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Thursday, October 22, 2020

Monster and Mythology Monday - Ghosts

 

Monster and Mythology Monday - Ghosts

OoOoOo... Yūrei! Fantasma! Ghosts! This Monday Thursday (sorry), my Monster and Mythology Monday is all about ghosts, so I'll be scaring myself with this one. 😅  To give you an example of my fear of ghosts, I was playing Animal Crossing and Wisp was on my island...

Animal Crossing Ghost Wisp

I, in such a horrified voice, said "GHOST!" that Ástrid thought I saw a real one. That being said, I love ghost lore. Especially Japanese ghost lore. Japanese ghosts, depending on the type, can be called... Yūrei, Bōrei, Shiryō and Yōkai. And for each "type" of ghost, there are even more! Like Jibakurei, which are Yūrei that are Earth-bound spirits, Ayakashi which are Yōkai that appear above water surfaces and Onryō which are Yūrei that are vengeful spirits.

Let's talk about a few!

Some of my favorite legends as well as fictional ghosts... 

We'll start with my absolute favorite fictional ghost, Kayako Saeki. Kayako is from the Ju-On series! She's an Onryō:
In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, onryō (怨霊, literally "vengeful spirit", sometimes rendered "wrathful spirit") refers to a ghost (yūrei) believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to "re-address" the wrongs it received while alive, then taking their spirits from their dying bodies. - Wikipedia

I've never read the novel but I reallyyyy want to. Kayako had a tough life growing up and an even worse life once she was married. The reason for her croaking sound is tragic and while most people have probably seen Ju-On, I won't ruin anything with spoilers! 

Monster and Mythology Monday - Ghosts - Kayako Saeki

Next up is Yotsuya Kaidan, which is the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon and is known as the most-adapted Japanese horror story. It's about a rōnin (a Samurai without a Lord or Master) named Tamiya and his wife, Oiwa. Oiwa is tricked into using a face cream that is poisonous, scarring her face and afterwards, Tamiya doesn't want to be with her anymore. After seeing her own reflection, Oiwa furiously goes to take a sword and I assume murder those who poisoned her, but as someone goes to stop her, she stumbles and pierces her own throat. She bleeds to death and curses Tamiya, before deciding to haunt him.

Yotsuya Kaidan

Yotsuya Kaidan was based on two different real life legends and was first made into a kabuki play. I really want to watch the 1959 movie "Ghost of Yotsuya" but I need to wait until November. Also, this is so interesting to me:
By tradition, production crews adapting the story for film or stage visit Oiwa's gravesite in Myogyoji Temple in Sugamo, Toshima-ku, Tokyo to pay their respects, as an urban legend states that injuries and fatalities will befall the cast if they do not. - Wikipedia

But I won't talk about just Japanese ghosts, as there are so so so so many more and I can't possibly talk about all of them right now and there are even more legends around the world! Such as...

The Grey Lady of The Willard Library staff in Evansville, Indiana! I was very little when I first heard about the Grey Lady. I remember reading about her before finding out that there was a webcam set up in the library that I could watch - and watch I did! She's been seen since 1937, way before the webcam was ever thought of. Some occurrences that let people know she is around is the smell of her perfume and cold spots.  

The Strigoi of Romania tie in with the vampirism I talked about last week, but they're actually ghosts. Ghosts of those who've died from suicide or have a reason to come back and haunt the living. Like a vampire, some Strigoi survive by drinking human blood. They're said to have red hair and bluish-purple eyes. There are also other kinds, such as the Strigoi who calls. If you hear your name called by a Strigoi and answer, you will die. But! They can only call once. So, wait before you answer the next time you hear someone randomly calling your name!

And finally for now, the Myling of Scandinavian legends are the ghosts of children who were left to die by their mothers. They are known for singing in the night. Even though they can fly into a rage, most Myling simply want to be found, given a name and given a proper burial. But in order to do that, they need to find a living human who can carry their weight (as it's said that Myling are quite large.) If the human who they jump on cannot bring them to a graveyard, they kill them. 

And now some spoOoOoky products! 

A Collage of Spooky Ghost Products from Sukeban AK

1. Nintendo Mario Boo Ghost T-shirt from Hot Topic
7. Spiraphobia - Japanese Spirals Phobia (which I have because of Junji Ito) from Pigboom on Etsy

Spooky Ghost Amigurumi


Phasmophobia


Phasmophobia is a game that I really realllly want! I would love to get and review this game for Halloween. You're a ghost hunter and need to use all kinds of tools to figure out what kind of ghost you're dealing with in order to get paid. It's great! Koji, Ástrid and I have been watching a lot of streamers playing!

So that's my list! What do you think? Do you have a favorite ghost story?

If you'd like to keep up with my blog, follow me on Bloglovin'! I'd love more readers there. 

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