Ive lost track of how many Urban Legends videos Ive done - my memory is going a little bit
- one thing I do remember though is that our video on Japanese urban legends was one of
the first.
You guys seemed to love it and although weve now travelled the whole world with this series,
there was something extra creepy about the Japanese stories.
I had some really good ones saved for if we ever did a part 2 and guess what, youre watching
it right now.
This is your last chance to turn off the video, Ok, here we go.
My name is Danny Burke and this is the Top 10 Scary Japanese Urban Legends Part 2.
Starting off at number 10 we have Himuro Mansion.
If you love creepy houses with paranormal stories, you may have heard of this famous
one.
Himuro Mansion is secluded building on the outskirts of Tokyo where brutal murders were
carried out by a family in what was known as -The Strangling Ritual- … it was insane.
The family believed there was a portal on their property that was bringing them bad
karma from deep within the Earth - they decided they had to seal it.
They adopted a local village girl at birth and raised her in isolation until she was
ready for her purpose.
When she was old enough, they tied her wrists, ankles and neck to 5 oxen - then they pulled
in 5 different directions.
The girls limbs and head were ripped clean off her body.
They then took the rope, soaked it in her blood at laid it at the entrance of the portal.
This was their ritual - and they believed that every sacrifice would protect them for
years.
Something went wrong though during their last ritual.
The woman who was supposed to be raised in isolation had actually formed a bond with
a man who had tried to rescue her.
Her captors didnt realise this though and how much it would affect the ritual - it backfired
and cursed them.
The father went insane and murdered his whole family before falling on his own sword.
This dark ending stained the mansion with their souls forever.
Locals say the walls are often splattered with the fresh blood, even though nobody has
lives there for years.
Some say its the blood of the family reappearing, others say it belongs to the people who visit
the mansion, not realising they are the next victims of the strangling ritual …
Next up at number 9 we have Aka Manto.
In English, this one is known as the Red Cape.
Its said to be a malicious spirit who kills people at public and school bathrooms.
The spirit will always ask them if they want red or blue paper.
If you say red, you will suffer a bloody, violent death.
If you say blue, youll be suffocated until you turn blue and die.
You cant trick the spirit etiehr - if you try and say you want normal white paper, ghostly
hands appearing out of nowhere - sometimes right out of the toilet youre sitting on and
drag you down to hell.
Thats right - if you ask for white paper, youll be dragged to hell through a toilet
- I always suspected toilets were portals to the underworld, this confirms my theory.
There is one and only and one way to avoid this grizzly fate - they say you have to refuse
anything the spirit offers you.
If you do this, he will leave, at least for now … you can be dragged to hell through
a toilet another day …
Moving on to number 8 we have Tominos Hell.
This has become a pretty famous urban legend of the internet in recent years.
You may know it as a creepypasta - but its history goes back 100 years ago.
According to legend, Tominos Hell is the name of a story that was published in a 1919 collection
of poetry titled Sakin.
The poet was Saijo Yaso - a University professor whos work was filled with strange symbols
and wordplay that some people find very disturbing.
Its based around the buddhist concept of hell and recounts the story of Tomino and his sisters
being tortured in hell.
Sounds interesting right?
Im sure you now want to hear me read it out - well, heres the thing.
According to internet legend, the poem will curse the read with misfortune and even death
if read allowed.
It should only ever be read in your head.
Now, Im not a particularly superstitious person but yeah, Im not gonna read it out unless
I have to.
You can see exerts of it on the screen now and of course you can find the full version
of the poem online.
Just remember - don't read it out loud - Im quite fond of you guys.
Next up at number 7 we have Gozu.
This roughly translates to Cow Head and is a 17th century story that was deemed so horrific,
so spine chillingly shocking, almost all copies of it were destroyed.
The few people that read or heard from one of the last copies were said to sit in silence,
shaking for days until eventually dying of fright.
Because of all this, only fragments of the tale remain to this day.
One day, a schoolteacher was taking his students on a field trip.
In order to calm them down on the bus, he decided to read them a horror story.
For some reason, he chose to read from a copy of Gozu.
He only meant to scare the kids a little bit, but they began convulsing and begging him
to stop.
To his horror, he found that he couldn't stop.
It was as if some dark force was compelling him to continue.
His eyes turned white, he said unspeakable things - the children were screaming and then
- nothing.
He awoke a few hours later.
The school bus was in a ditch, the driver was slumped over the wheel, shaking.
The children were unconscious and foaming at the mouth.
If you find a copy of that story, miss me.
Coming in at number 6 now we have Inunaki Village.
Many Japanese villages are famous for their beauty - not this one - this is one you never
want to visit.
Legend says that society abandoned this place and lawless people moved in - outcasts of
society who saw a chance to live somewhere where good people could never stop them.
They had their own set of laws which legalized incest, cannibalization and murder.
As the rumours of this village grew, people wanted to know what happened - why did everyone
leave?
Well, they say the villagers were killed off by a serial killer with an axe.
Another explanation is that a terrible disease made everyone rot.
As far as details about this dark place go, thats pretty much everything.
Many people have tried to visit it but they say those that succeed are never heard from
again.
The fact that you cant get phone signal there only adds to its scare factor …
Moving on to number 5 now we have The Okiku Doll.
While many of the stories I talk about are of spirits or things from thousands of years
ago that you can visit or touch - this is a very real doll that you can actually go
and see for yourself.
Its on display at a religious temple, it has its very own section.
Why would a doll deserve its own section?
Well, how do I put this - the dolls hair grows.
Yeah.
Thats what they say.
Perhaps even creepeir is that the hair growing from the dolls head is human.
So where did this creepy human hair growing doll come from?
Well, according to the story, it was originally given to a 2 year old girl by her brother
in 1918.
The girl died a year later and the family kept the doll in memory of her.
Some sort of soul fusing appears to have happened because thats when they noticed the hair growing.
The parents were freaked out and brought the doll to a priest.
He agreed to keep it for a few months and observe it to confirm if their story was true.
He said it was, and the doll has remained on display in the temple ever since.
The doll was named after the girl who it belonged to - this year marks 100 years since it was
bought for her - maybe someone should keep an eye on it …
Moving on to number 4 we have KuneKune.
Some say this is basically the Japanese version of Slenderman.
Kune Kune will always appear far away at first - in the distance, in the shadows, his white
body twisting in the wind.
Its a good thing he appears at a distance from you - because thats exactly how you want
it to stay.
They say if he gets near you, you will go mad forever.
There is no cure, there is no coming back - you step near him and your mind turns to
permanent jelly.
According to Japanese legend, he has claimed many, MANY victims over the years - but you
often wont hear about them because the victims are left wandering alone, going nowhere fast,
until their mind and body collapse for good …
Next up at number 3 we have The Purple Mirror.
Im quite happy with this story, because it involves a creepy curse that doesnt affect
you if youre over the age of 20.
I am - but for those of you that arent, heres a warning from this Japanese Urban Legend.
A young girl was given a mirror by her birthday and spent many hours a day staring at it.
The girl wanted more than anything to be beautiful and developed an eating disorder in order
to be thinner.
It took its toll, she became weak and frail and not the beautiful figure she was chasing.
One day, she threw her mirror on the ground in anger.
A little while later, she was making arrangements for her coming of age party on her 20th birthday.
She got into a horrible car accident and died at the scene.
Her last words were a whisper -purple mirror, purple mirror …- her grieving parents searched
for this mirror, but they never found it.
Now, they say that if you do not forget the phrase -purple mirror- by your 20th birthday,
something bad will happen to you.
So, forget those words.
Maybe I should never have said them in the first place.
Lets move on.
Next up at number 2 we have Hanako-San.
Some call this evil spirit the -terror of the toilet- … youre about to see why.
She is said to be a creepy girl that haunts bathrooms across Japan.
There have been so many stories about her that the details often vary but the main story
is usually the same.
She is often found in the 3rd stall of a womens bathroom on the 3rd floor.
She has bobbed hair and wears a red skirt.
She holes up in the bathroom waiting for someone to provoke her.
However, if for some reason she isnt there, some say there is a way to bring her to you.
I don't know why you would want to though but here it is: you knock on the door to her
stall in multiples of 3 … knock, knock, knock … knock, knock, knock.
You call her name and ask if shes there.
The most common version is to simple say -Are you there Hanako San?- if she is there and
wants to be seen, she will reply in a faint voice saying -Yes, Im here- … of course,
a story like this is never going to have a happy ending.
Legend says that at this point, the stall door will open to reveal a little girl in
a red skirt who pulls the summoner into the toilet …
And finally at number 1 we have The Tokyo Terror Taxi.
Great name right?
This is the story of a taxi drivers paranormal experience in Tokyo many years ago.
Ill read the most popular version to you now -It was a stormy autumn night, near Aoyama
Cemetery, where he picked up a poor young girl drenched by the rain.
It was dark, so he didn’t get a good look at her face, but she seemed sad and he figured
she had been visiting a recently deceased relative or friend.
The address she gave was some distance away, and they drove in silence.
A good cabbie doesn’t make small talk when picking someone up from a cemetery.
When they arrived at the address, the girl didn’t get out, but whispered for him to
wait a bit, while she stared out the window at a 2nd floor apartment.
Ten minutes or so passed as she watched, never speaking, never crying; simply observing a
solitary figure move about the apartment.
Suddenly, the girl asked to be taken to a new address, this one back near the cemetery
where he had first picked her up.
The rain was heavy, and the driver focused on the road, leaving the girl to her thoughts.
When he arrived at the new address, a modern house in a good neighborhood, the cabbie opened
the door and turned around to collect his fare.
To his surprise, he found himself staring at an empty back seat, with a deep puddle
where the girl had been sitting moments before.
Mouth open, he just sat there staring at the vacant seat, until a knocking on the window
shook him from his reverie.
The father of the house, seeing the taxi outside, had calmly walked out bringing with him the
exact charge for the fare.
He explained that the young girl had been his daughter, who died in a traffic accident
some years ago and was buried in Aoyama Cemetery.
From time to time, he said, she hailed a cab and, after visiting her old boyfriend’s
apartment, asked to be driven home.
The father thanked the driver for his troubles, and sent him on his way.
Amazing.
I really could go on forever.
I love Japan.
I love Japan so much that even these really creepy stories wont put me off from visiting.
What country should we do next?
Should we just keep going with Japan?
Turn this into a Japanese Urban Legends channnel?
What do you think?
Thanks for watching as always guys, my name is Danny Burke and Ill see you all in the
next video!