Japanese Folk Monsters

Japanese Folk Monsters

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to discover something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique and old monsters is Japan.
Ushi-Oni
The Ushi-Oni is commonly referred to as a cow demon or an ox demon due to the fact that its appearance is not always the same. Sometimes it will have a crab body and an ox head, the body of a spider with giant tusks in addition to flying squirrel wings, and other times it will appear as a very unfriendly cow. The Ushi-Oni will typically conceal itself close to the shore in order to terrorize local fishermen with its ghastly appearance.
Shuten Doji
The Shuten Doji lived in Kyoto and would feed its appetite for human flesh by luring women into its castle. Once the women were inside the castle, they would find themselves imprisoned until the Shuten Doji was hungry enough to eat them. The Shuten Doji was near impossible to slay, as a hero looking to feed it drugged sake to lull it to sleep would quickly find that creature would transform into a red demon when it ingested sake. If beheaded, the head of the Shuten Doji would remain alive to seek vengeance on those that had sought to kill it.
Teke Teke
Teke Teke was once a young schoolgirl by the name of Kashima Reiko who fell on to the Meishin Railway where her legs were cut off by a train. After her death from blood loss, she became the vengeful spirit known as Teke Teke. She often haunts railways where she will kill those she comes across that do not flee fast enough by cutting off their legs and watching them bleed out. Other times she is known to haunt bathroom stalls where she will ask three questions and a wrong answer will see her victim lose their legs and their life. Her questions are:
1. Where are my legs? Answer: Meishin Railway
2. Who told you this? Answer: Kashima Reiko
2. What is my name? Answer: Mask Death Demon
Gashadokuro
Gashadokuro are spirits that are fifteen time taller than the average person and look like giant skeletons. The bones in their bodies were collected by the spirits from people that died of starvation. They hunt for unwary travelers only after midnight in order to satisfying their craving for fresh blood. They decapitate their victims and then drink the blood that comes spraying out of the body. They have powers of invisibility and are indestructible. The only way to stay safe from these spirts is to have a Shinto charm.
Aka Manto
Aka Manto is a spirit that takes the appearance of a handsome man with a mask covering his face that haunts public and school bathrooms. Aka Manto can choose to be visible or invisible to his chosen victims as he asks his victim a question that will determine their fate. The questions and the results of the different answers are:
1. Do you want red paper or blue paper?
Red: Aka Manto slices them apart until the victim's clothes are covered in red blood.
Blue: Aka Manto strangles the victim until they turn blue.
Requests for different color paper means the victim is dragged by Aka Manto to the Netherworld.
Silence: Aka Manto will depart if no answer is given.
2. Do you want a red cape or blue cape?
Red: Aka Manto will rip the skin off his victim's back.
Blue: Aka Manto will drain all the blood from the victim’s body.
Yellow: Aka Manto will drown the victim multiple times, but eventually leave the victim alive.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Monsters and Creatures of Afghanistan

Monsters and Creatures of Afghanistan

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to discover something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique and old monsters is Afghanistan. Afghanistan has a unique view that is different from most countries in regards to monsters as many in the country still hold true belief in the existence of such monsters. Yet, they are also known for not having the plethora of monster legends and myths that some countries do. Is this because Afghanistan monsters really did used to exist and do exist or does their culture just keep the myths to a minimum?
Giants
While most people view giants as a mythological tale, Afghan culture actually believes in the existence of such creatures. There is a grave marker that is 20 meters (65 feet long), that is supposedly the grave of a real giant. An article from Marking Time Living War had a police officer talking about giants that had died out about eighty years ago that were twenty to thirty meters tall. Many of the current residents of Afghanistan were told of giants by their grandparents or great-grandparents, who saw giants with their own eyes (Marking Time Living War, 2013). The fact that so many people do, in fact, believe that giants were real has created a large pool of legends about the creatures for a writer to draw from. However, if the story is going to be written with the intent of being read by an Afghan audience, then be careful to either clearly label the story as fiction or take care not to give offense.
Djinn
There are multiple sub types of the mythical species known as Djinn, which range from malevolent to benevolent. There have been myths surrounding Djinn in Afghanistan that paint the creatures as having monstrous red eyes, the body of a man, but with the edges of its figure being smoky in nature. The creatures often take delight in scaring those that trespass into its territory, but the encounters often remain non violent unless the creature is provoked by violence. If provoked, these creatures will kill their intended victim in horrible, painful ways. The method and type of the kill can vary from Djinn to Djinn as each creature has its own preferred kill method for those who provoke its ire. Unlike most Djinn legends which occurred hundreds if not thousands of years ago, there are supposed sightings of Djinn in present day Afghanistan.
Ghosts and Spirits
Afghanistan has many legends and myths that refer to spirits and ghosts and yet most of these stories involve simple hauntings that were caused by a dead person having unfinished business or wanting vengeance on those that caused their death. Afghanistan’s myths are rather lacking when it comes to famous or well-known ghosts.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Creatures from Bahamas Myth and Legend

Creatures from Bahamas Myth and Legend

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique creatures is the Bahamas. Each of islands in the Bahamas has their own unique legends filled with  creatures from different myths.
Andros Bahamas: Lusca
Lusca is a monsterous creature that is believed to live in the blue holes of Andros Bahamas. Lusca is a Bahamas legend that is akin to the Loch Ness Monster; it is believed that Lusca is a half octopus with its other half being either a dragon or shark, depending on the legend that Lusca is featured in. Lusca has long strong metallic tentacles that gleam in the sun when they are raised out of the water to drag sailors and ships down into Lusca’s underwater lair when they trespass on the territory that belongs to Lusca. However, no matter the legend, Lusca is always referred to as a female monster that lives underwater. It is believed that she is responsible for drowning those that sail into the blue holes that she calls home. Many of the residents of the Bahamas still steer clear of the blue holes to this day out of fear of Lusca dragging them to an underwater grave.
Exuma Bahamas: Pretty Molly
Pretty Molly is a legend unique to Little Exuma, as she was so named due to her believing to reside in Pretty Molly Bay. Pretty Molly is a legend with two different tellings. The first legend is that Pretty Molly is a mermaid with a beautiful tail with three fins that look like underwater wings. In this version she is a beautiful and somewhat harmless creature that lives in Pretty Molly Bay and the only time she shows any hint of violence is against those that would try to harm her and even then, those that try are often left half drowned, but alive. The second legend  is that Pretty Molly is in fact a ghost that was once a slave, one that committed suicide in Pretty Molly Bay to escape her masters by walking into the bay and drowning herself to escape her life of pain. In this legend, Pretty Molly can take on the form of a mermaid if she so chooses and she haunts the shore of the beach where she once committed suicide. Her ghost has been known to terrify those that destroy her solitude at night with horrible screams and the feeling of the pain that she once endured.
Andros Bahamas: The Chickcharnies
The Chickcharnies are believed to reside in the tallest pine trees and they make their nests in the spot where the two tallest pine trees are joined together. The Chickcharnies are bird-like creatures that look like an owl with three fingers, three toes, and the ability to rotate their heads a complete 360 degrees. It is believed that the Chickcharnies can grant good fortune for a lifetime to those that  show them respect. Those who fail to show the proper amount of respect can find themselves cursed with a lifetime of ill fortune and, in extreme cases, the Chickcharnies have been known to leave those they dislike with their heads turned around backwards.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

How to Write a Unique Spooky Story

How to Write a Unique Spooky Story

Writing a spooky story can be difficult with so many different monster books and movies that hog all the best monsters. If you choose zombies, your story is automatically going to be compared to The Walking Dead and Z Nation; if you choose vampires you are going to have to face off against Twilight, and there are just so many books, movies, and TV shows with ghosts that it is hardly worth it. In order to write a truly spooky story that will attract readers, you need to produce a well-written story that is unique from what is already available.
Choosing Your Type of Horror: Stephen King, well known author of all thing scary and spooky, has categorized the three types of terror that are essential in a spooky story. According to him, there is: “The Gross-out: a severed head tumbling down the stairs, the lights go out, and something slimy splatters against you. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead walking, the lights go out and something claws you. The Terror: the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there.” (Stephen King)
A spooky story does not need to include all of these elements, but each spooky story should include at least one, unless you are aiming for a child friendly story or more of a cute spook like Casper the Friendly Ghost. Whether you choose to include one, two, or all three of the elements in your spooky story, you need to own them and make them unique to your story and not a cliché.
Making Your Monster or Spooky Fiend: Once you have chosen your element(s) of horror, the next step is constructing your spooky monster or fiend. In order to make your story unique, you should avoid the well-known monsters by either digging into myths and legends to find a terrifying monster or fiend that is not well known, or by creating your own unique creature.
 Finding a Creature of Myth or Legend
If you have made the choice to find a monster that is not well known, then you should begin by doing research into myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. Some examples of such creatures and fiends would be: the Jewish demon Dybbuk, the German Nachzehrer, the Sumerian Gugalanna, the Chinese were-tigers, the Romanian Strigoi, and the Slavic Koschei the Deathless. All of these monsters and creature are horrors buried deep in the myths and legends from around the world that most people would not know about. This would allow you to have a rich mythology base that you can use to pull your reader in.
Crafting Your Own Monster
If you are a particularly creative person, you might be able to create your own monster or creature from scratch with just your imagination to guide you. However, if you are not extremely creatively gifted, then the easiest way to make your own monster is to pick two or three already existing monsters that you like and combine your favorite elements in a new monster that you can make up a name for.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Mythical Creatures of Iceland

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique and old monsters is Iceland.

Lagarfljotsormur
Lagarfljotsormur loosely translates to 'worm monster' and the Lagarfljotsormur is the Icelandic version of the Loch Ness Monster. Lagarfljotsormur is believed to live in the Lagarfljot Lake, which is located near Egilsstadir in East Iceland. Lagarfljotsormur is believed to have been born when a young girl placed a gold ring under a heath-dragon (also known as a lungworm) in her dresser. A few days later the lungworm had grown so big, it broke the girl’s dresser. In fear, the girl tossed the lungworm and the ring into Lagarfljot Lake. Once in the lake, the growth of the lungworm accelerated until it became so big that it was able to terrorize people and animals that came too close to the lake.
Trolls
Trolls have a mostly humanoid form with a stooped back and a general level of ugliness that marks them as trolls and not humans. The trolls of Iceland are generally known for their fierce temperament that can cause them to act rashly, yet they have also been known to be fair deal makers. The trolls are believed to live in small communities hidden in the mountains that keep them safe from the rays of the sun, which would turn them into stone, and humans who would hunt them for their ability to create all sorts of things from stone. Trolls can be bargained with and favors can be exchanged, yet they can also become enraged at slights and their revenge is always crueler than the slight.
Skugga-Baldurs and Skoffíns
Both Skugga-Baldurs and Skoffíns are creatures that are born from the mating of a cat and a fox, though their appearances differ greatly. Skoffíns are generally the size of a small house cat and often look like underfed runts; these creatures are known for using their intellect to try to outwit humans. The Skugga-Baldurs is a giant cat the size of a mountain lion with fox-like features. These large creatures will often hunt humans that enter their territory, as well as those that try to capture their smaller cousins, the Skoffíns. Both Skugga-Baldurs and Skoffíns can kill or paralyze humans with one glance and the only known defense is to turn their own gaze against them using a reflective surface.  
Marbendill
Marbendill are male mermaids that live in Iceland. These creatures often have more fish traits than human traits, which make them well suited for colder weather, but less suited for pleasant human interaction. Marbendill can sense the innermost emotions of humans and animals and this makes them well aware of the intention of the person seeking them out. The Marbendill will often ignore humans who are just curious, but will play cruel tricks on those looking to capture a Marbendill. If the human persists after the Marbendill trick, then that human is pulled into the dark depths of the water that the Marbendill live in and is never seen again.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke