Kayako is a scary Japanese urban legend about a woman who was murdered by her husband and came back as a vengeful ghost. This story appeared in the movie The Grudge (or Ju-on in Japan).
When Kayako was a young girl, her parents neglected her. She spent most of her time feeling depressed and lonely. She didn’t have any friends and the other children at school thought she was creepy and made fun of her.
Kayako grew up and got married to a man named Taeko Saeki. She felt like he was the only person in the world who cared about her. They lived a happy life together and she gave birth to a little boy named Toshio.
One day, her husband was snooping around in their bedroom and found her diary. When he read it, he became convinced that she was cheating on him. When she came home from work and went upstairs, he was waiting for her, holding a knife. He attacked her, beating her and slashing her viciously right in front of their young son.
Kayako tried to flee, but her husband chased her. He was almost out of his mind with rage. Covered with blood, she slipped and fell, breaking her ankle. Desperate to excape, she crawled down the stairs, but when she reached the front door, her husband grabbed her. He took her head in both his hands and twisted it around, breaking her neck.
Kayako was still alive, but she was paralysed. The only sound she could make was a hoarse death rattle. Her husband dragged her upstairs, put her in a black plastic bag and left her in the attic to die. Then he got their son and drowned him in the bathtub and stuffed his body in a closet.
Because she died in such pain, anguish and rage, Kayako came back as a vengeful ghost. She appeared to her husband and strangled him with her hair. He was found lying in the street and the police thought he took his own life.
Ever since then, Kayako’s ghost haunts the house in which she died. They say that if you go into that house, you will hear Kayako’s hoarse, choked death rattle. Then, you will see her crawling down the stairs, covered in blood and rolling her broken neck around with a sickening cracking sound.
This is scary
Actually, in the movie, this is how the backstory plays out. Kayako spends her childhood with her mother, an Itako (Japanese exorcist) who uses her daughter to “eat” the evil spirits she drives away from her patients. This marks the child for the rest of her life, making her a target for gossip and cruelty. Kayako didn’t seem to have a father-figure in her life in the American films. Unlike in Ju-on, Kayako didn’t lead a normal childhood and her mother was highly abusive. Therefore the reason for her becoming an OnryÅ in The Grudge is because of the malevolent spirits she was fed by her mother, and not purely because of the painful nature of her death.
After her husband snaps her neck and leaves her paralyzed (this why she makes the infamous croaking sound), he proceeds to kill their son and his pet cat in a tub. Soon afterwards, Kayako murders her husband by hanging him with her hair. Peter Kirk, a man she was obsessively in love with, finds Kayako’s body in the attic and commits suicide soon afterwards. All ghosts of the Saeki family members now haunt the house.
Several years after, a young girl named Allison transfers the curse to Chicago. Kayako starts haunting an apartment building which leads to her sister, Naoko, trying to stop her. Kayako does not attempt to attack or kill Naoko, but the spirit of her murderous husband does, and Naoko is killed in an ever more violent fashion than her sister. Naoko then turns into a vengeful Onryo as well.
I got a question about the movie. If you’ve seen the American version of the movies, they have a description of the curse; When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage … a curse is born. The curse gathers in that place of death. Those who encounter it, are consumed by its fury. Is that a real Japanese belief about ghost curses?
thats sad almost made me cry
it said that her husband thought she was cheating on him but was she really cheating on him?
10/10 broken ankles!
Even though it’s a little late (I was too afraid to read this story before) I’m sorry for your loss and I understand why you didn’t update. Anyway, the story was great :)
Ha cool.
I just read the story, so I just saw your comment, which means i’m pretty late, but i’m sorry for your loss.
THE GRUDGE
I apologize for your loss, SFK. If there’s anything I can do to help, lemme know.
So sorry for your loss Bro. Send my condolences to your family
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry about your loss. :( I’m really sorry. Thanks for the updates.
Sorry for your loss sfk come to think I sounded like a ass
omg sorry about your loss SFK
I’ve been wondering about why the site has been this much dead so far
We’re sorry for your loss SFK.
And thanks for the updates.
Sorry I was away for so long. Roxie is right. I had some problems. My mom died and I was very depressed about it. But I’m back now and I will be posting new stories and updates. Also, I am trying to redesign the site and fix the comments. So, thanks for sticking around. :)
Site’s new look is good. Thanks for the search option. But the most important thing-WHY ARE YOU NOT REPLYING SFK? :(
Where were you SFK?
We don’t really “deserve” anything, I’m just happy there’s updates again. SFK probably was going through some stuff and couldn’t make time to update, I know I’ve done the same with my stories.
We deserve an explanation sfk please tell us. It’s been like what… 8 months.
yaaaay i can comment now :D
nahin16: I thought the same >_<
Sfk where were you? I thought you died
Yay! I can comment! Thanks SFK :-)
Who wants to go there anyway?