Japanese Ghost Story - Yurei -

Japanese people love ghost story. Traditionally there are many scary stories called Kaidan even for children such as Bancho Sara Yashiki and Yotsuya Kaidan. Usually they are stories about death, ghost and monsters which origin can dates back to 12th century. Ghost in Japanese is Obake or Yuurei, Obake means transformed figure and Yuurei means the soul of the death.

Bancho Sara Yashiki

Yotsuya Kaidan

By the way, do you know the main difference between Western ghost and Japanese one?

A typical image of Western ghost is headless as you might have seen in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

Whereas typical Japanese Yuurei has no legs.

Now recent Japanese horror films which have sent a shudder through not only Japan but Western world were Ring, One Missed Call or Dark Water, and all of these have been remade in the Hollywood.

Ringu

Chakushin Ari

Dark Water

Japanese people some how love horror films. There are many TV programs talk about ghost and psychic phenomenon.

And now, there is a new horror film coming out in Japan which made all Japanese horror fun shudder!! The film is Tomie Unlimited, it will be on screen in May and currently its trailer is showing all over Japan. However it's so terrifying that many of the cinemas have stopped showing it.

If you are not big fan of horror film, skip the video please. So now, which do you scare more, Western horror or Japanese horror?

Well for me the most makes me terrified is the look of the ghost. One vote for Japanese Yuurei brrr.