Undead Species List

Lists of types of Undead beings.

Yuurei (Ghosts)

Spirit




Typical ethereal and incorporeal beings from the world beyond. Hailing from the Spirit World, they are typically the spirits of others, or natural born spirits that can exist without physical form. Those that were once living are classified as 'Undead,' whilst those that never lived but are still spiritual beings are classified as 'Yokai,' and thus are not Undead since they never lived. Normally, physical attacks do not work on Spirits, as they can not be touched on the physical plane. They are normally able to influence things in the physical world by possessing them or using spiritual powers, and many are known to use magic, as well. This allows them to directly interact with the physical world. They have a natural effect on energy, just as energy has a natural effect on them, and they are able to interact directly with the spirits and souls of other beings, directly bypassing the physical limitations that they have.

Name: Ghost
Species: Spirit
Specific Species: Ghost Mage, Holy Ghost, Wraith, Phantom
Type: Undead, Aerial
Elemental Affinity: None
Combat Specialty: Magical
Sociability: Unfriendly, Solitary, Ominous, Foreboding, Dark
Threat Level: Medium-High
Habitats: Necropolis (Common), Sepulchrum (Common), Old Witch City (Uncommon), Abandoned Tower (Common), Minaret (Uncommon), Warrior's Wasteland (Uncommon), Sacred Pyramid (Uncommon)
Weaknesses: Light/Holy Element
Immunities: Doom, Sleep, Poison
Item Dropped: WIP
Additional Info: Absorbs Darkness/Shadow Element. Can teleport and become incorporeal at will.

Weapons

None

Natural/Signature Abilities

Drain Touch - The hands of the ghost disappear, only to reappear elsewhere, trying to claw at the foe. Any damage done with this attack, heals the ghost the same amount.

Zombie Touch - The hands of the ghost disappear, only to reappear elsewhere, trying to claw at the foe. If hit, the foe will gradually transform into a zombie.

Oily Touch - The hands of the ghost disappear, only to reappear elsewhere, trying to claw at the foe. Those hit are covered with an oily substance making them especially vulnerable to fire

Silence Touch - The hands of the ghost disappear, only to reappear elsewhere, trying to claw at the foe and steal their voice inflicting Silence

Sleep Touch – The hands of the ghost disappear, only to reappear elsewhere, trying to claw at the foe and inflict Sleep

Ectoplasm – Throws a ball of ectoplasm that entangles foes, inflicting Slow

Boon – By returning to the container it was originally trapped within, the ghost is able to rest to heal any injury

Flash – The body of the ghost bursts into a blinding light, temporarily blinding those who see it

Wake the Dead – summons a nearby Undead creature to it, to aid it.

Dark
Darkra
Darkga

Doom


Blind – Dark magic attempts to steal the sight of the foe

Osmose – Magic that establishes a link between the Ghost and the foe. Energy, magic, chakra, etc is drained from the foe and gained by the Ghost Mage for as long as the link exists.


Ghost Info

A soul that was neglected in being properly put to rest or absorbed, thus eventually growing a will of its own through absorption of lingering energy in the air, or its own regrets and wishes of the past. Depending on the reason why the ghost exists, it can either be malicious or benevolent, however they tend to act in the same way despite their intentions.

Being incorporeal entities, they are unable to touch physical things without assistance (however are able to possess physical entities), but are able to influence them with spiritual power. They frequently possess the living to do their bidding for them, and when they do, their minds and spirits become synced for as long as the Ghost has them in its possession. When possessed, pieces of their mind and soul and sucked straight into the Ghost little by little, until there is nothing left and they are nothing but empty, soulless, mindless husks (better known as 'Zombies.')

When they have consumed enough souls, they are able to manifest themselves unassisted on the physical plane, but still retain the ability to become incorporeal at any given time. With the power to touch physical things on their own, they are now a force to be reckoned with. It is said that a Ghost who has all their regrets and wishes fulfilled on this plane of existance will pass on to the next realm, however because of the mostly wild and outrageous wishes of the Ghosts, such as "I want to consume all of the souls in the world," they tend to never get there due to their spirits of selfishness.


Yūrei
幽霊
ゆうれい

Translation: faint spirit, ghost
Alternate names: obake, shiryō, bōrei; other names exist for specific variations
Habitat: any; commonly found in graveyards, houses, or near the place of death
Diet: none

Appearance: There are many different types of yūrei. In most cases, how they appear depends on the circumstances on their death. They retain the features and the clothing they wore when they died or were buried, which means they are dressed in white burial kimonos or the uniforms of fallen warriors. Occasionally, they have bloody wounds indicative of the way they died. Their hair is usually long and disheveled, often obstructing their face and adding to their disturbing appearance. Their hands hang limply from their wrists. Yūrei are translucent and only faintly visible. In most cases they are so faint that they appear to have no feet.

Interactions: Yūrei are capable of invoking powerful curses. They do not roam about, but haunt one particular place or person. In the case of a place it is often where they died or are buried. In the case of a person it is often their killer—or sometimes their loved ones. They remain stuck in this world until they can be put to rest. This might require bringing their killers to justice, or finding their lost body, or something as simple as passing on a message to a loved one. Some yūrei are reluctant to accept their own deaths and haunt their living family, bringing misfortune and unhappiness for the rest of their family members’ lives.

Each haunting is as unique as the person it originated from. Only when its purpose for existing is fulfilled—or it is exorcised by a priest—can a yūrei finally rest. But the possibility that salvation exists is a glimmer of hope for those who are affected by a haunting.

Origin: According to traditional Japanese beliefs, when a person dies his soul lives on as a separate entity, passing on to a heavenly afterlife. This transition is accomplished through a number of funeral and post-funeral rites and prayers performed by their loved ones over many years. Through these rites, the soul is reunited with its ancestors and becomes a family guardian spirit. These ancestors are enshrined in the house and continue to be honored as members of the family, particularly during the summer holiday of Obon when they are said to return to the material world to be with their families.

Those who do not receive the proper funeral rites cannot pass on. They remain stuck in a purgatory that is part physical world and part ethereal. Others who die suddenly, tragically, or violently—or with grudge and malice in their hearts—are sometimes unable to pass on even with the proper prayers and rites. These lost souls transform into yūrei.



Ghost Mage

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Holy Ghost

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Wraith


Phantom

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Genus
Undead




General Info (Genus)

Can be found anywhere there is dead, usually cemeteries. Otherwise, typically found in places that are Dark, Dank and filled with Dark Energy, other Undead, or lots of souls or disease.


Influence

Area Effect
Plague




Nature





Specific Info (Species)

Typical undead beings that still harbor a physical form. Most times, they are beings that are falling apart or rotting. Though there are many types, the Zombies are the most common. They are generally mindless beings that only thirst for the life energy, chakra, magical energy, flesh, brains or souls of other beings (normally whichever they are lacking is what they consume.) The weaker ones that cannot maintain their constitution after death typically fall apart and are not a threat, and are used as mindless servants of others frequently. However, there are some Corpses that are fully intact after death, some with minds of their own, which make them very deadly. They like to hang around dark and dank places where there normally isn't a lot of sunlight.


Characteristics

Dark (Arcane)

Affinity
Tainted




Abilities (Arts)

Natural/Discipline
Infectious Touch - With dirty claws and infected flesh, as well as the Dark Energy concentrating this foul virus, there is always a chance when a Zombie touches a creature that it will be Zombified, Diseased, Poisoned or all three. If one is to suffer a wound, it will induce all three without question. If one is to make direct contact with a scratch, only one effect may occur.





Specialty
Poison; Biological

Shape
Plague




Personality

Dislikes
Vigorous Activity




Customization
Type


Combat Specialty
Physical; Biological




Grade (Rank) List
Basic

Additional Info
Contact may inflict Poison, Disease, or Zombification. Wound Will cause Poison, Disease, AND Zombification. Absorbs Dark (Arcane) Element.


Weakness
Light (Holy); Fire Element (Unless stated Otherwise)




Extraneous And Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous Items
Tainted Meat



Spoils
Gold: 1

Soul
Tainted Soul (1+)




Evolution Chart
Corpse to Zombie: Prolonged Exposure to Dark/Negative Energy.

Previous Form
None

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Revenant

A different classification of Undead that seems to be the best of the Spirits and the Corpses combined into one. Typically, this means that creatures such as Skeletons or other beings that lost their spirits and should not have any functionality somehow walk again. They are said to have been awakened by restless spirits that have possessed them, been revived through the art of necromancy or other dark abilities/magic, or are soulless beings that were revived by their own negativity (or the negativity of others) walk the earth trying to consume others souls to regain their own lost one.

Skeleton

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Bloodybone

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Gashadokuro

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Hone onna

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Kyōkotsu

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Ghast

Spoiler:

Mummy

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Skelliege


Pharaoh

Spoiler:

Name: Vampire
Species: Spirit, Revenant
Type: Demon, Undead
Elemental Affinity: Darkness/Shadow
Combat Specialty: Physical
Sociability: Cunning, Devious, Dark, Regal, Stubborn
Threat Level: High
Habitats: Darkness Lands (Rare), Scarlet Mansion (Common), Sepulchrum (Rare), Enigmatic Ruins (Rare)
Weakness: Fire Element, Holy/Light Element
Immunities: All status ailments
Item Dropped: (WIP)
Additional Info: Can teleport. Absorbs blood and souls. Absorbs Darkness/Shadow Element.


Weapons

Vampire Claw
(WIP)



Natural/Signature Abilities

Shadow Flare: An IMMENSE explosion of shadow/darkness that is exactly like Flare, except with Shadow/Dark element on it. It is very powerful.

Zombify: Releases powerful wave of Magic that will turn all living into a Vampire or a Zombie.

Blizzaga

Aeroga

Waterga

Thundaga

Sleepga

Bad Breath

Cloying Breath: Breath inflicts Sleep and Slow.

Turbo Magic

Charged Attacks

Absorb Energy

Absorb Damage

Tempest: Generates a massive tempest.

Stone Touch

Silence

Tremor

Poison Touch

Blind: Flings a gunk that upon contact, will rob of eyesight.

Protect: Coats self in Protect to lessen the power of physical attacks severely.

Leech: Flings out a gunk that will sap health from whatever it touches back to the Zombie like a leech.

Drain Touch: A dark touch that will absorb the life of what they touch and weaken the foe whilst healing themselves.

Miasma: Creates a giant stream of nothing but sheer poison and abysmal space that will start to kill everything that lives that is within its area and also Poison them.

Dark: A level 1 spell. Small explosion of pure darkness and shadows to harm the foe.

Darkra: A level 2 spell. A moderately large explosion of pure darkness and shadows that covers a larger area to harm the foe.

Darkga: A level 3 spell. A huge explosion of pure darkness and shadows that covers a large range to harm the foe severely.

Invert: Replaces the health of itself with something else, or can switch the health of two other things, like the foe with a small animal, or something, via magic. Very deadly ability.

Zombie Strike: Touches the foe and inflicts them with the Zombie status, turning them into a Zombie.

Roulette: Instantly kills literally ANYONE in the battle, including the user, randomly. It is all up to a dice roll and chance.

Melt: Spews its melting flesh at the foe. If they are infected with the Zombie status, it will instantly kill them



Vampire Info

Extremely intelligent undead beings who tend to fancy themselves living in extravagant castles. Regal by nature, they are a rarely seen species that possess high amounts of magic and incredible superhuman strength and agility. As opposed to many undead beings that are falling apart, the Vampire seems to be completely intact and fully functional, intelligent and does not function off of its instincts. They only reveal themselves at night, using the cover of darkness and their masterful stealth to take down their prey. Filled with pride, they hold themselves in high esteem and typically look down on anything that isn't as regal as they.

They obtain energy through the consumption of blood, similar to how a Ghoul can retain their bodies by consuming flesh. They are known to bite unsuspecting beings on their necks (as that is where the most blood vessels are) and suck out their blood that way, whilst simultaneously injecting their own essence into their bodies. This changes a normal being into a Vampire or Zombie, granting them all the blessings and curses that come with. There is rumor that there is a way to cure such Vampirism and Zombification, but not many know how. It is best to do it quickly before the body settled and adjusts to the alteration, which will then make reverting back nigh impossible.

Vampires are known to take those that they have a liking to into their homes and use them as both servants, offering them a place to live in exchange for their servitude. They also have extremely potent fighting capabilities both physical and magical, and are known to also be quite the scholars, knowing a variety of magic depending on which one you find. Weak to the light, the sun's rays hitting their skin directly harms them, so they tend to cover themselves from head to toe or shroud themselves under parasols or their own cloaks if the need to interact in the daylight arises. There is a legend that Vampires are weak to garlic as well, however this is widely unknown.


Jiangshi

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Ochimusha

A defeated warrior that fled the enemy. The ochimusha is considered a low-class citizen, no longer at the level of a samurai, since he fled battle instead of committing seppuku. In some instances, it is said that to escape safely, those warriors hid themselves in mountain villages. To become an Ochimusha, the warrior should be killed by farmers looking for his belongings and to take the reward usually offered for the severed head of enemies. A criminal that goes into exile is also subject to becoming an ochimusha. The iconography usually represents the Ochimusha with the crown of his head shaved and the rest of the hair long and loose, a dissolved chonmage. The dissolved chonmage would then mean losing the social status of the samurai. Arrows stuck in the body is also a common motif. In modern times the term is used to refer to politicians that lose an election, while the term "Ochimusha hunting" is used in regard to a candidate caught cheating in an election or to corrupt politicians that have been arrested.

Sometimes the term is also used to refer to people with a bald top head and stretched hair on the sides.

While they are undead, a firm will dwells within their eyes. Some of them return to the place they used to live to once again serve their former lord, and others will wander on foot seeking a new lord, becoming the faithful servants of the human men they encounter.

They have a peculiar value system called “bushido” which deems selfless devotion and taking responsibility by risking one's life as virtuous, and they will personally support their lord along his path and protect him. Even after death, they never neglect their training, and continuously boost their power as swordsmen. The sharp swords bushi wield that are called “katanas” become magical swords (lit: youtou) in which yokai energy dwells when gripped by them, releasing a flash of mysteriously alluring light, and their swordsmanship becomes even greater than when they were living.

Originally, they did battle with a readiness to lay down their lives, but having already lost their lives once and become undead, they are undying soldiers who do not lose their lives on the battlefield. No matter how much their bodies are wounded, their wounds will heal by receiving their lord's affection, and they will regenerate an even more beautifully powerful body.

They have high intellect, endeavoring in both the military and literary arts, and appear calm and collected, so they don't give off an undead vibe at all, however, by becoming undead, as a monster, their feelings of respect and obedience towards their lord become mixed up and merge with feelings of love and passion towards a man. Their loyalty towards their lord is at the same time the wholehearted romantic sentiment of a woman towards a man.

They desire to serve their lord, not only as a warrior, but as a woman as well, and should their lord desire them, they're always ready to offer their whole body at any time. But having lived and died by the sword, despite being monsters, they are not very skilled when it comes to romantic affairs, and because they tend to think of it as impertinent, they will not make a move on their lord themselves. However, it is said that they will seek their lord's affection after having fought and risked their life for him.

From all of their speech and conduct while serving constantly at their lord's side, one can catch a glimpse of their love and loyalty towards their lord, so naturally, it's not uncommon for a lord captivated by that to end up in a physical relationship with them. And then, when they offer themselves to their lord as women as well, their hearts experience supreme bliss. Perhaps due to their nature and the monster's instinct, each time they have sex, it's as if the woman part of them gets tempered. While retaining the looks of their beautiful and well-toned warrior body, day by day, they change on the inside, becoming able to please a man like a veteran prostitute, and their body also changes, growing lewder and more womanly, as is appropriate for milking semen.

Furthermore, they are very obsessed with producing an heir for their lord. They won't openly assert their opinion, but they desire to bear their lord an heir themselves if possible. In Zipangu, as of the present, fundamentally only sons can succeed the house. Due to the circumstances of the present world, they can only bear daughters, so sometimes they fight under powerful yokai who have a radical ideology, and expand the territory of the yokai by slaying people one after another with their magical swords, which convert those slain into yokai.

TL Note 1: The term "yokai energy" was actually "youryoku" which contrasts with the ordinary term used for energy, which is "maryoku". It probably simply means the energy of Zipangu monsters.

TL Note 2: The above is also supported by past references to how the monster energy found in the air of specific regions can have special effects, like how the energy found in the Mist Continent produces jiangshi instead of regular zombies.

Funayūrei
船幽霊
ふなゆうれい

Translation: ship ghosts
Alternate names: ayakashi
Habitat: seas, oceans, bays
Diet: none

Appearance: When the ghosts of people who have died at sea transform into vengeful spirits, they become a particular type of ghost called a funayūrei. These are the shades of drowned sailors which remain in this world, hunting for their former friends and comrades to take them down into the sea. Like many ghosts, funayūrei appear as dead bodies wearing white funerary robes. They can be seen at night, either when the moon is new or full, on particularly stormy or foggy nights, or during the festival of Obon. Funayūrei appear as an eerie, luminescent mist, which gets closer and closer until it forms into a ship with a ghostly crew.

Interactions: Funayūrei ghost ships attack in different ways. Sometimes they charge headlong towards the other ship, causing it to steer away so sharply that it capsizes. Other times they pull alongside the other ship and the ghostly crew tries to drag it down under the water. The ghosts themselves carry large ladles and buckets which they use to fill ships with seawater, sinking the ships and adding more souls to the funayūrei crew. Occasionally funayūrei strike not as a large crew of man-sized ghosts, but as one very large ghost who rises out of the water to capsize a ship immediately. This ghost often demands a barrel from the crew, which it uses to flood the deck and sink the ship. Giant funayūrei are often confused with umi bōzu, which appear and attack in a similar manner.

It is said that a clever crew can outsmart the funayūrei by carrying buckets and ladles with holes in the bottom. Despite their efforts the ghosts will not be able to flood the human ship with such tools. Encounters with ghost ships can also be avoided by boldly sailing directly through the phantasm instead of turning to avoid a collision—though this runs the risk that the other ship may actually be real and not a phantasm. Some crews have also escaped the wrath of the funayūrei by throwing food and provisions overboard as offerings to the hungry ghosts, who chase after the food instead of the crew.

Goryō
Goryou御霊
ごりょう

Translation: honored ghost
Alternate names: mitama
Diet: none; exists solely for vengeance

Appearance: Goryō are the ghosts of ancient warriors and nobles who died horrible, agonizing deaths and returned to haunt their enemies as dreadful ghosts of vengeance called onryō.

Interactions: These terrible ghosts bring calamity and destruction to those who wronged them in life. Their revenge is often in the form of fires, wars, plagues, droughts, floods, storms, the deaths of imperial family members, and other disasters which the ancient nobility viewed as curses. Because ghosts cannot be killed, the only way to end their wrath was to transform them into peaceful, benevolent spirits. This was done with the help of priests and onmyōji, through the religion known as goryō shinkō—the religion of ghosts.

Buried Alive

Hitobashira
Hitobashira人柱
ひとばしら

Translation: human pillar
Habitat: found in bridges, castles, dams, and other large constructions

Appearance: Hitobashira refers to the gruesome practice of burying a living human being in the foundations of important buildings—bridges, dams, tunnels, and particularly castles. It was a common practice during large construction projects from ancient times through the 16th century. However there is evidence that hitobashira were still being used in some construction projects during the 20th century.

Behavior: This form of sacrifice was used as a magical ward for the building being constructed. It was believed that the sacrifice of a human soul would appease the nature spirits in an area—particularly the river spirits in areas where flooding was common. They were also used to ward castles against assault, fire, and other disasters both man-made and natural.

Origin: Although hitobashira literally means human pillar, the actual meaning is more complicated. Pillars and Shinto have a long relationship—kami can be enshrined in pillar-like sacred trees, the oldest shrines were built upon pillars, and hashira, in addition to meaning pillar, is also used as the josūshi—Japanese counter word—for kami. The bashira in hitobashira refers not to a literal pillar, but actually to this counter word. The human was enshrined in a manner similar to a kami of the building to which he or she was sacrificed, becoming both a literal pillar and a connection to the gods. Very often, small stone memorials were erected in honor of the hitobashira who were sacrificed to a building. Some still stand today.

Legends: A few famous castles in Japan are connected to legends of hitobashira. Maruoka Castle in Fukui Prefecture (old Echizen Province), one of the oldest surviving castles in Japan, is said to contain a hitobashira in the central pillar of the keep.

While Maruoka Castle was being constructed, its walls kept collapsing no matter how many times they were repaired. It was decided that a person should be sacrificed and made into a hitobashira in order to improve the stability of the castle. A poor, one-eyed woman named Oshizu was selected for the honor of becoming a hitobashira. As a reward for her sacrifice, she was promised that her son would be made a samurai. After she was sacrificed the castle was completed. However, before her son could be made a samurai, the castle’s lord was transferred to another province, and the promise was left unkept.

Every year thereafter, the castle’s moat overflowed when the heavy spring rains came. The people of Maruoka blamed this on Oshizu’s vengeance, and called this rain “tears of Oshizu’s sorrow.” Afterwards, a cenotaph was erected for Oshizu inside the castle grounds to calm her spirit.

Itsuki
縊鬼
いつき

Translation: strangling ghost
Alternate names: iki, kubire oni, chōsatsuki, chōshiki (“hanging ghost”)
Habitat: the underworld
Diet: none

Appearance: Itsuki are the ghosts of humans who committed suicide by hanging. They haunt the living by confusing people and coercing them to hang themselves.

Behavior: Itsuki inhabit Meikai, the shadowy underworld where the spirits of the dead dwell. This underworld has a fixed population. In order to maintain equilibrium, a soul may leave to be reborn in the living world only when a new soul arrives to replace them. For this reason, the spirits trapped in hell eagerly await the deaths of the living. Who gets reincarnated is determined by the circumstances in which a person dies. If nobody dies in the same manner, a ghost may have to wait a long time before it can leave the underworld. Itsuki are one such type of ghost.

Interactions: Itsuki grow weary of waiting for people to hang themselves and take their place in hell. So they take matters into their own hands. They haunt the living to drive them to suicide, and take their place in hell. They lurk in the shadows and call out to people when they are alone, commanding them to kill themselves. The impulse which an itsuki implants in its victim is so overpowering that even a happy person with no troubles or worries whatsoever finds themself overcome with the desire to die.

Origin: Itsuki is a very old superstition, with origins stretching all the way back to the folklore of ancient China. The belief that evil spirits call out to the living to coerce them into suicide remains popular in Japan even today. Urban legends describe people receiving a message from a friend joking that they’re going to go hang themself—only to find out a day later that they actually did it. Suicide notes occasionally mention that the victim heard a ghost calling out to them, telling them to do it. Friends and loved ones lament that there were no warning signs or indications at all that the person was suicidal. And stories about strings of suicides sometimes appear in the news, where one person after another kills themself in a similar manner, with seemingly no connection to the other victims. Such stories are often attributed to evil spirits like itsuki.

Legends: Most itsuki stories follow a similar pattern. A young traveler stopped at an inn overnight. That night, he heard the voice of a young woman muttering something in the adjoining room. Peeking into the room, the traveler saw a woman holding a noose and wrapping it around her neck. In the rafters where the rope was tied, a dark, shadowy figure was perched, cajoling the woman to kill herself. The traveler burst into the room and cut the rope down before she could kill herself. The spirit vanished, and the girl was saved. Afterwards she had no recollection of what she was doing or why she was doing it.

Afamous story comes from Kōjimachi, in old Edo. One evening a rich man held a banquet at his estate. His friend who was supposed to help out with the banquet did not show up. The man waited, and eventually his friend finally appeared, much later than expected. “I’m sorry, but something came up. I just stopped by to tell you I can’t make it tonight.” He turned to leave, but the man stopped him and demanded to know what was so important that he couldn’t help out. “I promised to hang myself from Kuichigai gate,” he replied, and once again turned to leave. The banquet guests thought that the friend had gone mad. They refused to let him leave. Despite his struggles, they held him back, and forced him to drink with them. Eventually, he calmed down and stopped resisting.

Late into the night, a messenger arrived with news that a man had just hanged himself at Kuichigai gate. The guests were shocked. The host became convinced that an itsuki had possessed his friend. The ghost must have grown tired of waiting for him to return from the party, and convinced a different man to kill himself instead.

He demanded that his friend explain what happened before he arrived. His friend confessed that the night was like a dream, and he could not remember much. He had made his way to Kuichigai gate. A stranger approached him. He heard a voice say: “Hang yourself here and die!” He was unable to resist, but he explained to the stranger that he had a prior engagement. He begged the voice to let him excuse himself from the banquet first. It told him to do so, then quickly return and kill himself. For some reason, he could not refuse. He promised to do as he was commanded, and then came to the party.

The host’s suspicion was confirmed. He asked his friend if he still wished to kill himself. His friend looked off into the distance and shook with fear. He mimed the motion of wrapping a rope around his own neck and mumbled, “How scary! How scary!”

Jikininki
Jikininki食人鬼
じきにんき

Translation: human-eating ghost
Habitat: old temples and ruins
Diet: human corpses

Appearance: Jikininki are ghouls which feast on the bodies of the dead. They appear as ordinary humans for the most part, except their features are more monstrous. They have sharp, pointed teeth which they use to peel the flesh off of the recently deceased.

Behavior: Jikininki are found near villages, usually in abandoned temples or old ruins. They avoid excessive contact with humans, but remain close to human settlements, as humans are their main source of food. Jikininki gain their sustenance by devouring the flesh and bones of the recently deceased. They do not enjoy their existence and do not find pleasure in eating the dead. It merely temporarily relieves some of the pain of their eternal hunger.

Jikininki exist somewhere between the living and the dead. They exhibit some ghost-like traits; they and their dwellings are often invisible during the day, appearing only to unsuspecting travelers during the night. They usually hunt their prey at night as well, slipping into temples when the dead are lain there for funerary prayers.

ORIGINS: Jikininki are closely related to gaki—hungry ghosts of Buddhist cosmology who are constantly starving but unable to eat anything. A jikininki is born when a person performs evil deeds, corrupting his soul. Some jikiniki were corrupt priests who could not properly pass on after their deaths. Others were once humans who, for some reason or another, developed a taste for human flesh. As time went on and they continued eating people, they gradually transformed into these monsters.

Legends: Long ago, a monk named Musō Soseki was traveling on a pilgrimage when he became lost deep in the mountains. As day began to fade, he came across a dilapidated old hermitage, where an elderly monk gave him directions to a village not far away. Soseki traveled on, and just as night fell he arrived in the village.

The son of the village chief welcomed Soseki and invited him to stay in his house as a guest. “However,” he said, “my father passed away earlier today. In our village, we have a custom. When one of us dies, we all must spend the night away from the village. If we do not do this, we will be cursed. But you are tired from your journey, and seeing as you are a priest, and also not a member of this village, I see no reason why you too must leave. Please feel free to stay in my house this night while the rest of us leave the village.” Soseki gratefully accepted. The villagers all left the village, and Soseki was alone.

That night, the monk recited funerary prayers over the body of the village chief. All of a sudden, he felt a presence nearby. Soseki felt his body freeze up, and he was unable to move. Then, a dark, hazy shape crept through the house and up to the body. The creature devoured the remains of the village chief, and then slipped away as quietly as it had arrived.

The following morning, when the villagers returned, Soseki told them what he had seen during the night. The village chief’s son told him that this was just as the local legends say. Soseki was surprsied, and asked why the monk living in the hermitage did not perform the funeral prayers for the village. The village chief’s son seemed confused. “There is no hermitage nearby. What’s more, there haven’t been any monks in this region for many generations…”

Soseki traced his steps through the mountains to the old hermitage he had seen the night before. The old monk welcomed him into the hovel and told him, “I apologize for showing you such a sight last night. The monster you saw in the village chief’s house was me. Long, long ago I was a priest. I lived in that village, and I performed many funeral services for the dead. However, all I could think of was the payment for my services, and not the souls of the deceased. Because of my lack of conviction, when I died I was reborn as a jikininki. Now, I am forced to feed off the bodies of the dead. Please, save my soul and release me from my torment!”

In that instant, the elderly monk and the dilapidated old hermitage both disappeared. Soseki was sitting on the dirt, surrounded by tall grass. The only feature nearby was an ancient, moss-covered gravestone.

Kainan hōshi
海難法師
かいなんほうし

Translation: shipwreck priest
Alternate names: kannan bōshi, Hiimisama
Habitat: ocean waters around the Izu Islands

Appearance: Kainan hōshi are the ghosts of drowned shipwreck victims. They roam the open sea, riding in washtub boats. On the 24th night of the 1st month of the old lunar calendar, kainan hōshi come to shore and visit the villages of the Izu Islands. Anyone unfortunate enough to witness them is doomed die.

Interactions: On the Izu Islands, the 24th day of the 1st month is a day of ritual fasting. People do not go to work, and you must stay indoors and remain silent all day. Going outside even to use the outhouse is forbidden–before modern plumbing was invented, villagers would prepare bottles and pots for that purpose. In case you have no choice but to go outside, you should place fragrant leaves in your hair or put a bag over your head. By all means you must never look in the direction of the ocean.

Traditions vary from island to island. In general, on the night of the 24th the kainan hōshi come ashore. Residents plug up the cracks of their doors and shutters with the fragrant leaves of false holly (Osmanthus heterophyllus) and mock orange (Pittosporum tobira). The following day, the sprigs are ceremonially burned. If they make loud noises while burning, it is a signal that the year’s harvest will be bountiful. On Miyake Island they travel from house to house and chant, “Give us dishes, give us pots, or else give us a human child!” Miyake Islanders place dishes in front of their houses and put their kids to bed early on the night of the 24th.

On Izu Ōshima these spirits are called Hiimisama and worshipped at a local shrine. A single family is tasked with receiving the Hiimisama as guests. One family member spends the night alone on the beach. There, exposed to the elements, they await the Hiimisama’s coming, welcome them, and see that they leave safely.

People who refuse to follow these superstitions soon meet with disaster. Those who fail to put leaves in their door cracks, or who open their doors during this period may lose the ability to speak, or contract psychological illnesses requiring hospitalization. People foolish enough to venture outside have returned home covered in blood, unable to explain what happened to them. Anyone who catches a glimpse of the kainan hōshi will die.

Origin: Kainan hōshi originate in an incident that took place in 1628. The governor of Hachijō Island, Toyoshima Tadamatsu, was a wicked lord who was hated by the islanders he ruled over. His subjects conspired to murder him. In one version of the story, the islanders convinced Tadamatsu to perform his routine tour of the islands during a time when the sea was roughest. On the 24th day of the 1st month, a storm came down upon Tadamatsu’s boat, and he was lost at sea. Tadamatsu’s vengeful spirit became an onryō. Ever since then, on the anniversary of his death, the ghost of Tadamatsu performs its island tour, seeking vengeance on the treacherous islanders who tricked him.

Another version of the legend says that kainan hōshi are the spirits of twenty five islanders who conspired against Tadamatsu. They murdered him on a dark and stormy night. Afterwards, they escaped into the rough seas riding in wooden washbasins. The conspirators sailed from island to island, but no villagers were willing to give them shelter. And so they were forced to roam the sea, until a storm on the 24th day of the 1st month capsized their ship and they all drowned. Their spirits became onryō. Every year on the anniversary of their deaths, they sail from island to island, cursing the faithless islanders who refused to shelter them.

Kainan hōshi share a number of similarities with funa yūrei, umi bōzu, and other seaborn ghosts. However, the superstitions and customs surrounding kainan hōshi suggest a connection with mikari baba, namahage, and other spirits classified as raihōjin–gods who visit during New Year’s. The dates, ritual purification, decoration of entrances, and receiving of potentially dangerous spirits as guests are features shared by a number of local traditions across Japan.

Kosodate yūrei
Kosodateyuurei

子育て幽霊
こそだてゆうれい

Translation: child-rearing ghost
Habitat: towns, cities; anywhere it can find people to haunt
Diet: none

Appearance: Kosodate yūrei are the ghosts of mothers who died in childbirth or shortly after childbirth. They return to the world of the living because of their strong attachment to their child, and their lingering motherly duties. Like all yūrei, these ghosts appear as faint images of their former selves. They often appear wearing burial clothing, or else the clothes that they wore in their lifetime. However, kosodate yūrei often appear less horrific—even slightly loving—when compared to scarier types of yūrei. They appear to shopkeepers or travelers on the road at night, and often return to the same place over and over again.

Interactions: Kosodate yūrei exist to fulfill one purpose: to see to the well-being of their child. They try to do this by buying candy or other things for their children. They have no money, so they pay with whatever they can—sometimes even with dead leaves. They seek out living people, whom they try to lead back to the location of their waiting baby. If the baby is discovered and taken care of, the kosodate yūrei can finally rest. Until then, though, she will appear every night to find help for her child.

Legends: Kosodate yūrei stories are very common. Although the details vary from place to place, one common version goes like this:

One rainy night, a shopkeeper was closing up his shop when he heard a tapping sound at the window. Looking out, he saw a woman standing pathetically in the rain, cold and drenched. He asked her if she needed help, but all she said was, “One candy please.” Even though the shop was closed, the shopkeeper felt sorry for the poor woman, so he sold her the candy. She paid him one mon—a very low denomination coin—and vanished into the night.

The next night, she came at the very same time, looking forlorn and disheveled. Again, she asked the shopkeeper, in a voice almost too faint to hear, “One candy please.” The shopkeeper gave her a candy, and again she paid with one mon, and left just as quietly as she had come.

Every night for six nights, this exact scenario played out. On the seventh night, she returned, but this time had no money. When she asked “One candy please,” she presented a handful of leaves. The shopkeeper told her that he could not accept leaves as payment. “Then take this instead,” she said, handing him her coat. The shopkeeper protested, but she insisted. Finally he gave in and accepted the trade.

The next day, a merchant from a neighboring village passed through the town. He stopped in his friend’s shop, and the shopkeeper told him of the strange woman who came visiting every night, and of the coat that she gave him as payment. When the merchant saw the strange woman’s coat hanging in the shop, he went pale. “That is the coat of my friend’s wife!”

“Really? Perhaps it was she who came to the store?”

“That is impossible! She died one week ago. She was buried in this coat!”

The merchant and the shopkeeper looked at each other in disbelief. They went to the temple where she was buried to tell the head priest what the shopkeeper had seen. The priest scolded them for believing in such superstitions. Afterwards he took them to the woman’s grave to show them that all was okay. When they reached the grave, however, they heard the unmistakable screaming of a newborn baby coming from under the earth!

They dug up the grave and discovered that it was indeed the corpse woman who had been visiting the shop! What’s more, entwined in her arms, a living baby wrapped up in cloth. The woman had given birth posthumously in her coffin. Wrapped up with the baby were the six mostly-eaten pieces of candy, which had kept the baby from starving during the week. Its mother had bought the candy with the six mon traditionally placed with a corpse to pay the guardians of the underworld.

They took the baby from the corpse and returned it to its family. When they reburied the woman’s body, the corpse had a serene expression on its face. And the ghostly visitor to the candy store was never seen again.

Kubikajiri
首かじり
くびかじり

Translation: head biter
Habitat: graveyards; appears on the autumn equinox
Diet: severed heads

Appearance: Kubikajiri are ghosts who feed upon the heads of the dead. They have long, disheveled hair, discolored skin, and sunken eyes. They wear white burial robes and, like most Japanese ghosts, have no legs.

Behavior: Kubikajiri appear on the autumn equinox. They lurk around graveyards, looking for freshly buried corpses. When they find one, they dig it up and begin eating it, leaving blood and gore all over the ground.

Origin: Kubikajiri developed from a painting by Ippitsusai Bunchō of a ghost eating a man’s head in a graveyard. At some point, the picture was copied and renamed kubikajiri, and described as a yōkai rather than a yūrei.

There are two popular explanations for the origin of this yōkai. One says that kubikajiri are created when a person dies and is buried without their head. Their corpse turns into this yōkai and begins to hunt for fresh heads in graveyards.

Another explanation says that kubikajiri are the spirits of elderly people who have starved to death. During periods of famine or economic trouble, family members who were seen as a burden—such as the very old or infirm—were occasionally neglected and allowed to die in order to reduce the number of mouths to feed. Resentment of this mistreatment turns the dead into yōkai after their deaths. After the person who allowed them to die has themselves died, the kubikajiri will dig up their grave and then devour the head.

Kuchisake onna
口裂け女
くちさけおんな

Translation: slit-mouthed woman
Habitat: dimly-lit streets and alleys
Diet: none; though enjoys hard candy

Appearance: The kuchisake onna is the ghost of a woman who was mutilated and has come back to wreak vengeance on the world. Her name comes from the deep, bloody gash which runs across her face, grinning from ear to ear. She appears at night to lone travelers on the road, covering her grizzly mouth with a cloth mask, a fan, or a handkerchief.

Interactions: Kuchisake onna sneaks up on her victims in the dark and asks them if they think she is beautiful: “Watashi, kirei?” If the victim answers yes, she pulls off her mask and reveals a red, blood-dripping, grotesque mouth. Then she asks in a grisly voice if they still think she is beautiful: “Kore demo?” If her victim answers no or screams in terror, she slashes him from ear to ear in an imitation of her own mutilation. If he lies and answers yes a second time, she walks away—only to follow her target home and slaughter him brutally that night.

Origin: The spirits of the dead who were killed in particularly violent manners—abused wives, tortured captives, defeated enemies—often do not rest well. The kuchisake onna is thought to be one such woman. However, during the Edo period, a large number of kuchisake onna attacks were blamed on shape-changed kitsune playing pranks on young men. During the 20th century, the blame began to be placed on ghosts, serial killers, and simple mass hysteria. This resulted in an explosion of kuchisake onna sightings over Japan. Over the years, clever young people claim to have outsmarted kuchisake onna by delivering quick, confusing answers, or by throwing money or hard candy at them. This buys enough time to escape from the kuchisake onna’s wrath and lose her in the darkness.

Nikusui
肉吸い
にくすい

Translation: meat sucker
Habitat: mountain roads between Mie and Wakayama Prefectures
Diet: human meat; especially that of young men

Appearance: Nikusui are vampiric yōkai which hunt late at night on mountain roads. They usually appear in the form of young, beautiful women about 18 or 19 years old.

Behavior: Nikusui prey upon young men traveling alone by lantern light. They appear from out of the darkness and begin to flirt. They ask their prey to lend them their lantern. When they get close enough, they snuff out the light. Then, in the pitch dark, they bite into their victims and suck the meat from their bodies, leaving nothing but skin and bones.

Occasionally nikusui will approach lone men in their bedrooms. They use sex to seduce and weaken their prey. Then they can suck the meat from their prey at their leisure.

Interactions: To protect against nikusui, villagers who live near the border between Mie and Wakayama Prefectures avoid walking at night without a spare light source. Those who absolutely must travel through the mountains night protect themselves by preparing spare lanterns and burning coals. If a nikusui steals their lantern, they can throw burning coals at them to keep them away.

Origin: Tales about nikusui are cautionary tales, warning young men to keep away from strange women. A beautiful woman could “snuff out a man’s fire,” draining his money and distracting him from more important things. Less metaphorically, there was a real folk belief in a sickness called jinkyo—weakness in men caused by the loss of semen. Overindulgence in sexual activity was believed to drain a man of his virility, leaving him weak and anxious. Losing too much semen could even be lethal. Therefore, sexual promiscuity was frowned upon not only due to social mores, but for health reasons too. Nikusui represent the dangers of young men overindulging in their lust.

Legends: A hunter named Genzō was hunting late at night on Mt. Hatenashi. All of a sudden, a beautiful young woman of about 18 or 19 years appeared before him and laughed with an eerie “ho ho.” Though it was night, she carried no lantern. The young woman asked to borrow Genzō light. Genzō had a very bad feeling about her. He carried a blessed bullet with a prayer to Amida Buddha incribed upon. He loaded that bullet into his rifle and threatened the girl. She fled into the darkness, Genzō continued on his way.

A short time later, a terrible monster over 6 meters tall rushed out of the darkness at him. Genzō fired his rifle with the holy bullet at the monster. The monster fell, and Genzō was able to get a closer look at the monster’s true form: a bleached white skeleton inside a loose bag of skin, with no meat at all.

Coffin

*Undead Which Are Trapped Or Associated With Objects, Which They Possess, But At Trapped By.


Nuribotoke
塗佛
ぬりぼとけ

Translation: coated Buddha
Habitat: poorly cared for family altars, run-down homes
Diet: none

Appearance: Nuribotoke is a grotesque zombie-like spirit which creeps out of a butsudan, or family altar, that has been accidentally left open at night. It is a soft, flabby, corpse-like spirit with oily black skin and a pungent smell. Trailing behind is a catfish-like tail connected to its spine. The most striking and disturbing feature is this spirit’s eyeballs, which dangle wildly from its eye sockets.

Interactions: Nuribotoke do not do much other than fly about, flap their tails, and terrorize the families whose butsudan they crawled out from. They dance about impishly and revel in their ability to terrorize the living. Occasionally they try to trick foolish humans by giving false prophecies. They can be kept at bay by sprinkling salt on the floor, which they will avoid crossing. Nuribotoke must return to the butsudan before sunrise, and they vanish altogether during the day. Even though they are mostly harmless, it is best to prevent their appearance altogether by shutting the butsudan at night.

Origin: In most Japanese homes there is a large, ornate, wooden shrine called a butsudan. Inside are religious icons, scrolls, mantras, statues, and other holy items. It serves as the center of household spirituality, and the ancestors of a family are all enshrined in it. During the day, the butsudan stays open. During holidays and special occasions, it is treated like a member of the family and treated to offerings of food and sake. The doors to a butsudan are always closed at sunset—the butsudan is a gateway to the spirit world. Superstition warns that if the butsudan is left open certain spirits can wander freely back and forth between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Nuribotoke is one of these spirits.