Scary Japanese urban legends & myths which inspired many famous horror movies, anime and manga. They will send a chill down your spine. Years ago in Japan, there was a tradition where people would gather in a room and light 100 candles. After that they would start telling scary tales and ghost stories. And with the end of each story, they would extinguish a candle. And the room would grow darker and darker. And at the end of the final ghost story, the room would be in complete darkness. So let’s light a few candles and read on:  .......

 

Kappa

         A Kappa ("river-child"), alternatively called kawatarō ("river-boy"), komahiki (“horse puller”), or kawako ("river-child"), is a yōkai found in Japanese folklore. The name is a combination of the word kawa (river) and wappa, an inflection of warabe (child). In Shintō they are considered to be one of many suijin (“water deity”), their yorishiro, or one of their temporary appearances. A hairy kappa is called a Hyōsube. There are more than eighty other names associated with the kappa in different regions, including kawappa, gawappa, kōgo, mizushi, mizuchi, enkō, kawaso, suitengu, and dangame. Along with the oni and the tengu, the kappa is among the best-known yōkai in Japan.
       Kappa are similar to Finnish Näkki, Scandinavian/Germanic näck/neck, Slavic vodník and Scottish kelpie, in that all have been used to warn children of the dangers lurking in rivers and lakes.
       It has been suggested that the kappa legends are based on the Japanese giant salamander or hanzaki, an aggressive salamander that grabs its prey with its powerful jaws.

Kitsune

      Kitsune (IPA: [kitsɯne] ( listen) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. According to Yōkai folklore, all foxes have the ability to shape shift into women. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.
         Foxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as its messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

Human transformations

           There are a large number of yōkai who were originally ordinary human beings, transformed into something horrific and grotesque usually during an extremely emotional state. Women suffering from intense jealousy, for example, were thought to transform into the female oni represented by hannya masks. Other examples of human transformations or humanoid yōkai are:

A)  Rokuro-kubi (humans able to elongate their necks during the night)

B)  Ohaguro-bettari (a figure, usually female, that turns to reveal a face with only a blackened mouth)



 

    C)  Futakuchi-onna (a woman with a voracious extra mouth on the back of her head)

       D)  Dorotabō (the risen corpse of a farmer, who haunts his abused land)

 

 

 

 

 

Tsukumogami

Tsukumogami are an entire class of yōkai and obake, comprising ordinary household items that have come to life on the one-hundredth anniversary of their birthday. This virtually unlimited classification includes:



Bakezōri

A)  Bakezōri (straw sandals)

B)  Biwa-bokuboku (a lute)

C)  Burabura (a paper lantern)



D)  Karakasa (old umbrellas)

E)  Kameosa (old sake jars) 

Mokumokuren

  F)  Morinji-no-kama (tea kettles)

   G)  Mokumokuren (paper screens with eyes)

 

Oni

           One of the most well-known aspects of Japanese folklore is the oni, which has traits of demons and ogres, usually depicted with red, blue, brown or black skin, two horns on its head, a wide mouth filled with fangs, and wearing nothing but a tigerskin loincloth.
      It often carries an iron    kanabo or a giant sword. Oni are depicted as evil.

Yōkai

        Yōkai (ghost, phantom, strange apparition) are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "bewitching; attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious". They can also be called ayakashi, mononoke, or mamono. Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them. Often they possess animal features (such as the Kappa, which is similar to a turtle, or the Tengu which has wings), other times they can appear mostly human, some look like inanimate objects and others have no discernible shape. Yōkai usually have a spiritual supernatural power, with shapeshifting being one of the most common. Yōkai that have the ability to shapeshift are called obake.
            Japanese folklorists and historians use yōkai as "supernatural or unaccountable phenomena to their informants". In the Edo period, many artists, such as Toriyama Sekien, created yōkai inspired by folklore or their own ideas, and in the present, several yōkai created by them (e.g. Kameosa and Amikiri, see below) are wrongly considered as being of legendary origin.
         There are a wide variety of yōkai in Japanese folklore. In general, yōkai is a broad term, and can be used to encompass virtually all monsters and supernatural beings, even including creatures from European folklore on occasion.

Ikiryō

      In Japanese folklore, not only the dead are able to manifest their reikon for a haunting.

     Living creatures possessed by extraordinary jealousy or rage can release their spirit as an ikiryō, a living ghost that can enact its will while still alive.
   
       The most famous example of an ikiryo is Rokujo no Miyasundokoro, from the novel The Tale of Genji.

Yūrei

             Yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore, analogous to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (yū), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit." Alternative names include Bōrei meaning ruined or departed spirit, Shiryō meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing Yōkai or Obake.

      While all Japanese ghosts are called yūrei, within that category there are several specific types of phantom, classified mainly by the manner they died or their reason for returning to Earth.

A) Onryō:            Vengeful ghosts who come back from purgatory for a wrong done to them during their lifetime.

B) Ubume:           A mother ghost who died in childbirth, or died leaving young children behind. This yūrei returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets.

C) Goryō:          Vengeful ghosts of the aristocratic class, especially those who were martyred.

D) Funayūrei:       The ghosts of those who died at sea. These ghosts are sometimes depicted as scaly fish-like humanoids and some may even have a form similar to that of a mermaid or merman.

E) Zashiki-warashi:   The ghosts of children, often mischievous rather than dangerous.

F) Samurai Ghosts:    Veterans of the Genpei War who fell in battle. Warrior Ghosts almost exclusively appear in Noh Theater. Unlike most other yūrei, these ghosts are usually shown with legs.

G) Seductress Ghosts:  The ghost of a woman or man who initiates a post-death love affair with a living human, as seen in Botan Dōrō.

JAPANEESE EERIE CREATURES....

NOW ALONG WITH INDIANS,

JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY AND FLOKLORE ARE FAMOUS TOO.

SO NOW WE WILL SEE SOME JAPANEESE EERIE CREATURES....

VETALA (BETALA) 

 

         The vetala vamire is an evil spirit in Indian folklore who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses.

DAITYAS (GIANTS)

 

              In Hinduism, the giants are called Daityas. They were a race who fought against the gods because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers. Some Daityas from Hindu mythology include Kumbhakarna and Hiranyaksha.

BHUTA (GAYAL)

       
        The Hindu Bhūta is a type of evil spirit. It is especially the evil ghost of a man who has died due to execution, accident, or suicide. Generally thought of as a male spirit who had returned from the grave unable to rest as the burial rites had not been correctly carried out on the deceased. This angry spirit would attack members of his family in revenge for their religious malpractice.

RAKSHASAS
         
              A Rakshasa is a type of demon that exists in both Hindu and Buddhist folklore and mythology as well as religion - they are seen as man-eaters and cannibals as well as wicked creatures akin to the Western concept of devils, they have conflicting origins depending on the text but are generally believed (at least in Hindu texts) to have been particularly wicked humans who were transformed into their demonic state via reincarnation - despite their largely negative nature it was believed that their were good Rakshasas as well as evil ones.

                 FOR DETAILED INFO CLICK HEAR....

CHUDEL(DAYEN)

           A chudel, also spelled as churail, is a female ghost of South Asian folklore and well known in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The word "churel" is also used colloquially for a witch. Women who die in childbirth or pregnancy due to the negligence of her relatives are often described turning into churels, who return to seek their vendetta and suck the blood of their male relatives.

                FOR DETAILED INFO CLICK HEAR .....    

 Bhoot (ghost) 


             A bhoot or bhut is a supernatural creature, usually the GHOST of a deceased person, in the popular culture, literature and some ancient texts of the Indian region. Interpretations of how bhoots come into existence vary by region and community, but they are usually considered to be confused and restless due to some factor that prevents them from moving on to the afterlife, this could be a violent death, unsettled matters in their lives, or simply the failure of their survivors to perform proper funerals.
                  
                      FOR DETAILED INFO CLICK HEAR.....  

MY FIRST BLOG……
              Now there are various things to discuss about….lets stat with “GHOSTS”, now there are various type of ghosts, I have had heard about. I have read about various types of ghosts in Indian culture as well as western and eastern cultures…… NOW I WOULD BE SHARING EVERYTHING I KNOW, JUST BE PATIENT AND WAITE FOR MY NEXT BLOG.........

GHOSTS IN INDIAN CULTURE….

 

ABOUT.......

     I have heard about the horrors and terrifying being, as they are some creepy beings, which lurk in the dark. When I was young my grandma always told me not to go in the dark. I too feared the dark but I was always doing what I was told not to. Still after all my efforts I wasn’t actually able to find any solid proof of their existence till now after all these years ……

    Still I have had learned a lot about them, just by hearing stories and reading encounters with supernatural beings and I have had collected some interesting data and facts that I am going to share with you guyz.. AND ALL MY FRIENDS ON THE INTERNET....

     Hopefully u enjoy it….