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Haunted Japan

Exploring the World of Japanese Yokai, Ghosts and the Paranormal

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About this listen

Japanese folklore is abundant with tales of ghostly creatures and the supernatural. In Haunted Japan, author Catrien Ross reveals the legends that have been passed down for generations and continue to terrify us today. To research this book on the country's ghosts, demons, and paranormal phenomena, Ross collected accounts from across Japan including:

  • Sacred Mount Osore, a Japanese gateway to the land of the dead, where people gather to contact those who have passed on
  • The Tokyo grave of the samurai Taira no Masakado, where passersby regularly witnessed his ghost until prayers finally laid him to rest
  • The mummified remains of the monk Tetsumonkai at the Churenji Temple on Mount Yudono - a place where bizarre happenings are common
  • The ruins of Hachioji Castle in Tokyo, which was abandoned for many years because of its many hauntings

The result is an unparalleled insight into the dark corners of the Japanese psyche - a world filled with horrifying creatures including Oni (demons with fierce and ghastly appearances), Yurei (Japanese ghosts who inhabit the world of the living), and Yokai (supernatural monsters).

©2020 Catrien Ross (P)2020 Tantor Customs & Traditions Fantasy Social Sciences Haunted Paranormal Ghost Tradition Paranormal Nonfiction
All stars
Most relevant
I found this to be quite in depth and some parts not that interesting. The collection of stories towards the end were really good.

Haunted Japan

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I am a skeptic yet interestested in paranormal stuff. The first part of this book is mumbo jumbo spoon bending healing bollocks made matter fact , when in reality , well and truely debunked and copied by magicians. More mythology. Still , its interesting in parts, but as usual, no evidence

Okay in bits

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I had hoped this book would retell a selection of Japanese ghost stories, folktales and urban legends. However, while it very well might do in the later pages, the 'shaman' author is clearly more invested in pushing her alternative/spiritualist agenda than delivering what the title promises, among other things overfocusing on the life stories of individuals with supposed psychic abilities and portraying the move towards Western medicine during the Meiji restoration as a sad event. I had to stop listening after the first few chapters as the content was becoming too wishy-washy to stomach.

Codswallop

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I will admit I didn't get very far into this book, but what I did manage was terrible. The narration was dire and the part that I heard sounded more like they came from a pamphlet you would get handed by the local weirdo who wants you to join their cult. A real shame as this is a subject that really interests me, however, this was not for me, and cannot recommend it.

Terrible

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