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.  

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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.