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The Ashiarai Yashiki manifests as a giant filthy foot that crashes through the roofs of homes, demanding to be cleaned. Refuse and it will stomp through your house, destroying everything in its path – and possibly cursing you for good measure.

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When an orb-weaver spider reaches its 400th birthday, it is rewarded with a massive growth spurt, shape-shifting abilities, and a hunger for human flesh, becoming a Jorogumo. It often takes the form of a beautiful woman in order to entice and trap unwary young men – its favorite snack!

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The Boroboroton is a vengeful Japanese futon, its anger fueled by years of neglect and underuse. It seeks retribution against those who did it wrong, floating around the house at night, smothering and strangling unwary sleepers – when it isn’t out partying with other Boroboroton.

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The raven-haired, alabaster-skinned Yuki onna stalk snowstorms in search of prey, flash-freezing their victims before devouring them (They’re especially fond of children’s livers!). Occasionally, however, they may fall in love with and even marry a human.

One tale tells of a man that married a mysterious women who always refused to take hot baths. One night, after much insistence from her husband, she relented. When her husband came in to check on her later, however, all he found were ice cubes floating in the tub.

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The Nuppeppo are amorphous blobs with rudimentary limbs and vague faces that frequents graveyards and abandoned temples. Harmless but stinky, they smell like rotten meat and are surprisingly elusive. Their flesh purportedly bestows eternal youth on those who can stomach it.

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The Konaki jiji takes the form of a baby or old man, lying in wait for unwary travelers and then crying out on their approach. Should you be foolish enough to try to help by picking it up, it will abruptly grow incredibly heavy and crush you under its weight. Sucker!

Today’s Yes/No…

A rare no for me.  Just give me a fried chicken sandwich!

7 thoughts on “August 29, 2022: Your Handy Guide to Weird Yokai!

  1. Does Apple have the right to use the name “Dark Matter” for its new streaming series. It is based on a book called “Dark Matter”

    1. The book did come out 2 years after the show, but I don’t think there are any copyright implications.

  2. The yuki-onna is of course the best known of these. One of the most popular stories about her, which I learned a long time ago, is that she spares a young man who’s lost in the icy mountains on the condition that he never tells anyone about their encounter, on pain of death. Later, he marries a beautiful girl from a distant village and they have a child or children. One night, he tells his wife about his encounter with the yuki-onna, only for her to turn out to be the yuki-onna in disguise. She doesn’t kill him for breaking his promise, for the sake of the kids, but disappears forever, leaving him heartbroken.

    This inspired the gargoyle story in the Tales from the Darkside movie.

      1. Thanks! A version of the story was also in issue #2 of Jim Henson’s The StoryTeller: Witches in 2014. I’m glad that Boom! has been publishing new material for The StoryTeller, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth with the license from Jim Henson Company. I really should check out The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix; I already have the soundtrack and it’s great.

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