Top 10 Scary Japanese Urban Legends
Starting off at number 10 we have Teke-Teke. This is the Urban Legend about a girl who fell under a train and was cut in half. She became a vengeful spirit that moves using her hands and elbows, dragging herself while making the sound -Tek-Tek- … if you hear that noise, youre supposed to run. Those who are caught by the Tek Tek will recieve a fate like her - shes said to slash her victims in half so that they look like her, and possibly become wandering vengeful spirits as she is.
At number 9 now we have the Slit Mouthed Woman. You may recognise this one from a number of Japanese movies and TV shows. The traditional name for this being is Kuchi-sake-onna and dates back over 300 years ago. She is a woman who was brutally mutilated by her husband after he found she was having an affair with another Samurai. This left her in death as a restless spirit. She is said to cover her mouth with a cloth mask, a fan or a scarf. If you approach her, shell ask you if you think shes pretty. If you answer yes, she will remove the mask and when the victim screams they will be slashed from ear to ear until they look like her. Even if you say no, shes said to follow you home and brutally murder you that night.
Next up at number 8 we have Daruma-san. This urban legend is more of an old game passed down through the years. You shower in a bath, turn off the lights and chant -Daruma-san fell down- while you wash your hair … its said that you will see a woman in your mind. She is Daruma-San. Shell be standing up in a bath. Youll see her slip and fall onto an old rusty tap. It goes straight through her eye and kills her. Then, you will feel her ghostly presence behind you. If you turn around - there she is. Black tangled hair, rotting clothes, one eye is bloodshot and the other is just a bloody, hollow eye socket. The game continues even further than that if you dare, but I think thats enough for you to understand this creepy urban legend.
At number 7 now we have the Girl From The Gap. This Japanese story comes from peoples natural fear of what lies lurking in the cracks of a home. Do you ever see something move past the hinge of a door? Is that someone looking out from inside your wardrobe? Have you ever pictured a hand reaching out from between your bed and the floor? Well it could be the girl from the gap - a spirit that lives both physically and metaphorically -between worlds-. Its said that if you ever see her, she will ask if you want to play hide and seek. At that point the game is on. When you her between a gap again, shell drag you to an other worldly hell.
At number 6 now we have The Red Room. This is a very modern Japanese urban legend about a pop up ad thats red with black test. In a childs voice, it simply repeats the phrase -Do you like?-. A boy who got the popup tried to close it but it kept reappearing. Then, it changed to -Do you like red?- … he keeps trying to close it but it grows large and changes again to say -Do you like the red room?- … then, the site changes. All red and black. It has a list of names on it - his friends is at the bottom. And hand reaches out towards the boys neck from a video. tHE Ending gets even more twisted but guess what, its based on a real website. Its still out there. If you can find it, youll know the gruesome legend of the red room and if the horrible ending comes true for you.
Moving on to number 5 we have The Human Pillars. This legend dates back to ancient times in Japan where its known as Hito-bashira. Back then, there was a belief that a human sacrifice sealed inside a structure would make a foundation more stable. This means that many old Japanese buildings are said to contain the spirits of the people who were sacrificed during their construction. One famous example is Matsue Castle where a woman was sealed inside the foundations during its construction. Now her spirit is said to haunt the castle and whenever a woman dances there, the castle shakes violently. Many building owners in Japan are open about their building being a Human Pillar.
Next up at number 4 we have The Snake Woman. This one comes from the old Japanese folklore pf Nure-onna which translates to wet woman. She is often described as having the head of a woman and the body of a snake - with long claws, snake eyes and jet black hair. She carries with her a childlike bundle to lure in her victims. If a person tries to pick up the baby, they find its not a child at all. The bundle then becomes very heavy and stops the victim from fleeing. The snake woman then uses her long tongue to suck all of the blood from the victims body until they die.
At number 3 now we have Onibaba. She is a demon women that often appears in Japanese folk folklore. She will often appear as an old woman asking for help but if you get to close, she will slice you open with a knife and eat you. She is said to be the tormented spirit of a woman who accidently killed her pregnant daughter and unborn grandchild in an effort to find a cure for her friends child being sick. She was told to bring them the liver of an unborn child but when she finally killed her victims, she found they were her own family.
At number 2 now we have The Dream School. This one is extra creepy because apparently if you don't forget it within a week - it will happen to you. Lets see if this is true. One night, a boy had a dream about a school. The hallways looped forever, bringing him back to the start. Staircases led back to the first floor. As he got scared, he heard footsteps behind him. He ran until he found an emergency exit with a glass box and a key next to it. The glass had been smashed and there was a note saying it could be found in room 108. When he found that room, it was empty - no students - but there were backpacks hanging off every chair. There was a pounding on the door. He opened it, terrified, to find the hallways covered with dead children. Its said that he never woke up from his dream and if you don't forget the story in one week, youll meet the same fate. Don't worry though guys
And finally at number 1 we have Onryo. This is a traditional Japanese belief about a vengeful spirt that can and will physically hurt the living. Its a very scary concept if youre only familiar with the western idea of ghosts which don't really take solid forms and so cant hurt humans with physical contact. Thats not true for an Onryo. They are vengeful and full of hate, stopping at nothing to enact the suffering they received when they were alive. For any of you guys who have seen The Grudge, this spirit is the influence for that creepy girl in that movie.