A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- ZMEU

You watch her.  You want her to be your bride. She is perfect for you.

Swooping from the sky, your might is too strong for them.  You take her up into your arms.

She struggles, but it is futile.  She will marry you.  A purr of pleasure rumbles at the thought.

This time your precious maid will not be taken away.



Zmeu is a humanoid dragon!  One of the coolest beings I've come across.  They can turn into full dragons and have other shape shifting ability as well.  They also can create tools to use.

There is a debate on etymology and that he could be some type of ogre or giant, but why mess with a fire-breathing, maiden-stealing, flying bit of awesomeness!

Of course, the handsome young man (aka  Făt-Frumos) has to go rescue the girl from it.  Sometimes, he has to travel to the lair of the Zmeu, tarâmul celălalt (other world/realm) to save the maiden from marrying the creature.

They don't always steal girls. They steal other precious things like golden apples or the sun and moon.

There are different versions from all over Eastern Europe.  This happens to be the Romanian one.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- YAMAUBA

You lead them through the forest.  They have lost their way.

You open your door for them, offer them food. You give them shelter.

You wait.  Anticipation courses through your veins.  Your mouth salivates.

You gaze upon them and grin.  They are asleep.

Rising, you stalk toward the man.  He barely opens his eyes when you strike.

Ah . . . Heaven.  Hot blood of your victim stains your mouth.  Man flesh tastes wonderful.



Yamauba (or Onibaba) is a Japanese demoness or ogress that was once human.  Usually these women fled because of their wicked deeds or were abandoned in times of famine, but they survive to become yokai.

They are classified in the kijo type yokai. They are cannibalistic and will 'help' travelers and shelter them for the night in their huts. They will attack after their guests have fallen asleep.

 They usually live in isolated mountains and forests far from civilization.

Yamauba may have once been kami before being demonized.

One story has a Yamauba raising Kintaro, a legendary hero.

They can also be found in Noh plays.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- XIÈ ZHÌ

You know he is guilty.  You see it as clear a the purest water.

You care not for the speech of the humans.  Your instincts call for you to punish the man before you.

You cannot resist any longer.  You stand and stalk over to the sweating man.

He knows you know.  He stinks of terror.  His eyes are wide as you get even closer.  You raise a paw and strike.



Xiè Zhì or Xièzhì is also known as Xiè Cai or Xiè Chai.  It is described as having one horn, but its body shape has many forms akin to a dog, goat, or (as in the case of the Korean version) a lion.

One scholar called it a "righteous beast" since it has the ability to see right and wrong, good and evil.  In some stories, they were used in courts of law.  The wrongdoer would either be bitten, clawed up, or rammed by the creature as a sign of guilt.

The Korean version is called a Haetae.  It had a bell around its neck and scales on its body.  Statues of it were used to protect Hanyang (Seoul).  

Mention of the it goes back to the Han Dynasty (around 206 BCE).  

In modern times, the Xièzhì is used as a symbol for law and justice in China as well as the Haichi as the official symbol of Seoul.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- WA NYŪDŌ (VERY DISTURBING. BEWARE!)

He is coming.  You can see the burning flames from the end of the street.  You know there is no mercy in the creature.

Don't look.  Don't look, you tell yourself as you huddle down in fear in your house.

The fire lights up the whole of the room from the window.  You can see the blazing of it even through your eyelids.

It passes by, and you relax.  You survived.  Your head rests against the wall in relief.

Screams sound.  You cringe, praying for those souls that were not so lucky as you.




The Wa Nyūdō is one of the deadliest yokai in the Japanese pantheon of them.

He's described as a flaming ox-cart wheel with a man's head at the hub.  This man was -- according to two different versions -- either a nasty daimyo or a corrupt monk that died and is serving penance.

He works for Hell and loves to haunt urban streets for whatever victims he can find.  This yokai haunts urban city streets.  To look at him will have your soul stolen and taken to Hell.  To fall into his path will have your body torn asunder.

One story had a woman looking at him.  The Wa Nyūdō yells at her that if she had time to look at him, then she had time to look after her baby.  When she turned back to the baby, its limbs had been ripped from its body by the creature.

He appears in the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki in 1779, but may come from an older work called the Shokoku Hyakumonogaturi from 1677, which is a collection of ghost stories. Evidence suggests that this yokai goes back even farther to the Heian Period (794 to 1185).

There is a specific ofuda that protects against it.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- VOUGH

You watch the human.  Hate fills your heart and you want to destroy him, but something stops you.

His glowing happy eyes are blue as your home. You want to rip them out of his head, but you can't seem to make yourself.

You want him, and you will have him.



The Vough are Scottish water spirits.  They inhabit both sea and fresh bodies of water.  They are nocturnal, but sources are conflicted if the sun can kill them or not.  Iron, on the other hand, they're pretty much goners.

The Vough are in a group of fey called the Fuath or Fuath-Arrchd.  Also they usually hate humans, but sometimes the want intellectual or sexual congress.  Some clans claim that they have Vough blood in their lineage.

With no noses, yellow shaggy hair or mane, and having a tail with a spike, they are described as deformed humanoids.  They are said to dress in green. Similar creatures ar Kelpie and Uisages.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- UKTENA

Yes! Come warrior, you think as the lithe man appears.  He has traveled far to face you.

He has no idea how easy it will be to destroy him.  He will die trying to take your life, to claim the stone you possess.

He won't succeed. You will dazzle him and the warrior shall perish.



The Uktena, in one legend, was a man who was transformed by the Little Men (maybe it was the Yunwi Tsunsdi' aka Little People).  As this creature he was sent to kill the Sun.  She has sent down a sickness because man angered her.  He failed and was angry and jealous that Rattlesnake was sent instead.

Pronounced ook-tay-nah, this creature is the one of the deadliest among the creatures of the Cherokee.  It has a body of a snake and has rings or spots of color going down its body.  One description also has it having buzzard wings and deer horns.

They are hunted for the crystal on their forhead.  As an object of great power, the Ulunsuti or Ulun'suti stone has great magic for good and evil.

It dazzles the person and even asleep it can render death.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- TENOME

Your friend was supposed to meet you here.  He is late.  You didn't even want to come out here.

You call out his name, hoping he's playing a trick on you.

Going against your better judgment, you enter the graveyard.  Your so going to beat the crap out your friend when you find him.

A strange sound reaches you.  You jump but ignore it as you get closer to the grave you guys wanted to see.

Closer now, the sound reaches you and you swear it's an inhalation like that of a scenting dog.  Strange.

There's something on the ground before the grave.  His jacket?  You shuffle closer.  And then you see it.  It's not just his jacket.

Pained terror stabs your chest as your heart accelerates when you see it's him.  His skin puddled on the ground.

You back up to run away.  As you turn, you see the eyeless face.



This creature is found in the first book of Toriyama Sekien's series, Gazu Hyakki Yakō, which translates to basically Night Parade of A Hundred Demons.  He did not write a single thing about this creature, but his inspiration may have come from older stories of a creature that fits this description.

One version of the origin story says that a blind man was murdered.  His lasts words stated he wished he saw the one/ones who did it even if his eyes were in his hands.  

Well, he got his wish. Tenome literally translates to eyes on hands.  They hang out in graveyards and open fields and they like to eat fresh from the body bones.  

The creature looks like a blind zato, a type of guildman.  They are quick but not powerful, blind as a bat, but with a vicious sense of smell.  

One story has a priest locking a victim in a chest to protect him, but the creature somehow sucked his bones out leaving the skin in the chest.

Yes, this nasty monster did inspire that blipping freaking s.o.b. in Pan's Labyrinth.  

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- SUIKO (UTTERLY GROSS AND SICK AND TWISTED! BE WARNED)

You look over at the small hut in the field and shudder.  The villagers hated the idea, but it was the one sure way of destroying the monster.

They had forbidden anyone from entering the field except for the one who must check the area around the hut.

The stench permeated the air even this far away, which makes your stomach churn. Why anyone would go near is beyond you.

You exit your house and find the elder waiting.  You are to check the hut.

When you near the field, you cover your nose and mouth with cloth.  It will keep out the stench -- barely.  Approaching, you gag at the smell of rotting flesh.  Then you it.  Footprints circling the hut.

You rush around to the other side, and stop.  There on the ground the monster lay dead.


This is how to kill a Suiko.  They are not Kappa, but they are related to them.  Suiko translates to water tiger.

They are more aggressive and have control of kappas, sort of like a mid level boss of mafia thugs, which means they have a hierarchy as do the kappa.  They report to Ryū-ō, the dragon king.

They have growths on their knees that resemble tiger paws.

These water goblins don't go after the shirikodama, aka the human's small anus ball. (No joke. Kappa may find it in the way of getting to the liver or something.  They may even want it. Plus, waterlogged dead bodies sometimes have pooched out bumoly holes.)  Nope, these bad boys like to suck the blood out of a human and eat the  reikon (soul).

They only way known to kill them is to put the dead body on a plank and in a hut of grass and straw and let the corpse rot.  The Suiko has no choice but to be drawn to their victim and will race around the hut until the corpse rots enough that the creature dies.  It is said that it is can become invisible until it dies.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- RED ROOM (AKAI HEYA)

You knock on her door, but there is no answer.  She never does.  You don't worry too much because her music is blaring.

You call out to tell her to go to sleep since it's late.  She heard because the music quiets instantly.

When you knock the next morning, she says nothing.  You go downstairs to make breakfast. Twenty minutes later, you begin to worry. She's usually stomping down the stairs by now.

You go check on her.  Your heart is doing flip-flops for some reason as you reach her door.  You knock and call out again then warn her that you're entering.

You hesitate turning the knob, but you finally do.  The streaming sunlight blinds you for a second.  Blinking, your eyesight adjusts and you see thick streaks of red on the wall closest to you.

Paint?  Then the rusty smell hits you and your gut clenches in fear and sickness.

Not paint.  Blood.  Red stained fingers are stretched out on the far side of the bed. You scream.



The Red Room is a Japanese urban legend in which a pop-up asks a series of questions and then a list of names appears at the bottom with your name added.  One specific question is: Do you like the red room?

When you see a specific pop-up, you commit suicide by using your own blood to paint your room.

This urban legend has an actual murder that is attached to it.  A girl murdered another girl.  Sasebo Slashing (as it is called) took place in 2004.  The girl viciously beat and cut up the victim.

Supposedly, one of her topped bookmarked site on her computer was the Red Room Curse.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- QANDISA

You smirk as you watch the fool stumble away. He cannot put two words together after what you did to him.

He was too easy to lure like all the others.  They want nothing but a beautiful face and body.  His lust will be his doom.

He will crave you until his is mad with it.

You melt back into the water as you wait for your next victim.

The Qandisa is a Jinn (or djinn, heh heh heh).  One story had her as a woman shaman who broke laws and was turned into a Jinn.  She is also associated with the goddess of love, Astarte, in which she maybe an updated or older version.

She is a demon of lust of Morocco.  She lures young men to seduce them and steals their sanity.  She can be found in rivers and springs.

Also called Aisa Qandisa or Quadias.  Her appearance is of a beautiful woman, but in one version I found, she may have mare or mule feet.

One region was said to sacrifice to her to prevent her from attacking.  It took place on the summer solstice.

gh

My second choice of the day isn't a monster.  I was having trouble finding a blood and guts killer like the rest of my posts. So I was going to settle with something less creepy.

 Q'wati is the Quileute creation being.  Well, he didn't just create them.  The story I found had him creating other tribes like the Hoh.  You can go HERE to read a version of the story.

What is truly fascinating is that when Q'wati came upon two wolves he turned them into humans.  He named them the Quileute.  Although they are not the werewolves of the Stephenie Meyers' books.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- PHI TAI HONG TONG KLOM

 He will pay!  The matra goes through your head over and over.  How could he do this to you? How dare he?!

He will pay!

You look for him. You want him to suffer as he made you suffer.

He killed us. 

Only your revenge matters.  Only that.



This ghost is the a subcategory of the most evil of Thai ghosts called Phi Tai Hong.  She is known by Phi Tai Hong Tong Klom, Phi Tai Hong Tong Glom, Phi Tai Thang Klom, and other names.

This ghost is the is one of the most feared.  She was a pregnant woman that has been violently killed or murdered, killed too quickly, or has been abandoned by her lover and committed suicide.

In some stories, she is a vengeful to track down her lover and kill him.  In others, she is said to kill indiscriminately.

She is the most powerful of evil and manevolent ghosts since she has the power of herself and of her child to use.

Undertakers will sew the lips shut of women who have died like this to prevent them.  Even in modern day Thailand, these ghosts are still feared.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- OSHIROIBABA

You see the old woman and sneer at her shabbiness.  Her ragged kimono and tattered, overlarge sugegasa overwhelm the hunched woman.

Distaste curls in your mind as you see the tokkuri of sake.

Light shines in her eyes when she sees you.  Leaning on her bamboo cane, she tells you she is a peddler of face powder guaranteed to make you even more beautiful.

 Inwardly preening as your ego is stroked, you know your beauty is talked about by the neighbors, but you scoff.

She offers it for half price as she tells you to think of the young man and your competition.

Your heart skips a beat as you think of Satori winning Akane's heart.

You buy the powder and rush home.  You apply it to your face and wonder what is so special about it.

Then pain.  Agony makes you scream. In the mirror, your face begins to melt away.



Oshiroibaba comes on the twelfth month on moonlit nights.  She is sometimes referred to as a servant of the Goddess of Crimson Cosmetics, but there is only one reference to this.

Her name translates to 白粉 (oshiroi; white face powder) + 婆 (baba; old woman, hag).  The face powder reference is mostly toward the specific one used by geisha and maiko.

In the Konjaku hyakki Shūi, Toriyama Sekien presents her in this third
book of the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, which was published in around 1781.

She is supposed to have face powder slathered on her face willy-nilly and in a few stories has an invisible mirror that is dragged behind her.

Her powder is said to melt off the faces of those who use it.  Maybe it was punishment for the vain?

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- NUKEKUBI

Blood! Blood! 

The cry rips through your mind as you hunger for it.  Your craving must be fulfilled.  You need it.

A lone man walks down the street.  You grin as you chase him down.

He turns, cries out in fright, and raises his arms to fight you off.  Only, you are faster and more agile than him.  You have the upper hand.

You pierce his neck with your teeth, drinking the hot, coppery liquid in ravenous gulps.

Your craving has been met.



This, my friends, is a Nukekubi.  Nukekubi (removable neck, missing neck) is a creature that does not know that she is a creature.  She is a vampiric version of the Rokurokubi. , which translates roughly to pulley neck.

By day she is a normal woman.  It's at night that her head detaches and and goes flying about looking for victims.

The woman can pass this to their daughter.

Some say that there are lines or wrinkles around the neck where the head comes off the body.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- MUL GWISHIN

Water laps quietly along the edge of the pond.  You are enjoying the cool breeze after the hot summer heat has faded.

Stars begin to pierce the sky, and you sigh in contentment.  Taking off your shoes, you wade midcalf into the water.

Something tickles your leg. You look down, but nothing is there.  You shrug it off.

You close your eyes and sigh.

Ice grips your ankle. A choked cry escapes as you are yanked into the water.

You try to find what has you, but the dark water limits your sight.  The only thing you can see is a pale shape. You kick, fighting to reach the surface, but you free yourself.

You feel a second grip on you.  The pale shape turns into a body.  You meet the terrible eyes of you captive as your lungs burn for air.

And then you see nothing at all.


Mul Gwishin 물귀신(or gwisin depending on where you look)  is the Korean water ghost.  They are the souls of those who drowned and want companionship because they are lonely.  Of course that means that they drag down anyone they can reach and drown them as well.

They are so ingrained into the culture they have a saying: 물귀신 작전. It translates to mul gwishin jeokjeon or water ghost tactics. It basically means that you just got sabotaged by someone.  Albeit a boss or another person making you suffer along with them.
 JAPAN

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- LOIRA DO BANHEIRO

You were dared by your friend to perform the ritual.  You think it's stupid.  Flush three times, kick three times.  Yeah, like that's going to do anything.

You leave the stall and turn on the tap and curse three time.

You swear this is the last time you take a dare from your friends.

A flick in the mirror has you turning around.  You gasp, startled by the girl.  Blonde hair streams down her back.  You apologize.

She says nothing.  Then she turns and attacks.


The Blonde in the Bathroom or Loira do Banheiro is Brazillan.  She is the urban legend that is similar to Bloody Mary and Hanako-san.

She is said to be either a deliquent girl that slipped, a teacher murdered by her husband for betraying him with a student, or she was a viscount's daughter that died after being forced to marry and then dying of pnemonia after running off to Europe with her lover.  Some versions have the girl raped.

No matter what version, Loria do Banheiro will terrify a person with her bloodied appearance.  She has no eyes and is cut up.

She may or may not attack the summoner.  

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- KEE-WAKW

The stew fills the air with its delicious odor.  You dish some into an eating vessel. 

Your eyes flick the person far across the clearing. Sadness and pity are in the eyes as he watches you partake your meal.

He is weak from starvation.  Barely alive.  A smirk turns your lips cruel as he looks to what's left of his wife.  Horror fills his gaze in realization as you continue to eat the stew.

You watch as the the breaths become shallower.  The eyes grow dim as the spirit leaves the body.

You laugh.  The frigid coldness grows in your chest as you contemplate your next meal.


This is one of the ways that a Kee-wakw are created.  They are creatures that were once human that have committed some terrible crime, especially of the taboo act of cannibalism or allowing a person to starve.  Another way to turn into these horrible creatures is to have been possessed.

Their hearts turn to ice and they become cannabilistic ice giants.  These creatures are from the North Eastern tribes like  Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy

They have many names including Giwakwa. Its pronounced gee-wock-wah (in Abenaki-Penobscot) and keh-wah-kwoo (in Maliseet-Passamaquoddy.)

They are related to these others creatures Chenoos (Micmac), Windigos (Anishinabe), Witikos (Cree), Stonecoats (Iroquois) because of their similar characteristics.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- JEOSEUNG SAJA

Burning rubber and gasoline fumes fill your nostrils as you blink.  Your blurry vision fades in and out before clearing.  It's tough to see through the smoke.

The taste of blood comes.  Then pain.  An all-over pain that floods every nerve ending in your body.

You remember what happened.  A truck weaving in all over the road plowed into multiple cars.

Sirens grow louder.  Flashing bright lights are still far away dots.

Heat rises in the car.  It's on fire.  Frightened, your frantic gaze tries to find help.

A man slowly walks toward you.  His black robe flows like water over his legs.  His pale skin glows from the harsh streetlights and flickering headlights.  On his head, he wears a strange round hat.

Your heart flutters as his eyes meet yours.  He is not here to help you.  He has come to take your soul.


The Jeoseung Saja (저승사자) is the Korean version of the Grim Reaper.  He appears before those whose time is near.  It is a death omen to dream of them. They will appear in places heavy in death like hospitals, graveyards, and accidents.

They are dressed in dark robes and a Joseon-era gat, which is the distinctive black hat of that time.  They are said to be extremely pale and have sunken eyes.  They look very human to the eye.

Sent to collect souls and guide them to the afterlife down the Hwangcheon Road. They cannot be bribed and will pursue a spirit relentlessly.

They are under the command of King Yeomna [Yeomna (염라) and Great King Yeomna (염라대왕, Yŏmna Daewang)].  Also know as Yan, Enma-O, Yama, and other names in different places.

The Jeoseung Saja deliever to him those to be judged.  

gh

My other choices for today were the yokai Jubokko, which is a tree yokai that drinks the blood of their human victims.  They are created at places of great violence and death like battlefields.  The roots of a tree soak up enough of the blood and turn it into a blood craving monster.  Underneath the creature, the bones of it's victims can be found.

The second was a gouged out-eyed ghost from Korea called Jayuro Gwishin. She is part of an urban legend where she is found on a strip of highway in South Korea known for many accidents because of the deep fog there.  

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- ITTAN MOMEN, ISO OONA

The whir of the sewing machine is a pleasant sound as the final blocks are coming together.

A cool breeze drifts in from the open window, refreshing the room.

You lift your foot off the peddle and cut the thread and sigh with accomplishment.

Without warning, a shadow blocks the light above you.  A startled gasp escapes. You begin to turn but cry out as a cloth wraps around your face and neck.

You fight.  You struggle.  The cloth tightens even more.  Your lungs burn.  Then nothing.


And that, my friends, is the Ittan-Momen.  It's the quilter's worst nightmare.  It literally is a piece of cloth (it's name translates basically to one tan (kind of a like a bolt) of cotton.  Only this baby has been possessed.

This tsukumogami likes to fly around at night and attack random strangers by strangling them and/or suffocating them by wrapping themselves around the person's face.

This guys are out and out evil.

They originated in Kagoshima Prefecture.

So beware quilters.  You never know when those rolls of fabric might be staring back at you.

gh

Walking along the rocky beach, you see a beautiful woman gazing upon the sea.  Concerned because she is dripping wet, you approach.

When you open your mouth to speak, a sound so terrible nearly blinds and deafens you.  Unable to move, your blurry vision only sees strings of black.

Then the horrendous pain begins.  Thousands of sharp stabs all over your body are like needles.  It's so overwhelming you are barely aware of being dragged into the ocean.


This devilish creature from the deep is the Iso Onna.  She is similar to Sirens and Nure Onna.  They are creatures that use their hair to suck a victim's blood.

Iso Onna translates to something like coast woman.  (its tough to find a reliable online translator.) They are Japanese in origin from Western coastline and favor the Kyushu region.

They sometimes attack from the water to drag helpless victims from boats, and they even call their prey from cliff sides.  These poor souls are so mesmerized by The Iso Onna's voice that don't realize that they are even in danger of falling.

They are the vampires of the sea, and we are their tasty treats.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- HONE-ONNA

You can't believe it. The rumors that she has died is a lie.  Greeting her with open arms, you spend all night reaffirming your love.

She's gone the next morning only to return that night.

Over and over, she comes and loves you.

Soon you feel tired, and after a while, the exhaustion takes over.

Fearful for your life, your family summons someone to help.  The monk sits and watches as your lover comes to you once again.

He tells of the sickening sight he witnessed and offers prayers and wards to protect the house, but you protest.  You love her.  She loves you.

The monk shakes his head sadly, knowing what is to come.

Your lover comes and lays with you, and you breathe your last.



Hone Onna is a Japanese spirit of a woman who returns to her lover.  She rises from the grave and appears as her young, beautiful self.  Her name translates to bone woman

They spend the night hours loving the object of their affection and stealing their life force.  The lover becomes sickly and weak with each visitation until the lover dies.

If the ghost is found out, the household can use charms and wards to protect the house, but they only work if they master of the house wills them into being.

Only those with strong religious faith and those unclouded by love can see the true form of the Hone Onna: a fetid, rotting skeleton.  As she rots, her appeal actually will strengthen.

If she is found out the lover may reject her, but she will continue to visit.

The saddest part of the entire thing is that she never realizes.  Her only concern is to continue to love the one in her heart.

gh

My second choice for today was Hitobashira, which means human pillar.

Yes, I do mean a literal human pillar -- as in person sacrificed in the constructing a building.  They are buried alive in the foundations of said building.  They were believed to protect the building by appeasing the nature spirits and warding the building from things.

There are rumors that this practice might have been still in use in the 20th century.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- GASHADORKURO

Your heart pounds in your chest as a chill crawls up you spine.  You didn't want to to travel this road tonight, but there was no other choice.  Message of the slaughter has to reach the shogun.

The night falls silent.  Gaichi Gaichi.

Silence.  Gaichi Gaichi.

Silence.  Gaichi Gaichi.

Your guts churn in terror at the unnatural sound.  You will your legs to move, but they are jelly.  You wait for it again even as you continue down the road.  Nothing. You take a deep breath when the sound doesn't repeat again.

SNAP!  You cannot scream as your chest is crushed.  A flying sensation as you are lifted from the ground.  Your last image is the giant creature's skeletal mouth.


In Japanese legend, a Gashadokuro (or ōdokuro (giant skeleton)) is created from soldiers that have rotted on the battlefield or from those who die of famine and do not receive funerary rites.  They are reborn as hungry ghosts and resenting humans.  They grow stronger as their hate grows until it becomes a supernatural force.

Their bones will mass together to form this monstrous creature full of malice and hate.

It will wander the countryside and will crush their victim or rip off his head.  Some stories suggest that the monster will drink the victim's blood and may even add it's victim to their body.

There is no way to kill such a monster.  Its rage must abate, but with hundreds of dead amongst the the Gashadokuro's body, that is not very likely to happen.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- FURUTSUBAKI NO REI

The woman standing under the shade of the camellia is beautiful.  She draws you in with  saying a word.  it's as if you are pulled toward her with a string.

Slowly you approach; your heart thumping in your ears.  You know something is not human about her, but you can't stop yourself.

Her hand rises ever so slowly.  You watch with sick facination, wanting to run, but you can't move.  Then, she touches you and you know nothing more.

The Furutsubaki no Rei is a Japanese yokai that is created from a the tsubaki tree, which is also called the rose of winter and Camellia japonica.  The yokai is the spirit of the tree that has reached a certain age and can manifest itself as a beatuiful woman outside the host tree.

One legend has her transforming a merchant into a bee and killing him.
Another legend has the spirit as a Yonaki Tsubaki (night-crying tsubaki) that foretells misfortune. At a shrine in Akita prefecture, the temple Kanman-ji has such a tsubaki, which supposedly has stood for 700 years.

This evergree is known for an unusual ability.  Instead of having petals fall off individually, the flower will fall off all at once. Thus associating them with death and taboo to give to sick people.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- EKEK (WARNING THIS ONE IS REALLY GROSS)

"Ek. Ek. Ek."

This strange sound wakes you.  Blinking, you turn to check on your wife.

"Ek. Ek. Ek."

A horrified cry lodges in your throat.  You're paralyzed by the gruesome sight.

The humanoid creature has invaded your wife's body.

"Ek. Ek. Ek."

It has taken the most precious from you as she sleeps.  It has killed your unborn child.

This dark, vampiric creature comes from the Philippines.  It has it's origins from the Visayan culture, which is located on the southern end of the archipelago.  The Ekek is similar to the Wak Wak and the Manananggal.  They all crave flesh and blood especially from pregnant women.

The Ekek is described as being a bird like human. They have wings and a long proboscis into the woman and to the womb to drain the blood from the fetus. (think something like elephant nose or butterfly's nectar sucker!  le ick!)

They are shape shifters and have the ability to transform into bat or bird at night to prowl for prey.

Their name comes from the sound they make as they suck the blood.  Ek Ek Ek.

Wak Waks are said not to have a beak like Ekeks,  and manananggals are said to have the ability to split themselves.

In any case, they are all vampiric ghoulish creatures that have similarities to European vampires, which could come from when the Phillipines was colonized.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- DULLAHAN, DRY HANDS

Your stomach ties into knots as you rush down the deserted road.  The midnight hour is nigh. Galloping hooves approach. A cold breeze sweeps over you.  A rider in black draws near enough to see his cloak dancing behind him.

You want to run, but your body betrays you.  The rider has no head. Staring helplessly, your heart stops as the last thing you see is the flash of his whip.

The Dullahan is considered to be an Unseelie fairy.  He rides with his head (full of razor like teeth and complete with creepy grin) under his arm and a whip made of a spinal column.  His is sent to collect souls of the dead (and/or to kidnap them and bring them into the realm of the fey.)

This dark creature will only stop to kill.  He does not like to be witnessed and will blind a person (whiplash . . . heh heh heh) or splash them with blood as punishment.  Some believe those marked will be the next to die.  And if he calls out a name --BAM! History. Gone. Dead. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

No locked door or bar across the road can stop a Dullahan.  He only has one weakness.  Gold.  Gold frightens him. Toss a bit of gold at him and run like the devil is after you . . .  because he is.

At one time, it was believed that he was under the command of the queen of the fairies.  She would send him to wither a limb or blind a person who betrayed the secrets of the fey court (aka those lucky few that escaped back to the human realm).

His severed head is described as to be like moldy cheese and sometimes glows like phosphorous.  Hie eyes are supposed to dart like flies.

Also called Gan Ceann, Durahan, Dark Man.  He is associated with the Celtic god Crom Dubh.  This god wanted human sacrifice each year.  When his worship dwindled it is believed he became the Dullahan to continue receiving souls.

The Dullahan is also said to be the driver of the Cóiste Bodhar. A great example is the Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

gh

"I never liked him," your friend says as she works a ripe corn cob from the stalk. "He wanted to marry me, but I did not want him.  His hands were cold and clammy.  They made my skin crawl."

Your gaze does not move from your own plant. "You should not speak ill of the dead.  It will bring trouble."

Something flashes into your view.

Her scoffing noise turns into a frightened squeal.   You look to her. Your scream echoes through the field.

A disembodied hand grips your friend withering face.

Dry Hands or Fingers is a legend from the Seneca, Cayuga, and Iroquois. Oniate (oh-nee-ah-ten) is a mummified hand that will come to punish a person who behaves badly, which includes speaking ill of the dead, is a busy body that can't stay out of people's business, or tries to sow discord within the tribe.

It is an appartion that can fly.  It's withered finger can blind, give illness, or kill a person.

Maybe Oniate is Thing's zombified cousin?

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- CÓISTE BODHAR

The night is still.  An inhuman wail echoes over the land, sending a chill through your body.  A second wail freezes your muscles as if plunged into ice.

A low vibration sounds. It's almost as if hearing the rattling of bones. What is it?

You recognize the sound.  Wheels.  Not wheels from a car.  No.  This sound is too hollow and higher pitched.  Coach wheels. Their rumble grows louder, more menacing.  The wailing intensifies.  Your name echoes across the land.

And then you see your demise.

The Cóiste Bodhar (Koe-shta bower) also called Coach-Abower, Silent (Deaf) Coach is an Irish folk legend. The black coach is said to be draw by six black horses (sometimes headless).  The name that is called is the name of the soul the coach has come to collect.

It is believed that when the coach appears and drives across the land it cannot leave again until it has a soul.

There are links to other creatures of Irish lore associated with the coach.  One is the bean sidhe (banshee).  Banshees wail out warnings to the families they are attached as they fly alongside the coach.

The other will make its appearance tommorrow.  Heh, heh heh.

gh

These were my other choices for today.  The Churel and the Chindi.

The Churel is a vengeful ghost from India. This spirit is created by the death of pregnant or during childbirth.  She wants revenge for her unborn child's death. Her feet, flipped 180 degrees, allows her to walk backward.  Her eyes mesmerize.  and she will drain a victim of their blood.

The Chindi (chʼį́įdii) from Navajo legend.  It's a spirit that is made from all the bad from a person.  They can be called down by a family with a curse. They are associated with dust devils.  And have the ability to cause illness, which is called 'ghost sickness'.  They can be connected to objects owned by them.  

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- BUS 302 OR THE MIDNIGHT BUS, BOROBOROTON

It's late at night, you're on the bus minding your own business.  The bus let's on some passengers, but you don't pay attention. Suddenly, an elderly man gets up from his seat and starts yelling at you for no reason.
He gets physically violent.

The bus driver kicks you both off the bus, leaving you stranded with the old man. Angry now, you confront the old man, and he has the audacity to say that he saved your life.  How? you ask.

This is the urban legend Bus 302 from China.  Also called the Midnight Bus.

It has various versions, but in all of them the bus is doomed.

The young man learns from the old  man that the passengers that got on the bus had no feet.  They were spirits. The young man then learns that the bus had disappeared just after midnight and was never found again.

In a similar version, it was drunk man and an old man with all the other passengers being spirits.  The last version I found, had a female bus driver, three nasty robbers, and a poor guy who couldn't fight to save the woman's virtue.  The bus on this one is driven off a cliff.

Chinese ghosts are believed to flow when they walk, and that their heels don't touch the ground.  So, they have 'no feet'.

gh

 A slight movement wakes you.  The small shift of bedding closer to your face.  You think that it was only whimsy and you close your eyes to go back to sleep.  Then you feel it again.  The bedding is moving on its own.

You try to escape but it's no use. You are thrown out of bed and crash to the floor. Then, the blanket wraps around your neck to strangle you.

This, my friends, is the Boroboro-ton, which basically translates  to tattered futon from the Japanese.

It appeared in 1781 in the Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro, which was one of the books in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō. This set of books featured spirits, ghosts, monsters, and beasts in folklore, art, and literature.

It is a Tsukumogami (artifact spirit).  Usually these yokai are objects that have been possessed by ghosts or spirits, or have been in use for 100 years.  It is believed by many that the object will then receive a soul. They then will look pristine despite its age.

If they feel ignored or neglected, that's when they will come alive and become monsters.

So, next time you wake up with the blankets wrapped tightly around you suffocatingly  . . . Beware! It might not be your imagination.  They really might be out to kill you!

A TO Z CHALLENGE -- AKA MANTO

So, you have to go to the bathroom.  You enter a stall and do your business.

A frigid draft floats over the stall wall.  Goosebumps rise on your arms.  Your heart skips a beat as the lights above flicker and die.

 An inhuman voice speaks. "Do you want a red cloak or blue cloak?"

Chills crawl all over your body at the disimbodied voice.  You have to make a choice.  Which one will you choose?



And that my friends is the basis of the urban legend from Japan called Aka Manto, which translates to Red Cloak.  It has many names Red Mantle, Red Cape, Red Paper Blue Paper, and more.  In Romanji they are: Aka Manto Ao Manto, Aka Hanten Ao Hanten, or Aka Kami Ao Kami.

And sitting alone and vulnerable, you contemplate them.  Only, either choice is dismal.

With red, you end up being beheaded and your blood runs down your body in a grotesque mock cape, your flesh is ripped from your back (and some versions have the ghost tying it around your neck), skinned alive, or slits your throat (again mocking a red cape).

With blue, your blood is entirely drained, or you are suffocated by choking. Either of which will leave you a sick shade of blue.

If you think choosing another color will get freed.  Sorry. Not happening.  Any other color gets you sucked into a vortex to some netherworld. . .
Well, that is if you can believe the last version of the story.
If you say yellow . . . yellow may let you live.

Yellow gets you a swirlie in your own filth.

Lastly, you might get away if you chose no color at all.

This modern day urban legend has its roots starting around 1935.  There are variations of who started it.  There was a rumor that a to-die-for handsome man wore a white mask to cover his face and he hung out in shoe lockers.  Another is a banker wanted to cause a panic. He didn't start hanging out in girl's bathrooms until the 1980s.

In any case, this urban legend may have even older roots.  The Kamishibai (kah-mee-she-bye, 'paper theater'), a traditional storytelling method, has mention of a gentlman in a red cape said to be magical.