Japanese Demons

Japanese demons and ghosts from ancient mythology. I will probably write longer, individual pages about these monsters and creatures at a later time. But for the moment, here are some short descriptions of these evil spirits.

Hone-onna

Hone-onna is a skeleton woman. She hides her frightening form by keeping her back to you, but when she turns, you realize she has no face, just a bare skull. She tries to lure unwitting men into falling asleep and then, she sucks the life force out of them.

Kitsune

Kitsune is an evil spirit with the head of a fox. It disguises itself as a beautiful woman and tries to trick human beings into marrying it. If you are unlucky enough to marry Kitsune, it will feed on your life essense while you are asleep.

Shinigami

Shinigami is the Japanese version of the grim reaper. He usually appears to a dying person and brings them to the land of the dead.

Wanyudo

Wanyudo is a strange evil spirit who guards the gates of hell. He appears as a severed head on a burning wheel. He enjoys scaring people and stealing their souls whenever they come close to him.

Ningyo

Ningyo is the Japanese version of the mermaid. Instead of being beautiful, Ningyo is a creepy woman who has fish scales for skin, a face like an ape and razor-sharp teeth like a pirahna. If you’re out fishing and you catch Ningyo on your hook, you must immediately toss her back into the sea or else your family members will suffer epic misfortune or even death. If you cook and eat Ningyo, you will remain beautiful and youthful for all eternity… but your family will die.

Akaname

Akaname is a hideous creature that looks like a frog with a very long tongue. It has a single claw on each foot. He lurks in filthy bathrooms at night and licks the poop off the toilet and the floor. If you encounter him, he will use that same tongue to lick your face. Eeeeew.

Nurikabe

Nurikabe is an evil spirit who appears in the shape of a wall. He has the ability to stretch endlessly and loves to play tricks on travellers. He stretches out and blocks the roads to prevent the travellers from going through. The only way you can get through is to kick the lower area of Nurikabe to make him disappear.