said that after you hear the story of Kashima Reiko, she will appear to you within a month.
Japan: Kayako
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Kayako is a scary Japanese urban legend about a woman who was murdered by her husband and came back as a vengeful ghost. This story appeared in the movie The Grudge (or Ju-on in Japan).
When Kayako was a young girl, her parents neglected her. She spent most of her time feeling depressed and lonely. She didn’t have any friends and the other children at school thought she was creepy and made fun of her.
Kayako grew up and got married to a man named Taeko Saeki. She felt like he was the only person in the world who cared about her. They lived a happy life together and she gave birth to a little boy named Toshio.
One day, her husband was snooping around in their bedroom and found her diary. When he read it, he became convinced that she was cheating on him. When she came home from work and went upstairs, he was waiting for her, holding a knife. He attacked her, beating her and slashing her viciously right in front of their young son.
Kayako tried to flee, but her husband chased her. He was almost out of his mind with rage. Covered with blood, she slipped and fell, breaking her ankle. Desperate to excape, she crawled down the stairs, but when she reached the front door, her husband grabbed her. He took her head in both his hands and twisted it around, breaking her neck.
Kayako was still alive, but she was paralysed. The only sound she could make was a hoarse death rattle. Her husband dragged her upstairs, put her in a black plastic bag and left her in the attic to die. Then he got their son and drowned him in the bathtub and stuffed his body in a closet.
Because she died in such pain, anguish and rage, Kayako came back as a vengeful ghost. She appeared to her husband and strangled him with her hair. He was found lying in the street and the police thought he took his own life.
Ever since then, Kayako’s ghost haunts the house in which she died. They say that if you go into that house, you will hear Kayako’s hoarse, choked death rattle. Then, you will see her crawling down the stairs, covered in blood and rolling her broken neck around with a sickening cracking sound.
Kayako is a scary Japanese urban legend about a woman who was murdered by her husband and came back as a vengeful ghost. This story appeared in the movie The Grudge (or Ju-on in Japan).
When Kayako was a young girl, her parents neglected her. She spent most of her time feeling depressed and lonely. She didn’t have any friends and the other children at school thought she was creepy and made fun of her.
Kayako grew up and got married to a man named Taeko Saeki. She felt like he was the only person in the world who cared about her. They lived a happy life together and she gave birth to a little boy named Toshio.
One day, her husband was snooping around in their bedroom and found her diary. When he read it, he became convinced that she was cheating on him. When she came home from work and went upstairs, he was waiting for her, holding a knife. He attacked her, beating her and slashing her viciously right in front of their young son.
Kayako tried to flee, but her husband chased her. He was almost out of his mind with rage. Covered with blood, she slipped and fell, breaking her ankle. Desperate to excape, she crawled down the stairs, but when she reached the front door, her husband grabbed her. He took her head in both his hands and twisted it around, breaking her neck.
Kayako was still alive, but she was paralysed. The only sound she could make was a hoarse death rattle. Her husband dragged her upstairs, put her in a black plastic bag and left her in the attic to die. Then he got their son and drowned him in the bathtub and stuffed his body in a closet.
Because she died in such pain, anguish and rage, Kayako came back as a vengeful ghost. She appeared to her husband and strangled him with her hair. He was found lying in the street and the police thought he took his own life.
Ever since then, Kayako’s ghost haunts the house in which she died. They say that if you go into that house, you will hear Kayako’s hoarse, choked death rattle. Then, you will see her crawling down the stairs, covered in blood and rolling her broken neck around with a sickening cracking sound.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Japan: Kuchisake-Onna
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Kuchisake Onna, also known as The Slit-Mouth Woman, is a scary Japanese urban legend about a disfigured Japanese woman who brandishes a large scissors and preys on children. She has an enormous slit mouth, which extends from ear to ear in a horrible, permanent smile.
The Slit Mouth Woman walks the streets of Japan, wearing a surgical mask and hunting for children. If you cross her path, she will stop you and ask you a question. If you give her the wrong answer, there will be horrible consequences.
Picture the scene. You are walking home from school and your path takes you down a deserted city street. Suddenly, you hear a faint noise coming from the shadows. You glance over and see a beautiful woman standing there. She has long black hair and is wearing a beige trenchcoat. A surgical mask covers the lower half of her face. In Japan, wearing a surgical mask is not uncommon during flu season, to prevent spreading germs.
She steps out of the shadows and blocks your path.
“Am I beautiful?” she asks.
Before you can answer, she tears off her mask, revealing a hideously deformed face. Her huge mouth is sliced from ear to ear and gapes open revealing rows of sharp teeth and a big red disgusting tongue twisting and twirling inside.
“Am I beautiful NOW?” she screams.
Terrified, you struggle to answer her. If you say “No”, she pulls out a huge pair of scissors and kills you immediately, chopping off your head. If you say “Yes”, she takes her scissors and slices your mouth from ear to ear, making you look just like her. If you try to run away, she will hunt you down and kill you, by slicing you in two.
The only way to escape from Kuchisake Onna is to give a non-committal answer. If you say “You look average” or you look normal, she will be confused, giving you just enough time to run away.
There are many rumors about how Kuchisake Onna got her horribly disfigured mouth. Some say that her slit mouth is the result of plastic surgery that went horribly wrong. Others say that she was injured in a terrible car crash. Some even believe she is an escaped mental patient who was so demented that she cut her own mouth apart.
According to one legend, years ago, in Japan, there lived a very beautiful woman who was extremely vain and self-absorbed. Her husband was a very jealous and brutal man and he became convinced that she was cheating on him. In a fit of rage, he took a sword and slit her mouth from ear to ear, screaming “Who will think you’re beautiful now?” She became a vengeful spirit, and began wandering the streets of Japan, wearing a surgical mask to hide her terrible scars.
The Slit Mouth Woman’s reign of terror began in the spring and summer of 1979, when rumors began to spread throughout Japan about sightings of the Kuchisake-onna hunting down children. The story spread like wildfire and actually created scares in many towns. Police increased their patrols and schools sent teachers to walk students home in groups.
In 2004, South Korea was plagued by reports of a red-masked woman who was chasing children.
In 2007, a coroner found some old records from the late 1970s about a woman who was chasing little children, but was hit by a car, and died shortly after. Her mouth was ripped from ear to ear.
The USA has its own version of Kuchisake Onna. There were rumors about a clown who appeared in public bathrooms and accosted children, asking “Do you want death or happy smile?” if they chose “happy smile”, he took out a knife and slit their mouths from ear to ear.
Kuchisake Onna, also known as The Slit-Mouth Woman, is a scary Japanese urban legend about a disfigured Japanese woman who brandishes a large scissors and preys on children. She has an enormous slit mouth, which extends from ear to ear in a horrible, permanent smile.
The Slit Mouth Woman walks the streets of Japan, wearing a surgical mask and hunting for children. If you cross her path, she will stop you and ask you a question. If you give her the wrong answer, there will be horrible consequences.
Picture the scene. You are walking home from school and your path takes you down a deserted city street. Suddenly, you hear a faint noise coming from the shadows. You glance over and see a beautiful woman standing there. She has long black hair and is wearing a beige trenchcoat. A surgical mask covers the lower half of her face. In Japan, wearing a surgical mask is not uncommon during flu season, to prevent spreading germs.
She steps out of the shadows and blocks your path.
“Am I beautiful?” she asks.
Before you can answer, she tears off her mask, revealing a hideously deformed face. Her huge mouth is sliced from ear to ear and gapes open revealing rows of sharp teeth and a big red disgusting tongue twisting and twirling inside.
“Am I beautiful NOW?” she screams.
Terrified, you struggle to answer her. If you say “No”, she pulls out a huge pair of scissors and kills you immediately, chopping off your head. If you say “Yes”, she takes her scissors and slices your mouth from ear to ear, making you look just like her. If you try to run away, she will hunt you down and kill you, by slicing you in two.
The only way to escape from Kuchisake Onna is to give a non-committal answer. If you say “You look average” or you look normal, she will be confused, giving you just enough time to run away.
There are many rumors about how Kuchisake Onna got her horribly disfigured mouth. Some say that her slit mouth is the result of plastic surgery that went horribly wrong. Others say that she was injured in a terrible car crash. Some even believe she is an escaped mental patient who was so demented that she cut her own mouth apart.
According to one legend, years ago, in Japan, there lived a very beautiful woman who was extremely vain and self-absorbed. Her husband was a very jealous and brutal man and he became convinced that she was cheating on him. In a fit of rage, he took a sword and slit her mouth from ear to ear, screaming “Who will think you’re beautiful now?” She became a vengeful spirit, and began wandering the streets of Japan, wearing a surgical mask to hide her terrible scars.
The Slit Mouth Woman’s reign of terror began in the spring and summer of 1979, when rumors began to spread throughout Japan about sightings of the Kuchisake-onna hunting down children. The story spread like wildfire and actually created scares in many towns. Police increased their patrols and schools sent teachers to walk students home in groups.
In 2004, South Korea was plagued by reports of a red-masked woman who was chasing children.
In 2007, a coroner found some old records from the late 1970s about a woman who was chasing little children, but was hit by a car, and died shortly after. Her mouth was ripped from ear to ear.
The USA has its own version of Kuchisake Onna. There were rumors about a clown who appeared in public bathrooms and accosted children, asking “Do you want death or happy smile?” if they chose “happy smile”, he took out a knife and slit their mouths from ear to ear.
Japan: Hyosube
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The short, humanoid demons are tiny, belligerent, and bad news. If you see one, you will die — and they are more than happy for you to see them. They don't try and hide, they wander as they want. And they'll eat all the eggplants in your garden, and trample your field just to be assholes. About the only thing you can do to avoid accidentally seeing a Hyosube is leave some eggplants out for them willingly, and even that's a 50/50 shot at best. Oh, and sometime Hyosube will use your bathtub, leaving behind a huge amount of dirt, hair and scum. If you throw out the bathtub water, the Hyosube will fucking kill you. Just buy a new tub.
The short, humanoid demons are tiny, belligerent, and bad news. If you see one, you will die — and they are more than happy for you to see them. They don't try and hide, they wander as they want. And they'll eat all the eggplants in your garden, and trample your field just to be assholes. About the only thing you can do to avoid accidentally seeing a Hyosube is leave some eggplants out for them willingly, and even that's a 50/50 shot at best. Oh, and sometime Hyosube will use your bathtub, leaving behind a huge amount of dirt, hair and scum. If you throw out the bathtub water, the Hyosube will fucking kill you. Just buy a new tub.
Japan: Bake-Kujira
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Japan may still get in trouble for whaling, but rest assured the country knows its wrong. Because when a whale is killed it could come back as a Bake-Kujira — an animated whale skeleton that surfaces much like it did in life. While spotting a living whale is considered very lucky, just one look at a Bake0Kujira is enough to give you and your village plague, famine, fire, and/or many other disasters.
Japan may still get in trouble for whaling, but rest assured the country knows its wrong. Because when a whale is killed it could come back as a Bake-Kujira — an animated whale skeleton that surfaces much like it did in life. While spotting a living whale is considered very lucky, just one look at a Bake0Kujira is enough to give you and your village plague, famine, fire, and/or many other disasters.
Japan: Isonade
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Imagine a shark. Now imagine a shark whose fins were like a cheese grater, except instead of cheese they grated your flesh. That's the Isonade, who use their teeth and fins to both fillet you and then drag you down to the ocean floor, if you're unlucky enough to meet one in the water.
Imagine a shark. Now imagine a shark whose fins were like a cheese grater, except instead of cheese they grated your flesh. That's the Isonade, who use their teeth and fins to both fillet you and then drag you down to the ocean floor, if you're unlucky enough to meet one in the water.
Japan: Ittan-Momen
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
The Ittan-Momen doesn't sound particularly scary; it's basically a sentient roll of cotton that just flies around in the wind at night, wandering around. But the Ittan-Momen is also a sadistic asshole, because if it sees you, it will either wraps itself around your neck and choke you to death, or wrap itself around your head and suffocate you. Again, the idea that you can be walking back from the convenience store and suddenly get murdered by a large piece of cloths is deeply disconcerting to me.
The Ittan-Momen doesn't sound particularly scary; it's basically a sentient roll of cotton that just flies around in the wind at night, wandering around. But the Ittan-Momen is also a sadistic asshole, because if it sees you, it will either wraps itself around your neck and choke you to death, or wrap itself around your head and suffocate you. Again, the idea that you can be walking back from the convenience store and suddenly get murdered by a large piece of cloths is deeply disconcerting to me.
Japan: Oshiroibaba
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
One of the many, many horrible demon women that apparently wander around the nation unfettered, Oshirobaba is an old crone that goes around asking girls if they'd like to try some of her face powder, like the world's creepiest Avon lady. Taking make-up from strangers is bad idea in general, and taking it from old ladies is even dumber, because the Oshirobaba's powder makes your face fall off.
One of the many, many horrible demon women that apparently wander around the nation unfettered, Oshirobaba is an old crone that goes around asking girls if they'd like to try some of her face powder, like the world's creepiest Avon lady. Taking make-up from strangers is bad idea in general, and taking it from old ladies is even dumber, because the Oshirobaba's powder makes your face fall off.
Japan: Kekkai
http://lorekeepersinn.blogspot.com/
Childbirth seems difficult enough before you bring in the possibility that you may give birth to some kind of demon/monster/thing. In Japan, these are called Sankei, and the worst of them is the Kekkai. Basically, instead of giving birth to a baby, a lady gives birth to a lump of flesh and blood and hair, when immediately runs off, straight out of the vagina, and tries to burrow underneath its mother's home in order to murder her later. No wonder Japan's birth rate is declining.
Childbirth seems difficult enough before you bring in the possibility that you may give birth to some kind of demon/monster/thing. In Japan, these are called Sankei, and the worst of them is the Kekkai. Basically, instead of giving birth to a baby, a lady gives birth to a lump of flesh and blood and hair, when immediately runs off, straight out of the vagina, and tries to burrow underneath its mother's home in order to murder her later. No wonder Japan's birth rate is declining.
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