A Little Lesson in Japanese Ghost Lore

Translated as “haunted Lantern”, in Japanese folklore a bakechochin is a lantern inhabited by ghosts. According to folklore the lantern has a long tongue and wild eyes and is home for the ghosts of people who died with hate in their hearts; for this reason, they are doomed to haunt the earth for all time. If someone should light one of the haunted lanterns it is thought that a hateful ghost may leap out of it and attack.

Buruburu, meaning the sound of shivering, is a terrible ghost from Japanese folklore that for reasons unknown is said to lurk in forests and graveyards in the form of an old person, who is sometimes one-eyed. According to legend it attaches itself to its victim's spine and causes a chill to run down them, or in the worse case causes them to die of fright.

A Gashadokuro according to Japanese folklore is a giant skeleton many times taller than a human. It is though to be made of the bones of people who have starved to death. After midnight the ghost roams the streets making a ringing noise that sounds in the ears. If people do not run away when the Gashadokuro approaches it will bite off their heads with its giant teeth.

The Ikiryoh is the name used to describe an entity that is thought to be created by the evil thoughts and feelings of a person. When it is energized by hatred the Ikiryoh becomes so powerful it can leave the person harboring hateful thoughts and enter and possess the person who is the object of the hatred. Once it is inside the person it can kill the victim slowly by draining away the person's energy. The Ikiryoh is thought to be extremely difficult to exorcise and there are numerous rites to drive it away, including of Buddhist scriptures.

A Konakijii is the spirit of a baby who has been left to die in the woods. The Konakijii lures people out to the woods with the sound of its crying, but when people get close they see that the baby has the face of an old man. If they pick the baby up it is impossible to put down and suddenly becomes so heavy that it crushes unsuspecting victims to death.

The Kubikajiri is a head-eating ghost, who has a distinctive smell-that of fresh blood, and is said to lurk around graveyards at night searching for its head. If it can't find its own head it will try to eat the heads of anything, living or dead that crosses it path.

The Mononoke is a ghost that resides in inanimate objects. It is found in temples, shrines and graveyards and likes to scare or even kill people. Priests are thought to be able to drive it away be reciting Buddhist sutras. According to Shinto belief, all things, including inanimate objects, have their own unique spirit (kami), which gives them life.

According to Japanese folklore on the Island of Kyushu, the Nurikabe is said to be a wall ghost. It appears as a large, white wall, with pairs of arms and legs, to people out walking late of night. Now, if a person attempts to pass the ghostly wall, it may fall and crush them or if the person attempts to turn around or run away the wall reappears in front of them. According to the legend the only way to escape is to hit the bottom of the wall with a stick and it will vanish. The origin of the Nurikabe is uncertain, but it may have developed as a way to explain delays when people got lost or went out walking for a long time without reaching their destination.

A Shojo is a traditional Japanese ghost form that haunts the open sea. They are said to have flaming red hair, but intend no harm to humans. They are supposedly addicted to drinking, dancing, and merry-making. Because their favorite drink is Sake, some Japanese traditions hold that these spirits may be caught by luring them on to land with a jar of liquor.

This is a Japanese spirit that closely resembles the "Brownie". Translated as "old tool spirits", the Tsukumogami inhabits tools and performs household and cleaning chores by themselves at night. If the tools are mistreated or neglected they take revenge by attacking their owners while they are asleep.