Topic Research: Japanese Horror Stories

 Yurei and Yokai

Yurei are spirits of the dead. If a person die by violent means like murder or suicide without a proper burial, then their spirits will become dangerous. It can also be due to powerful emotions like revenge, love, jealousy, hatred, or sorrow.

Yokai are earthly creatures and they can take animalistic forms (cat, fox, human) and inanimate objects like umbrella. LINKS ABOVE INCLUDES PICTURES OF THEM

This source contains a list of yokai with cute illustrations of them. It includes oni, tengu, kitsune, yuki onna, rokurokubi, kappa, karakasakozou, and hitotsume-kozou.

This source contains a list of both with their japanese names. This is the source I used last week. Includes umbrella ghost, kappa, snow woman, long neck woman, wet woman (snake form), huge skeleton, bathroom ghost, and more.

These are just sources for inspiration on what type of urban legends and ghosts should I write about. I could write about the origin stories of these ghosts (3rd person point of view).

Source: 4 Scariest Japanese Urban Legends 

Kuchisake-Onna, the Slit-Mouthed Woman: one version is she slit her mouth during a dental procedure and one of the products smelled bad. Another version is that she was a wife or concubine of a samurai. He found out she was cheating on him so he slit her mouth. More versions include a jealous woman slitting her mouth because of her beauty, or that her mouth is filled with sharp teeth and caused her mouth to be cut from the inside. She wears a mask and when she ask "Am I pretty?" you have to confuse her to get away. Answering "Yes" will cause her to slit your mouth open and answering "No" will cause you to be killed.

Hikiko-San: A girl got bullied because her parents were abusive and caused her to be deform by beating her. She protected a kitten but got dragged by a car with a rope and she punishes those who bully others. She is described to be dressed in white and long black hair. Her real name might be Sadako and inspired the film "The Ring."

Hanako-San, the Girl in the Bathroom: different versions include suicide in the bathroom because of her abusive parents or killed by a stranger. Another version is she hid in the bathroom during WWII and died. To summon her, you have to be in the girl's bathroom on the third floor and knock on the third stall three times saying her name. If she is there, a bloody ghostly hand will appear and drag you down to Hell via the toilet.

Teke-Teke: Woman (or man) that doesn't have a lower body. She fell on a train track (pushed, accident, or suicide) and when she walk with her hands, it produced the sound Teke-Teke. Legend says her name is Kashima Reiko and she asks a question. If you answer wrong, she will cut your legs with a sickle.

All these stories gives me ideas because it shows that each legends have different versions of the story. 

Source: 15 Best Japanese Horror Stories

Ju-On: A man brutally murdered his wife, son, and cat because he believed she was cheating on him. The house became haunted by the wife and son and anyone who enters it will be curse and die.

Ring: Sadako fell down the well and died. Anyone who sees the tape will die in 7 days. There are many remake and there is one about the tape being upload online. 

Maybe I could write about a person being possessed and kill people (psychological?)

There are many more and I could take some inspiration from movies because there are remakes and different versions of the story as well. 

Ghost of the Murdered Wife Oiwa. Source: Picryl