You've needed a peaceful vacation for a while.
The last two times you tried to go on vacation, things didn't quite go according to plan.
First you thought going to a nice monastery out in eastern europe with your girlfriend
would be a fun, cultural experience, and instead you ended up having to fight Valak the demon
nun for your very soul.
Then after getting a new girlfriend- because you had to yeet the old one out a window in
your fight with Valak- you decided to play it safe and go camping in the woods right
here in the good ole' US of A. That turned out to be a mistake too when suddenly you
were attacked by the Blair Witch and once more had to... well, throw your girlfriend
off a cliff because she was trying to disembowel you after getting possessed.
Then you sorta set the entire forest on fire and well, no use crying over spilled milk.
Ok, you're going east this time for a vacation and getting as far away as possible from anything
demonic or evil as you possibly can.
You briefly decide to hop a flight to South Korea to meet all of the awesome South Korean
Infographics fans- here's looking at you Hyeontae- but get a budget flight to Tokyo instead.
Well, nothing supernatural or evil has EVER happened in the east you decide, and take
off for a few days of rest and relaxation
Upon arriving you check in to a chic little place you found on AirBnB and settle in for
a few days of rest and relaxation with absolutely zero demons or evil spirits.
Because Japan makes the best, most insane game shows in the world, you plop yourself
down on the couch and settle in to watch a crazy game show- but suddenly a black cat
hops up onto the coffee table in front of you.
Weird you think, the listing didn't say anything about a cat in the apartment, and as you go
to pet the cat it hisses at you and suddenly disappears!
That's when you hear it- a low, gurgling, croaking moan of sorts, and the thump of something
coming down the stairs...
You turn around in horror, frozen in place as you see a pale figure with long, black
hair crawling down the stairs, upside down like a freakish, horrifying human spider.
The hair parts just slightly and you can see the face, and a bolt of ice-cold lightning
strikes you- it's her, the girlfriend you yeeted out a window because she got possessed
by Valak the demon nun!
And now she's back for revenge, returned from the dead as a Japanese vengeful spirit, hellbent
on making you pay.
So you thought you'd head off to Japan for a nice, relaxing vacation after fighting off
Valak and the Blair Witch and instead ended up resurrecting your dead girlfriend as a
Japanese Onryō who's now looking for revenge?
That's why you should research local culture before planning international trips, but forget
that, how are you going to defeat this Onryō?!
Every culture has its vengeful spirits, human beings who were wronged in life and now spend
the afterlife unable to find peace.
In western culture many times the vengeful spirit can be calmed and encouraged to move
on by simply righting the wrong done to it- finding the bones of a murdered victim and
giving them a proper burial, or perhaps bringing the killer to justice, can often be enough
to dispel a western ghost.
Not in eastern culture, because in Asian countries they take the concept of a ghost and turn
it up to 11.
Asian countries don't have none of that sissy Hamlet's father's ghost coming to guilt trip
you about the things you did or didn't do- no, Asian ghosts will tear your head clean
off your shoulders, and refuse to stop haunting you until you make them an honorary emperor.
Forget Casper the friendly ghost, you're up against a Japanese Onryō who's not going
to waste much time trying to drive you insane before horrifically murdering you.
No one knows exactly when belief in Onryō began, but the belief is traced back to at
least the 8th century.
Historically, these ghosts have been the victims of a malicious wrong that went unpunished
in life, and manifest in our world in order to torment and kill those who did them wrong.
While a western ghost will typically focus its rage on just the person who wronged it,
Onryō operate on a more 'spray and pray' mentality similar to a machine gunning mobster,
and generally kill literally anyone who happens to be in their general vicinity.
Innocent, or not.
Sometimes though the curse that creates a Onryō can be so powerful, that they can be
physically bound to a place, and remain long after they have claimed their revenge.
Even more terrifyingly, an Onryō 's victim can come back themselves as an Onryō, forced
to torment and kill anyone who trespasses on the cursed property.
Much like a western ghost though, Onryō can be exorcised by priests- whether Christian,
Buddhist, or from any of the number of other religions found in the region.
True faith is all that's required to successfully exorcise any evil spirit, though the exorcist
better beware that they don't fall victim to the Onryō themselves.
Unlike any other type of ghost- even a poltergeist- Onryō are extremely violent and dangerous.
Famous Onryō include the tale of a samurai who vowed to his dying wife that he'd never
remarry.
Shortly after her death though he meets a young woman and decides to marry anyways,
only for the dead wife's ghost to return from the grave and rip the young bride's head clean
off her shoulders.
Like we said, ghosts are way more intense in the east.
Another famous Onryō was the brother of Japan's Emperor Kanmu, who may have false accused
his brother of plotting to remove him from the throne.
As punishment the brother was exiled and forced to die from starvation after fasting.
Out of fear for the Onryō's revenge, the emperor ordered the capital be moved twice
in order to avoid the spirit's wrath.
Why move an entire capital to avoid a spirit?
Well, that's because unlike other ghosts, Onryō can basically Thanos-snap entire natural
disasters into existence.
We've been trying to tell you for a while now, eastern ghosts are like ghosts on steroids-
oh sure the Banshee of Irish mythology can kill you if you hear her wail, but a Japanese
Onryō will straight up level an entire city if it's pissed off enough.
Earthquakes, floods, fires, drought, famine, and even pestilence have all been attributed
to Onryō in the past.
So what's a Onryō bring to the table in a one-on-one fight?
Well, other than leveling the building you're standing in with an earthquake, an Onryō
is super naturally fast.
How fast?
Well, imagine that a bunch of steroids started themselves taking steroids, and then Usain
bolt took those steroids which were juiced up on steroids.
The Onryō is faster.
So yeah, running is basically not an option.
As if being fast wasn't enough, Onryō are also supernaturally strong, perfectly capable
of snapping limbs like twigs or our personal favorite, using their creepy, long black hair
to strangle or hang people to death.
Oh, and they're fond of ripping people's jaws off.
Other Onryō powers are pretty standard evil spirit stuff: they can teleport at will, though
seemingly only within a certain radius of their victim.
They can also shapeshift between their humanoid shape which typically resembles what they
looked like in life, albeit much, much paler and with long black hair, and a shadow shape
where they billow forth sort of like an ink cloud.
They can also psychologically torment their victims by projecting visions into their head,
or simply messing with their environment by creating horrifying illusions.
Alright, so you're up against an Onryō which is the vengeful spirit of your dead girlfriend.
How are you going to win this one on one matchup to the death?
Well, first make sure that Valak isn't anywhere around, because being haunted by the ghost
of a girlfriend that Valak himself had formerly possessed to try and kill you just doesn't
really seem like a coincidence.
After getting the all clear on Valak, it's time to focus on your Onryō- only this time
don't think that positive thoughts, cute puppies, and lazy adorable sloths are going to save
you, because that happy-feel-good crap doesn't work on Asian ghosts.
First thing you gotta do is protect yourself from that dreaded hair attack that Onryō
are so famous for using.
Typically they will use their supernaturally long strands of hair to choke, strangle, or
outright hang a victim, but you're ready with a high-powered professional landscaping weedwhacker.
Featuring several horsepower, this gas-fed weed-obliterating machine will make short
work of any murderous hair attacks, and leave the Onryō with a fresh haircut to boot.
Don't revel in your victory just yet though, because Onryō are fully capable of regenerating,
although it does take a bit of time.
All you've really done is buy yourself some breathing room, which you're going to use
to run to your nearest Buddhist temple and start getting zen real quick.
In Japanese folklore, the Onryō that ripped off the head of the cheating Samurai's young
bride was itself defeated by a guard who struck it with his katana while reciting a Buddhist
prayer.
Here's the problem: you don't know any Buddhist prayers, and you're not going to learn one
fast enough to save your life, so your best bet is to beg for an exorcism from the attending
monks.
Unlike Christian priests, religious figures in the east are much more willing to perform
exorcism rituals.
Asian cultures tend to be deeply steeped in beliefs in the afterlife, spirits- both good
and bad- and supernatural events.
Western, Christian culture on the other hand is far less accepting of the supernatural,
which is kind of weird when you consider that part of the Christian trinity is literally
called the holy ghost.
Make a significant contribution at your local Buddhist monastery in order to garner the
services of an Exorcist and prepare for the final battle.
If your monk is unable to exorcise the spirit though, or perhaps decides that he doesn't
want his own head ripped off, well, it's time to take some drastic measures.
Remember how we said that sometimes a Onryō can be tied to a location?
Well, much like in your fight against the Blair Witch, if there's no location to haunt,
then there should be no ghost...
Those of you who are regular fans of You Versus already know where this is going, and yes,
it's time to once more set everything on fire and burn it to the ground.
Listen, we know it seems rather extreme, but did you miss the part where Onryō can rip
people's freaking heads clean off?
We're not messing around here, it's time to make like a failing New Jersey business and
collect the insurance money by torching everything in sight.
You can't leave anything behind, and you'll probably get a terrible rating and review
by your AirBnB host, but hey, your head's staying firmly on your shoulders.
Of course, there's always the possibility that your Onryō isn't tied to a location
at all, and instead is tied to you.
In that case, well, it's been nice knowing you, and hey, maybe when she murders you don't
come back and haunt us in return- we honestly did our best here.
How would you defeat a vengeful Onryō?!
Let us know in the comments!
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The choice is yours, now click that link- or we'll haunt you.