The phenomenon resembles a dissociative disorder (depersonalization), and blaming a ghost helped explain all abnormal moves of the body, justify inexplicable emotions or compulsions, or when the presence of someone else was felt. It haunts places or people, and wanders until its owner finds peace, only then can it come back to the body. Ikiryo 生霊 is like the doppelganger of a person who felt such a strong emotion that their soul left their body and appeared in an ethereal form. It reeks of blood and won’t stop until it finds its own head. They wander in cemeteries at night, and they can be mistaken for an ordinary man until one notices that the approaching silhouette is strange and does not have a head. Kubikajiri 首かじり is a headless monster that eats people’s or corpses’ heads. Well, nobody is willing to have a half-bird half human demon shrieking around one’s ears. This yokai is powerful enough to frighten superstitious priests, who take great care of each funerals. Despite the body being buried, the deceased spirit seeks to avenge the neglect it suffered. Onmoraki 陰摩羅鬼 is born from a deceased who did not have proper funerals. Other legends say that Taka Onna only stalk people going to brothels.
It is also said that it only wants to observe people who are jealous and women who are not attractive, who they follow or trick to get revenge on them.
It is renowned for using this ability to stare into people’s houses through the window. Taka Onna たか女 is a spirit that looks like an ordinary woman, but can stretch up to the point of looking like a snake. In any case, they do not come out unscathed. Akateko brings bad luck for the one who encountered it: it can be a simple tripping or a high fever. Originating from Aomori area in the north of Honshu, the hand falls from the tree when someone draws near. Akateko (赤手児)Īkateko (赤 red, 手 hand, 児 small child) is a… child’s red hand hanging from a branch by a ligament – but nobody actually knows what the hand is attached to. The Japanese are certainly peerless when it comes to creating chilling stories from very simple elements. In the same idea, let us discover a few yokai 妖怪 and other frightening Japanese spirits. Preventing children from walking alone or being too trusting with strangers are among the interpretations of the Little Red Riding Hood’s purpose for example. As a matter of fact, raising fear or belief is sometimes necessary to have people obey. Tales, legends and all kinds of moralistic narrative help explain all the things that do not function as expected in the society or in nature. Folklore, as much as rituals, can help explain natural phenomenons and maintain the social order.
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