Japanese urban legends. Japanese urban legends The tale of the red room

To dream of yourself or someone with an enlarged head portends success and fame if you are engaged in intellectual work in real life.

A small head in a dream portends poverty, painstaking and thankless work.

Shaggy head in a dream - fortunately, bald - a warning against evil deeds.

A chopped head - to chagrin.

A head with lush hair - to love, shorn - unfortunately.

A broken and bleeding head - to exhausting work, but money.

Permed head - trust your friends who will divulge your secret.

Head in a hat - to hardship and misfortune.

A talking head without a body portends an important meeting with influential people who have power and the ability to provide you with the necessary support.

Seeing your head in a dream is a disease.

If in a dream you see yourself with two heads, this is an opportunity to make a quick career and get rich.

A child's head without hair means future family happiness and prosperity in the house.

The head of the animal warns: be more selective in the choice of friends and profession.

There is a pig's head in a dream - go on the road, a lamb - make a profit, a lion's head - to lose.

Seeing dark and blond hair on your head at the same time portends great doubts about the upcoming choice, in which you should be extremely careful not to make a mistake.

All blond hair on the head is a sign of complaisance and kindness, dark hair is a love trap.

A redhead is a falsehood, a change in relationships.

A golden head is a sign of dignity and courage of your chosen one.

Chestnut head - to failures at work, neatly combed - attachment to the hearth, singed - avoid trouble, burning head - to profit, lice - to poverty, dandruff head - unexpectedly gain great wealth.

A head with big ears - you will be highly honored, with long hair - suffer a loss, with short ones - to prosperity.

To anoint your head is to experience happiness. Chop someone's head - win.

Seeing a diadem on your head is a sign of disagreement on some issues.

Feeling a severe headache in a dream - you will be overcome by many worries.

If you dream that splashes of water are falling on your head, this means a passionate awakening of love, which will end happily.

Washing your hair in a dream is an omen of your prudent and effective decisions.

Seeing someone washing their hair with shampoo means that soon, secretly from others, take a trip, taking part in unworthy scams.

Interpretation of dreams from Dream Interpretation alphabetically

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Today there will be semi-modern stories, very similar to those horror stories that children tell in pioneer camps at night. Well, or told. (By the way, I don’t know how true it is that these are real horror stories :) But if the Japanese government tells fairy tales, why shouldn’t I do the same?)
This is my mood...

cow head

There is a terrible horror story called "Cow's Head".
This story has been known since the Edo period. During the Kan-ei period (1624-1643), her name was already found in the diaries of various people. But only the title, not the plot. They wrote about her like this: "Today I was told a horror story about a cow's head, but I cannot write it down here, because it is too terrible."
So it's not in the books. However, it was passed from mouth to mouth and has survived to this day. But I won't post it here. She's too creepy, I don't even want to remember. Instead, I'll tell you what happened to one of the few people who knows Cow's Head.
This person is an elementary school teacher. During a school trip, he told scary stories on the bus. The children, who used to be noisy, listened to him very attentively today. They were really afraid. It was pleasant to him, and he decided at the very end to tell the best horror story - "Cow's Head".
He lowered his voice and said, "Now I'll tell you the story of the cow's head. The cow's head is..." But as soon as he began to tell, there was an accident on the bus. The children were horrified by the incredible horror of the story. They shouted in unison, "Sensei, stop it!" One child turned pale and plugged his ears. Another roared. But even then the teacher did not stop talking. His eyes were blank, like he was obsessed with something...
Soon the bus came to an abrupt stop. Feeling that there was trouble, the teacher came to his senses and looked at the driver. He was covered in a cold sweat and trembling like an aspen leaf. He must have slowed down because he couldn't drive the bus anymore.
The teacher looked around. All the students were unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Since then, he has never spoken of "Cow's Head".

A comment:
In fact, the horror story about the cow's head does not exist. What is this story? How terrible is she? This interest spreads it.
- Listen, do you know the scary story about the cow's head?
- What's the story? Tell!
I can't, she scared me too much.
- What are you? Okay, I'll ask someone else on the Internet.
- Listen, a friend told me about a story about a cow's head. Don't you know her?
So "a very terrible non-existent story" quickly gained wide popularity.
The source of this urban legend is Komatsu Sakyo's short story Cow's Head. Its plot is almost the same - about the terrible story "Cow's Head", which no one tells. But Komatsu-sensei himself said, "The first person to spread the word about the cow's head story among science fiction publishers was Tsutsui Yasutaka." So, it is known for sure that this legend was born in the publishing business.

red scarf

A girl who always wore a red scarf transferred to an elementary school. Once a classmate asked her: "Why do you always wear a scarf?" She said, "I'll tell you when you go to high school."
They went to the same high school. And one day the boy said: "I'm already in high school, now tell me why you wear a scarf." But the girl said, "I'll tell you when we move to the same high school."
They went to the same high school.
- Now tell me why you are wearing a red scarf.
- I'll tell you when we enter the same university.
They entered the same university in the same faculty. During this time they became lovers. Then they got a job in the same company and got married.
Shortly after the wedding, the husband asked his wife:
“By the way, why do you always wear a scarf?”
- Now you'll see...
The wife removed the red scarf from her neck, which she always wore before.
Her head fell to the floor. She was tied to her body by a red scarf.
They say that the woman in the red scarf and the man in the blue scarf still live happily in some house.

Retribution for flirting

In the Shibuya district of Tokyo, a gang of four was operating. One of them, a handsome guy, flirted with the girls and brought them to the hotel. The rest sat in ambush in the room and attacked the girls.
On that day, as usual, the handsome man met a girl. His comrades ambushed...
A lot of time passed, and the guests still did not leave the room. The hotel employees lost their patience and went in. There lay four corpses, torn to pieces.

Sennichimae

In May 1972, in Osaka, in the Sennichimae district, a fire broke out in one building. 117 people died. Horrible stories still circulate about this place.
One company employee got off the subway in Sennichimae. It was raining. He opened his umbrella and walked away, dodging the people scurrying back and forth. For some reason, this street was very unpleasant. And passers-by were some strange. Although it was raining, no one had an umbrella. Everyone was silent, their faces were gloomy, they looked at one point.
Suddenly, a taxi stopped nearby. The driver waved to him and shouted:
- Come here!
- But I don't need a taxi.
- It doesn't matter, sit down!
The persistence of the driver and the unpleasant atmosphere of the street forced the employee to get into the car - just to get out of this place.
They went. The taxi driver was pale as a sheet. Soon he said:
- Well, I saw you walking along an empty street and dodging someone, so I decided that I needed to save you ...

One day, an employee of the C-san firm returned home. The "message" light on his phone was flashing. He turned on the answering machine and heard an unfamiliar sound.
Knock-knock, knock-knock, knock-knock...
The sound continued for a full minute.
After some time, C-san went to visit his uncle who is a doctor, told about this case and played the sound recording.
- It's a heartbeat in a cut chest!
They say there is a maniac who cuts open people's chests and records their heartbeats on an answering machine...

Satoru-kun

Do you know Satoru who can answer any question?
To call him, you need a mobile phone, a pay phone and a 10 yen coin. First you need to put a coin into the machine and call your mobile phone. When they call, say into the payphone, "Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, if you're here, please come to me (answer please)".
Within 24 hours after that, Satoru-kun will call you on your cell phone. Each time he will tell you where he is. This place will get closer and closer to you.
The last time he will say: "I'm behind you..." Then you can ask any question and he will answer. But be careful. If you look back or can't think of a question, Satoru-kun will take you to the spirit world with him.

woman on all fours

Once street racers were driving a car. Before entering the mountain road, they saw a woman in white. Her long hair hung over her face. She was very beautiful. The man in the passenger seat spoke to her, hoping to get to know her. But she didn't answer. He was offended and began to swear: "Fool! Ugly!" The driver stepped on the gas, and the car drove onto a mountain road.
After driving a little, they saw that something white was reflected in the mirror. "What is this?" they thought. Look closely - it was that woman.
She ran at great speed behind the car on all fours. Her hair fluttered. There was an incomparable hatred on her face...

The Japanese can trace the history of their culture from ancient times, they trace their genealogies for centuries, and they have preserved very old urban tales. Japanese urban legends (都市伝説 toshi densetsu) are an urban legend based on Japanese mythology and culture. Often they are terribly scary, perhaps the point is precisely in their hoary antiquity. Children's school horror stories and quite adult stories - we will retell some of them.

15. Tale of the Red Room

For starters, a fresh-faced horror story of the 21st century. It's about the pop-up window that pops up when you've been on the Internet for too long. Those who close this window soon die.

One ordinary guy who spent a lot of time on the Internet once heard the legend of the Red Room from a classmate. When the boy came home from school, the first thing he did was sit down at the computer and start looking for information about this story. Suddenly, a window appeared in the browser, where on a red background was the phrase: "Do you want?" He immediately closed the window. However, it immediately reappeared. He closed it again and again, but it kept reappearing. At some point, the question changed, the inscription read: “Do you want to get into the Red Room?”, And the child's voice repeated the same question from the speakers. After that, the screen went dark, and a list of names appeared on it, written in red font. At the very end of this list, the guy noticed his name. He never showed up at school again, and no one ever saw him alive - the boy painted his room red with his own blood and committed suicide.

14. Hitobashira - pillar people

Tales of the Pillar People (人柱, hitobashira), more specifically, people buried alive in pillars or pillars while building houses, castles, and bridges, have been circulating around Japan since ancient times. These myths are based on beliefs that the soul of a person walled up in the walls or foundation of a building makes the building unshakable and strengthens it. The worst thing, it seems, is not just stories - human skeletons are often found at the site of destroyed ancient buildings. During the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan in 1968, dozens of skeletons were found immured inside the walls - and in a standing position.

One of the most famous human sacrifice tales is that of Matsue Castle (松江市, Matsue-shi), which dates back to the 17th century. The castle walls collapsed several times during construction, and the architect was confident that the pillar man would help remedy the situation. He ordered an ancient ritual. The young girl was kidnapped and, after the proper rituals, walled up in the wall: the construction was completed successfully, the castle is still standing!

13. Onryo - vengeful spirit

Usually, the main characters are onryo spirits, which have become widely known in the West due to the popularization of Japanese horror films.

Onryō (霊, offended, vengeful spirit) is a ghost, the spirit of a dead person who has returned to the world of the living to take revenge. A typical onryo is a woman who died because of a villainous husband. But the wrath of the ghost is not always directed against the offender, sometimes innocent people can be its victims. Onryo looks like this: a white shroud, long black flowing hair, white and blue aiguma (藍隈) make-up, imitating deathly pallor. This image is often played up in popular culture both in Japan (in the horror films "The Ring", "The Curse") and abroad. There is an opinion that Scorpion from Mortal Kombat is also from onryo.

The legend of onryo dates back to Japanese mythology towards the end of the 8th century. It is believed that many famous Japanese historical characters who really existed became onryo after death (politician Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), Emperor Sutoku (1119-1164) and many others). The Japanese government fought them as best they could, for example, building beautiful temples on their graves. It is said that many famous Shinto shrines are actually built to "lock up" the onryo to prevent them from getting out.

12. Okiku Doll

In Japan, this doll is known to everyone, her name is Okiku. According to an old legend, the soul of the little dead girl who owned the doll lives in the toy.

In 1918, seventeen-year-old boy Eikichi bought a doll as a gift for his two-year-old sister. The girl really liked the doll, Okiku did not part with her favorite toy for almost a minute, she played with it every day. But soon the girl died of a cold, and her parents placed her doll on their home altar in memory of her (in the houses of Buddhists in Japan there is always a small altar and a statue of Buddha). After some time, they noticed that the doll's hair began to grow! This sign was regarded as a sign that the girl's soul had moved into the doll.

Later, in the late 1930s, the family moved, and the doll was left in a local monastery in the city of Iwamizama. The Okiku doll still lives there today. They say that her hair is cut periodically, but they still continue to grow. And, of course, in Japan, everyone knows for sure that the cut hair was analyzed, and it turned out that they belong to a real child.

Believe it or not - everyone's business, but we would not keep such a doll in the house.

11. Ibiza - little sister

This legend takes stories about annoying little sisters to a whole new level. There is a certain ghost that you may encounter while walking alone at night (to be honest, many of these urban legends can happen to those who wander the city alone at night.)

A young girl appears and asks if you have a sister, and it doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. She will say: "I want to be your sister!" and after that he will appear to you every night. Legend has it that if you disappoint Ibiza in any way as a new big brother or sister, she will get very angry and start killing you on the sly. More precisely, it will bring "twisted death."

Actually, Ibitsu is a well-known manga by artist Haruto Ryo, published from 2009 to 2010. And it described a wise way to avoid problems with this obsessive person. The heroine of the manga sits in a pile of garbage and asks the guys passing by if they want a little sister. Those who answered "no", she immediately kills, and those who answered "yes" - declares her brother and begins to persecute. Thus, in order to avoid trouble, it is better not to answer anything. Now you know what to do!

10. Scary story about a ghost passenger who never pays

This horror story is narrowly professional, for taxi drivers.

At night, a man in black suddenly appears on the road, as if from nowhere (if someone appears, as if from nowhere - he's almost always a ghost, didn't you know?), Stops a taxi, sits in the back seat. The man asks to be taken to a place that the driver has never heard of (“will you show me the way?”), And the mysterious passenger himself gives instructions, showing the way only through the darkest and most terrible streets.

After a long drive, seeing no end to this journey, the driver turns around - but there is no one there. Horror. But this is not the end of the story. The taxi driver turns back, takes the wheel - but he cannot go anywhere, because he is already deader than dead.

It doesn't seem like a very old legend, does it?

9. Hanako-san, toilet ghost

There are many legends about school toilets, the most common of which is about Hanako, the toilet ghost. About 20 years ago, it was the most popular horror story for younger students in Japan, but even now it has not been forgotten. Every Japanese child knows the story of Hanko-san, and every schoolchild in Japan, at one time or another, has stood in fear and hesitated to enter the toilet alone.

According to legend, Hanako was killed in the third stall of the school toilet, on the third floor. There she lives - in the third booth of all school toilets. The rules of conduct are simple: you need to knock on the booth door three times, and call her name. If everything is done politely, no one will get hurt. She seems to be completely harmless if not disturbed, and meeting her can be avoided by staying away from her cubicle.

It seems there was a character in Harry Potter that looked a lot like Hanako. Remember Moaning Myrtle? She is the ghost of a girl who was killed by the look of the Basilisk, and this ghost lives in the toilet room, however, on the second floor of Hogwarts.

8. Hell Tomino

There are words in this world that should never be spoken aloud, and the Japanese poem "Hell of Tomino" is one of them. According to legend, if you read this poem aloud, trouble will happen. In the best case, you will get sick or in some way crippled, and in the worst case, you will die.

Here is the testimony of a Japanese: “Once I was reading “Tomino Hell” live on the radio show “Urban Legends” and sneered at the ignorance of superstition. At first everything was fine, but then something began to happen to my body, and it became difficult for me to speak, it was like suffocation. I read half of the poem, but then I could not stand it and threw the pages aside. On the same day I had an accident, seven stitches were put in the hospital. I don’t like to think that this happened because of the poem, but on the other hand, I’m afraid to imagine what could have happened if I had read it to the end then.”

7. The cow's head is a scary story that can't be written down.

This short legend is so terrible that almost nothing is known about it. This story is said to kill anyone who reads or retells it. Now let's check.

Thus, this history is not in writing. However, it was passed from mouth to mouth and has survived to this day. Here's what happened recently to one of the few people who knows Cow's Head. Here is a quote from a Japanese source:

This person is an elementary school teacher. During a school trip, he told scary stories on the bus. The children, who were usually noisy, listened to him very attentively. They were really afraid. It was pleasant to him, and he decided at the very end to tell his best horror story - "Cow's Head".

He lowered his voice and said, “Now I will tell you the story of the cow's head. The cow's head is…” But as soon as he started talking, there was an accident on the bus. The children were horrified by the incredible horror of the story. They shouted in unison, "Sensei, stop it!" One child turned pale and plugged his ears. Another roared. But even then the teacher did not stop talking. His eyes were blank, as if he was obsessed with something... Soon the bus stopped abruptly. Feeling that there was trouble, the teacher came to his senses and looked at the driver. He was covered in a cold sweat and trembling like an aspen leaf. He must have slowed down because he couldn't drive the bus anymore.

The teacher looked around. All the students were unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Since then, he has never spoken about "Cow's Head".

This "very scary non-existent story" is described in Komatsu Sakyo's short story "Cow's Head". Its plot is almost the same - about the terrible story "Cow's Head", which no one tells.

6. Fire in a department store

This story is not from the category of horror stories, rather, it is a tragedy that has become overgrown with gossip, which is now difficult to separate from the truth.

In December 1932, a fire broke out in a Shirokiya store in Japan. Employees were able to get to the roof of the building so firefighters could rescue them with ropes. When the women, descending the ropes, were somewhere in the middle, strong gusts of wind began to blow open their kimonos, under which they traditionally did not wear underwear. To prevent such dishonor, the women let go of the ropes, fell and broke. This story allegedly caused a major change in traditional fashion as Japanese women began to wear underwear under their kimonos.

Even though this is a popular story, there are many dubious moments. For starters, the kimonos are so heavily draped that the wind can't blow them open. In addition, at that time, Japanese men and women were calm about nudity, washing in joint baths, and the willingness to die, just not to be naked, inspires serious doubts.

In any case, this story is actually in Japanese firefighting textbooks and is believed by the vast majority of Japanese people.

5. Aka Manto

Aka Manto or Red Cloak (赤いマント) is another "toilet ghost", but unlike Hanako, Aka Manto is an evil and dangerous spirit. He looks like a fabulously handsome young man in a red cloak. According to legend, Aka Manto can walk into the school's women's restroom at any time and ask, "Which raincoat do you prefer, red or blue?" If the girl answers "red", then he will cut off her head and the blood flowing from the wound will create the appearance of a red cloak on her body. If she answers "blue", then Aka Manto will strangle her and the corpse will have a blue face. If the victim chooses any third color or says that they do not like both colors, then the floor will open under her and deathly pale hands will take her to hell.

In Japan, this killer ghost is known by various names “Aka manto” or “Ao Manto”, or “Aka Hanten, Ao hanten”. Some people say that once upon a time, Red Cloak was a young man who was so handsome that all the girls immediately fell in love with him. He was so frighteningly handsome that the girls fainted when he looked at them. His beauty was so stunning that he was forced to hide his face behind a white mask. One day, he kidnapped a beautiful girl and she was never seen again.

This is similar to the legend of Kashima Reiko, a legless female ghost who also haunts the school toilets. She exclaims, “Where are my legs?” when someone enters the toilet. There are several correct answers.

4. Kuchisake-onna or woman with a torn mouth

According to legend, an unusually beautiful woman in a gauze bandage walks the streets of Japan. If a child walks down the street alone, then she can come up to him and ask: “Am I beautiful?!”. If he hesitates, as is usually the case, then Kuchisake-onna rips off the bandage from his face and reveals a huge scar that crosses his face from ear to ear, a giant mouth with sharp teeth in it, and a snake-like tongue. Then the question follows: “Am I beautiful now?”. If the child answers "no", then she will cut off his head, and if "yes", then she will make him the same scar (she has scissors with her).

The only way to elude Kushisake Onna is to give an unexpected answer. “If you say 'You look average' or 'You look normal' she will be confused and you will have plenty of time to run away.

In Japan, wearing medical masks is not unusual, they are worn by a huge number of people, and the poor children seem to be afraid of literally everyone they meet.

There are many explanations for how Kushisake Onna got her terrible shapeless mouth. The most popular version is that of a runaway lunatic who is so insane that she cut her own mouth open.

According to an ancient version of this legend, a very beautiful woman lived in Japan many years ago. Her husband was a jealous and cruel man, and he began to suspect that she was cheating on him. In a fit of rage, he grabbed a sword and slashed her mouth, yelling "Who's going to think you're beautiful now?". She has become a vengeful ghost that roams the streets of Japan and wears a scarf over her face to hide her terrible scar.

The US has its own version of Kushisake Onna. There were rumors about a clown who would appear in public restrooms, approach children, and ask, “Do you want to have a smile, a happy smile?”, and if the child agreed, he would take out a knife and cut their mouth from ear to ear. It seems that this clown smile was appropriated by Tim Burton to his Joker in the Oscar-winning "Batman" in 1989. It was the satanic smile of the Joker, brilliantly performed by Jack Nicholson, that became the hallmark of this beautiful film.

3. Hon Onna - the exterminator of horny men

Hon-onna is the Japanese version of a sea siren or succubus, so she's only dangerous to sexually horny men, but creepy nonetheless.

According to this legend, a gorgeous woman wears a luxurious kimono that hides everything except her wrists and her beautiful face. She flirts with some dude she's charmed with and lures him to a secluded spot, usually a dark alley. Unfortunately for the guy, this won't lead to a happy ending. Honna removes her kimono, revealing a hideous naked skeleton with no skin or muscle - a pure zombie. She then embraces the hero-lover and sucks out his life and soul.

So Hon-onna preys exclusively on promiscuous males, and for other people she is not dangerous - a kind of forest orderly, probably invented by Japanese wives. But, you see, the image is bright.

2. Hitori kakurenbo or hide-and-seek with yourself

"Hitori kakurenbo" means "playing hide and seek with yourself" in Japanese. Anyone who has a doll, rice, a needle, red thread, a knife, nail clippers and a cup of salt water can play.

First, cut the body of the doll with a knife, put some rice and part of your fingernail inside it. Then sew it up with red thread. At three in the morning, you need to go to the bathroom, fill the sink with water, put the doll in there and say three times: “The first one leads (and give your name).” Turn off all the lights in the house and head to your room. Close your eyes here and count to ten. Return to the bathroom and stab the doll with a knife, while saying: "Pali-knocked, now it's your turn to look." Well, the doll will find you wherever you hide! To get rid of the curse, you need to sprinkle the doll with salt water and say "I won" three times!

1. Tek-Tek or Kashima Reiko

Another modern urban legend: Tek-Tek or Kashima Reiko (鹿島玲子) is the ghost of a woman named Kashima Reiko who was run over by a train and cut in half. Since then, she wanders around at night, moving on her elbows, making the sound “teke-teke-teke” (or tek-tek).

Tek-tek was once a beautiful girl who accidentally fell (or intentionally jumped off) from a subway platform onto the tracks. The train cut her in half. And now the upper body of Teke-teke wanders the city streets in search of revenge. Despite the lack of legs, it moves on the ground very quickly. If Teke-teke catches you, she will cut your body in half with a sharp scythe.

According to legend, Tek-Tek preys on children who play at dusk. Tek-Tek is very similar to the American children's horror story about Clack-Clack, which parents used to scare children who were walking late.

Touching in their childish superstitious naivete, the Japanese carefully preserve their urban legends - both children's funny horror stories and quite adult horror. While acquiring a modern flair, these myths retain their ancient flavor and quite palpable animal fear of otherworldly forces.

Cow Head" There is a terrible horror story called "Cow Head". This story has been known since the Edo period. During the Kan-ei period (1624-1643), its name was already found in the diaries of various people. But only the name, not the plot. About her they wrote: "Today I was told a horror story about a cow's head, but I cannot write it down here because it is too terrible. "Thus, it is not in the books. However, it was passed from mouth to mouth and has come down to our days. But I I won't post it here. It's too creepy, I don't even want to remember. Instead, I'll tell you what happened to one of the few people who knows "Cow's Head." This man is an elementary school teacher. During a school trip, he told in scary stories on the bus. The children, who used to make noise, listened to him very carefully today. They were really afraid. It pleased him, and he decided at the very end to tell the best horror story - "Cow's head." He lowered his voice and said: "And now I I'll tell you a story about a cow's head. The cow's head is..." But as soon as he began to talk, a catastrophe occurred on the bus. The children were horrified by the incredible horror of the story. They shouted in one voice: "Sensei, stop it!" One child turned pale and plugged his ears. The other roared "But even then the teacher did not stop talking. His eyes were empty, as if he was obsessed with something ... Soon the bus stopped abruptly. Feeling that there was trouble, the teacher came to his senses and looked at the driver. He was covered in a cold sweat and was trembling like a leaf. He must have stopped because he could no longer drive the bus. The teacher looked around. All the students were unconscious, foaming at the mouth. Since then, he never spoke about the "Cow's Head." Commentary: Actually, the cow head horror story doesn't exist. What is the story? How terrible is it? This interest spreads it. - Listen, do you know the scary cow head story? - What is the story? Tell me! - I can't, she scared me too much. - What are you? Okay, I'll ask someone else on the Internet. - Listen, a friend told me about a story about a cow's head. Don't you know her? So "a very terrible non-existent story" quickly gained wide popularity. The source of this urban legend is Komatsu Sakyo's short story Cow's Head. Its plot is almost the same - about the terrible story "Cow's Head", which no one tells. But Komatsu-sensei himself said, "The first person to spread the word about the cow's head story among science fiction publishers was Tsutsui Yasutaka." So, it is known for sure that this legend was born in the publishing business.

15. Tale of the Red Room

For starters, a fresh-faced horror story of the 21st century. It's about the pop-up window that pops up when you've been on the Internet for too long. Those who close this window soon die.

14. Hitobashira - pillar people

13. Onryo - vengeful spirit

Traditionally, Japanese urban legends are dedicated to terrible otherworldly creatures that, out of revenge or just out of harm, harm living people. The authors of the Japanese Encyclopedia of Monsters, after conducting a survey among the Japanese, were able to count more than a hundred stories about a variety of monsters and ghosts that are believed in Japan.
Usually, the main characters are onryo spirits, which have become widely known in the West due to the popularization of Japanese horror films.
Onryō (怨霊, offended, vengeful spirit) is a ghost, the spirit of a dead person who has returned to the world of the living to take revenge. A typical onryo is a woman who died because of a villainous husband. But the wrath of the ghost is not always directed against the offender, sometimes innocent people can be its victims. Onryo looks like this: a white shroud, long black flowing hair, white and blue aiguma (藍隈) make-up, imitating deathly pallor. This image is often played up in popular culture both in Japan (in the horror films "The Ring", "The Curse") and abroad. There is an opinion that Scorpion from Mortal Kombat is also from onryo.

12. Okiku Doll

In Japan, this doll is known to everyone, her name is Okiku. According to an old legend, the soul of the little dead girl who owned the doll lives in the toy.
In 1918, seventeen-year-old boy Eikichi bought a doll as a gift for his two-year-old sister. The girl really liked the doll, Okiku did not part with her favorite toy for almost a minute, she played with it every day. But soon the girl died of a cold, and her parents placed her doll on their home altar in memory of her (in the houses of Buddhists in Japan there is always a small altar and a statue of Buddha). After some time, they noticed that the doll's hair began to grow! This sign was regarded as a sign that the girl's soul had moved into the doll.
Later, in the late 1930s, the family moved, and the doll was left in a local monastery in the city of Iwamizama. The Okiku doll still lives there today. They say that her hair is cut periodically, but they still continue to grow. And, of course, in Japan, everyone knows for sure that the cut hair was analyzed, and it turned out that they belong to a real child.
Believe it or not - everyone's business, but we would not keep such a doll in the house.

11. Ibiza - little sister

10. Scary story about a ghost passenger who never pays

This horror story is narrowly professional, for taxi drivers. At night, a man in black suddenly appears on the road, as if from nowhere (if someone appears, as if from nowhere - he's almost always a ghost, didn't you know?), Stops a taxi, sits in the back seat. The man asks to be taken to a place that the driver has never heard of (“will you show me the way?”), And the mysterious passenger himself gives instructions, showing the way only through the darkest and most terrible streets. After a long drive, seeing no end to this journey, the driver turns around - but there is no one there. Horror. But this is not the end of the story. The taxi driver turns back, takes the wheel - but he cannot go anywhere, because he is already deader than dead.
It doesn't seem like a very old legend, does it?

9. Hanako-san, toilet ghost

A separate group of urban legends are legends about the ghosts of the inhabitants of schools, or rather, school toilets. Perhaps this is somehow connected with the fact that the element of water among the Japanese is a symbol of the world of the dead.
There are many legends about school toilets, the most common of which is about Hanako, the toilet ghost. About 20 years ago, it was the most popular horror story for younger students in Japan, but even now it has not been forgotten. Every Japanese child knows the story of Hanko-san, and every schoolchild in Japan, at one time or another, has stood in fear and hesitated to enter the toilet alone.

8. Hell Tomino

"Hell of Tomino" is a cursed poem that appears in Yomota Inuhiko's book titled "The Heart Like a Tumbleweed" and is included in Saizo Yaso's twenty-seventh collection of poems, which was published in 1919.
There are words in this world that should never be spoken aloud, and the Japanese poem "Hell of Tomino" is one of them. According to legend, if you read this poem aloud, trouble will happen. In the best case, you will get sick or in some way crippled, and in the worst case, you will die.

7. The cow's head is a scary story that can't be written down.

This short legend is so terrible that almost nothing is known about it. This story is said to kill anyone who reads or retells it. Now let's check.

This story has been known since the Edo period. During the Kan-ei period (1624-1643), her name was already found in the diaries of various people. Moreover, it is only the name, and not the plot of the story. They wrote about her like this: "Today I was told a horror story about a cow's head, but I cannot write it down here, because it is too terrible."
Thus, this history is not in writing. However, it was passed from mouth to mouth and has survived to this day. Here's what happened recently to one of the few people who knows Cow's Head. Here is a quote from a Japanese source:

"This man is an elementary school teacher. During a school trip, he told scary stories on the bus. The children, who were usually noisy, listened to him very carefully. They were really afraid. It pleased him, and he decided at the very end to tell his best horror story - "Cow head".
He lowered his voice and said, "Now I'll tell you the story of the cow's head. The cow's head is..." But as soon as he began to tell, there was an accident on the bus. The children were horrified by the incredible horror of the story. They shouted in unison, "Sensei, stop it!" One child turned pale and plugged his ears. Another roared. But even then the teacher did not stop talking. His eyes were blank, as if he was obsessed with something... Soon the bus came to an abrupt stop. Feeling that there was trouble, the teacher came to his senses and looked at the driver. He was covered in a cold sweat and trembling like an aspen leaf. He must have slowed down because he couldn't drive the bus anymore.
The teacher looked around. All the students were unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Since then, he has never spoken of "Cow's Head".

This "very scary non-existent story" is described in Komatsu Sakyo's short story "Cow's Head". Its plot is almost the same - about the terrible story "Cow's Head", which no one tells.

6. Fire in a department store

This story is not from the category of horror stories, rather, it is a tragedy that has become overgrown with gossip, which is now difficult to separate from the truth.
In December 1932, a fire broke out in a Shirokiya store in Japan. Employees were able to get to the roof of the building so firefighters could rescue them with ropes. When the women, descending the ropes, were somewhere in the middle, strong gusts of wind began to blow open their kimonos, under which they traditionally did not wear underwear. To prevent such dishonor, the women let go of the ropes, fell and broke. This story allegedly caused a major change in traditional fashion as Japanese women began to wear underwear under their kimonos.

In any case, this story is actually in Japanese firefighting textbooks and is believed by the vast majority of Japanese people.

5. Aka Manto

4. Kuchisake-onna or woman with a torn mouth

Kuchisake-onna (Kushisake Ona) or woman with a torn mouth (口裂け女) is a popular children's horror story that gained particular notoriety due to the fact that the police found many similar reports in the media and their archives. According to legend, an unusually beautiful woman in a gauze bandage walks the streets of Japan. If a child walks down the street alone, then she can come up to him and ask: “Am I beautiful?!”. If he hesitates, as is usually the case, then Kuchisake-onna rips off the bandage from his face and reveals a huge scar that crosses his face from ear to ear, a giant mouth with sharp teeth in it, and a snake-like tongue. Then the question follows: “Am I beautiful now?”. If the child answers "no", then she will cut off his head, and if "yes", then she will make him the same scar (she has scissors with her).
The only way to elude Kushisake Onna is to give an unexpected answer. “If you say 'You look average' or 'You look normal' she will be confused and you will have plenty of time to run away.
The only way to elude Kushisake Ona is to give an unexpected answer. If you say “you look fine”, she will be confused, and you will have enough time to run away.
In Japan, wearing medical masks is not unusual, they are worn by a huge number of people, and the poor children seem to be afraid of literally everyone they meet.

There are many explanations for how Kushisake Onna got her terrible shapeless mouth. The most popular version is that of a runaway lunatic who is so insane that she cut her own mouth open.

3. Hon Onna - the exterminator of horny men

Hon-onna is the Japanese version of a sea siren or succubus, so she's only dangerous to sexually horny men, but creepy nonetheless.

2. Hitori kakurenbo or hide-and-seek with yourself

"Hitori kakurenbo" means "playing hide and seek with yourself" in Japanese. Anyone who has a doll, rice, a needle, red thread, a knife, nail clippers and a cup of salt water can play.

Another modern urban legend: Tek-Tek or Kashima Reiko (鹿島玲子) is the ghost of a woman named Kashima Reiko who was run over by a train and cut in half. Since then, she wanders at night, moving on her elbows, making the sound "teke-teke-teke" (or tek-tek).
Tek-tek was once a beautiful girl who accidentally fell (or intentionally jumped off) from a subway platform onto the tracks. The train cut her in half. And now the upper body of Teke-teke wanders the city streets in search of revenge. Despite the lack of legs, it moves on the ground very quickly. If Teke-teke catches you, she will cut your body in half with a sharp scythe.