Japanese horror stories are famous around the world, filled with spooky characters and chilling tales. These stories often feature ghosts, known as “yurei”, and monsters, called “yokai”. One popular story is about the “Yamamba”, who look like harmless old women but are actually scary mountain yokai. They trick travelers into their homes, only to turn them into their next meal!
Another tale tells of the “Jorogumo”, a half-woman, half-spider yokai. She can transform into a beautiful woman to lure unsuspecting men, only to trap them in her web. These stories are not just for scaring people, but they also teach important lessons about curiosity and caution.
Beware, for these stories can take you on a journey you will never forget. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous Japanese horror stories.
1. The Child-Rearing Ghost
A young woman visits a closed candy store every day, spending a penny to buy candy. The shop owner feels sorry for her and gives her candy in exchange for a traditional Japanese haori coat. But when a man passing by the street asks about the coat, the shop owner reveals the events of the past week.
Following the man to an old cemetery, they hear a baby crying from a grave. They dig it up and find the body of a woman holding a newborn baby and eating candy. The coins buried with the girl have disappeared.
The man reveals that this is his daughter’s grave, who died before she became a mother. He picks up the baby and says to his dead daughter, “I will definitely raise this child for you.” The child later becomes a high monk.
But what happened to the coins? And what other secrets does this haunted cemetery hold? The answer may lie in the yokai that haunt these lands.
2. Asaya Ga Yado: A Haunting Tale of Love and Loss
In Shimousa Prefecture, Katsushiro and his wife Miyagi lived a life of wealth, but Katsushiro’s lazy personality caused them to become poorer and poorer. In a desperate attempt to make money, he turned all his remaining assets into silk and left for Kyoto to do business, promising his wife that he would return in the fall.
As business went well in Kyoto, the Kyotoku War broke out in Shimousa Prefecture, and Katsushiro was unable to return home for seven long years. He thought his wife was dead, but upon returning home, he was surprised to find his emaciated wife still waiting for him.
They talked all night about their seven years apart and slept together. But when Katsushiro woke up the next morning, his wife had vanished, and their once beautiful home had become a ramshackle abandoned house.
A neighbor passing by revealed the devastating truth: Miyagi had been waiting for Katsushiro’s return since he left, but she had passed away during the war. Katsushiro was heartbroken, but the worst was yet to come.
As he looked around the abandoned house, strange things began to happen. Doors slammed shut, and the wind whistled eerily through the cracks in the walls. And then, in the darkness, he heard a voice – his wife’s voice. Was she reaching out to him from beyond the grave?
Asaya Ga Yado is a haunting tale of love and loss, of the lengths we will go to for those we love and the ghosts that haunt us when they are gone.
3. The Red Pencil: A Chilling Discovery in a New Home
When a couple found a used house that was like new, they couldn’t believe their luck. The price was cheap, and they were thrilled to move into their new home.
But one day, they found a red pencil lying in the hallway. They had no children and no evidence of a break-in, so they brushed it off as a strange coincidence.
However, things took a turn for the worse. Strange occurrences began happening in the house, and the couple started to feel uneasy. They searched the house, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary until they discovered a secret room hidden behind a door covered in dirt.
As they entered the room, a chill ran down their spines. The walls were covered in red letters that read, “I’m sorry, mom.” The couple couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Who had written these letters, and why were they apologizing to their mother?
The discovery of the red pencil and the secret room had opened up a terrifying mystery. As the days went by, the couple’s unease grew stronger, and they realized that they were not alone in their new home.
The Red Pencil is a chilling tale of a couple’s haunting discovery in their new home. It’s a story of the unknown, the unexplainable, and the terrifying secrets that can be hidden within the walls of a seemingly perfect house.
4. The Haunted Village of Inunaki
Deep in the heart of Japan lies a village shrouded in mystery and darkness. Inunaki village, located near an old tunnel, has been erased from all official records due to its history of severe discrimination and inbreeding. Legend has it that those who enter the village never return.
A warning sign at the entrance to the village reads, “From here on, the Constitution of Japan is not allowed to apply.” The tunnel leading to the village is marked with a sign that warns drivers of white sedans to take a detour. Those who ignore the warnings and enter the village will be met with a pile of corpses and a wire trap.
The villagers of Inunaki are hostile to outsiders and will stop at nothing to protect their way of life. There is no cell phone coverage in the village, and the police cannot use public phones at nearby convenience stores. If you are caught in the wire trap, a villager with an ax will rush in and attack with lightning-fast speed.
Rumors of a young couple who entered Inunaki village for fun and were brutally murdered have been circulating for years. But those who dare to investigate the village and its dark secrets may uncover more than they bargained for. Beware the haunted village of Inunaki, for once you enter, you may never leave.
5. The Haunted Half Cup
Every night, an old man went to a small liquor store. He always ordered half a cup of sake, then after five cups, he asked for five more. The store owner and his wife were curious about him and wondered what secrets he had.
One day, the old man left his bag at the store. The owner and his wife opened it, hoping to find answers. Instead, they found a huge amount of money.
The couple decided to keep the money. When the old man came back and saw his open bag, he cried. “That money is my daughter’s. She sold herself to Yoshiwara to earn it. She is dead now, and it’s all I have left of her.”
The old man was so sad that he jumped into the river. The couple used the money to open a big store and had children. But a strange curse followed them. Their child looked like an old man, and the wife became so upset that she fell ill and died.
The owner hired nannies to take care of the strange child, but they all quit. The owner decided to watch the baby himself. One summer night, the baby woke up, drank the oil from the pillow next to the teacup, and said, “Half more.”
The owner realized that the old man’s spirit had possessed the baby. He was doomed to spend the rest of his life serving the ghost’s endless thirst for sake.
6. Peony Lantern
One summer evening during the Bon Festival, a Buddhist holiday honoring ancestral spirits, Shinnojo encounters a stunningly beautiful woman named Otsuyu. She is accompanied by her maid, Oyone, who carries a glowing peony lantern. Captivated by Otsuyu’s beauty and grace, Shinnojo strikes up a conversation with her. They form an instant connection, and Otsuyu promises to visit him again.
True to her word, Otsuyu begins visiting Shinnojo every night, always accompanied by Oyone with the peony lantern. Their passionate romance blossoms, and Shinnojo falls deeply in love. However, he notices that Otsuyu only visits at night and always leaves before dawn.
Unbeknownst to Shinnojo, Otsuyu is actually a ghost. His neighbor, an older man, grows suspicious of the nightly visits and decides to investigate. One night, he peeks into Shinnojo’s room and is horrified to see the young samurai embracing a skeleton.
The next day, the neighbor informs Shinnojo of the terrifying truth. He advises the samurai to protect himself by surrounding his house with sacred talismans and reciting Buddhist sutras. Shinnojo, though heartbroken, follows this advice.
When night falls, Otsuyu arrives as usual but finds herself unable to enter Shinnojo’s home due to the spiritual barriers. She calls out to him, lamenting their separation and begging him to let her in. Night after night, her sorrowful cries echo outside Shinnojo’s house.
Unable to bear Otsuyu’s anguish and consumed by his own longing, Shinnojo eventually removes the talismans. Otsuyu enters, and they spend one last passionate night together.
The following morning, Shinnojo’s neighbors, concerned by his absence, enter his home. They discover Shinnojo dead in his bed, his body entwined with a female skeleton – the mortal remains of Otsuyu.
7. The Mansion of the Plates of Bancho
The Mansion of the Plates of Bancho stood ominously in the dead of night. Inside, a maid named Okiku toiled away, serving her Samurai master Tessan Aoyama. But her life took a dark turn when, on the first day of 1653, she accidentally shattered one of the ten plates that Tessan Aoyama treasured. In a fit of rage, he cut off her finger to make up for the loss and locked her in a room.
Desperate and alone, Okiku eventually escaped and threw herself into an old well on the mansion grounds. But her spirit did not leave. Every night, a haunting voice emerged from the well, counting the remaining plates: “1 piece, 2 pieces…” The mansion’s inhabitants were tormented by the eerie voice, and even the birth of Tessan Aoyama’s child brought no respite as the baby was born without fingers.
As rumors of the mansion’s haunting spread, the shogunate government took notice and confiscated all of Tessan Aoyama’s land and property. But the voice from the well continued to count, driving the government to call upon a powerful monk to exorcise the spirit. One night, as the monk recited sutras, the voice from the well began to count again: “8 pieces, 9 pieces.” The monk continued, “10 pieces,” and suddenly the voice stopped. Okiku’s spirit had escaped, and the mansion was finally free from her curse.
8. Horror stories at Yotsuya’s house in Tokaido
The story centers on Iemon Tamiya, a down-on-his-luck samurai, and his wife Oiwa. Despite being from a respectable family, Iemon has fallen into poverty and become a ronin (masterless samurai). He’s grown resentful of his circumstances and his marriage to Oiwa.
Oume, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy neighbor named Ito Kihei, becomes infatuated with Iemon. Her family, seeing an opportunity to acquire Iemon’s samurai status, begins to plot with him to dispose of Oiwa.
Iemon agrees to the scheme, blinded by the prospect of a wealthier life with Oume. The conspirators provide Oiwa with a “medicinal cream” that’s actually a poison. When Oiwa applies it to her face, it causes terrible disfigurement, her left eye drooping and her face swelling grotesquely.
Horrified by her appearance and in great pain, Oiwa confronts Iemon. In her distress, she accidentally cuts her own throat on a sword while combing her hair. As she dies, she curses Iemon and all those involved in her downfall.
Iemon’s cruelty doesn’t end there. He murders Oiwa’s brother Takuetsu and their father Yotsuya Samon, nailing their bodies to wooden boards and throwing them into the Onbogawa River. With these obstacles removed, Iemon quickly marries Oume.
However, on their wedding night, Oiwa’s vengeful spirit appears. As Iemon reaches to embrace his new bride, her face transforms into Oiwa’s disfigured visage. In terror, Iemon slashes with his sword, only to discover he has killed Oume and her parents.
From this point on, Oiwa’s ghost relentlessly haunts Iemon. She appears in various terrifying forms: her face emerges from lanterns, her hair entangles him, and her disfigured form manifests in unexpected places. Each appearance drives Iemon further into madness and despair.
9. Black-haired ghost
The poor samurai had been away from his wife for many long years, serving a lord in a faraway land. When his duty was done, he returned to the old house where they had lived together. It was a cold autumn night, and the moon was full and bright, casting eerie shadows across the abandoned house.
The samurai pushed open the creaky gate and stepped inside. The musty air was thick with the scent of death, and the silence was oppressive. But there, sitting quietly alone, was his ex-wife.
She didn’t greet him with anger or bitterness. Instead, she congratulated him on his return and welcomed him back after all this time.
Overwhelmed with emotion, the samurai vowed to never leave her side again. He hugged her tightly until he fell asleep, comforted by her presence.
But when he woke up to the bright morning sun, he realized he had been holding a dried corpse. A few bits of flesh clung to the bones, which were wrapped in long, black hair. Terror gripped him as he realized that he had spent the night embracing a ghost.
He raced to the neighbor’s house, desperate for answers. “What happened to the woman who lived next door?” he asked urgently.
“She was abandoned by her unfaithful husband,” the neighbor replied, “and she fell ill and died from depression. Because there was no one to care for her or give her a proper funeral, her body still lies there.”
The samurai’s heart pounded as he realized that he had been holding the ghost of his long-dead ex-wife. He wondered how he could have been so blind to the truth and how he would ever be able to escape the haunting memory of that night.
10. Ghost of a blind female artist
Hotsumi Kanji, a samurai from Kitakuni Prefecture, stopped at an inn during his annual trip to Edo. Enchanted by a blind goze’s beautiful voice, he hid in her room and raped her. Shockingly, she didn’t resist.
The next morning, disgusted by her ugly face, Hotsumi took her to Edo anyway. On a deserted mountain road, he pushed her down a ravine to her death.
A year later, Hotsumi stayed at a mountain temple. The goze’s ghost appeared, reminding him of his crimes. “Have you forgotten that autumn has passed?” she asked. “You violate me and discard me like surplus. I don’t have eyes, but I see your heart very well now.”
The vengeful spirit dragged Hotsumi to the cemetery, showing him her grave. With a chilling smirk, she embraced him tightly and pushed him deep into the ground.
Alerted by the commotion, monks rushed to the cemetery. They found Hotsumi’s body buried beside the goze’s skeleton.
Hotsumi’s soul remained trapped in the cemetery, eternally paying for his sins. The goze’s ghost continues to haunt the temple, seeking vengeance on those who cross her path.
11. The obsession with the ghost cat of the Nabeshima clan
In the Hizen Saga region, the obsession with the ghost cat of the Nabeshima clan ran deep. It all started when the second lord of the Nabeshima clan, Mitsushige Nabeshima, invited the master Go player Matashichiro Ryuzoji to his castle for a game of Go. But little did he know that this game would end in a brutal murder.
Mitsushige Nabeshima, in a fit of rage after losing to Matashichiro, killed him mercilessly. But the horrors didn’t end there. When Matashichiro’s mother learned of her son’s death, she was consumed by grief and resentment. In a final act of despair, she told her cat all her troubles and committed suicide.
But that was not the end of it. The ghost cat, who had licked and drank all of the old woman’s blood, had disappeared and reappeared in the castle. And it was hungry for revenge. First, it killed Nabeshima Mitsushige’s concubine, devouring her flesh and leaving nothing behind. But that was not enough. The ghost cat disguised herself as the concubine and tormented Mitsushige every night, playing with his mind and driving him to the brink of madness.
Mitsushige’s loyal subordinates saw through the cat’s disguise, and they knew that it was the ghost of the vengeful cat that was haunting their lord. They knew that they had to act fast, or their lord would be doomed. And so, they launched an all-out attack on the ghost cat. It was a fierce battle, with the cat clawing and biting at them, but they were determined to put an end to this madness. And in the end, they succeeded. They destroyed the ghost cat, but the memory of its vengeful spirit lingered on, haunting the castle and the Nabeshima clan for generations to come.
