A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Yusuke Urameshi #atozchallenge

To die to save a life can be noble especially if the person doing the saving is an unrepentant street fighter and slacker with a cruddy home life.  This is what happens to Yusuke Urameshi in Yu Yu Hakusho.

He found out that the boy he tried to save would have survived without his interference so his death was basically in vain as Botan tells him. She then goes to explain that he could come back to life since his death was unexpected although the conditions to return were strict.

After his return, he becomes a Spirit Detective for Koemna.

Yusuke's smart-mouth, delinquency, intimidation, fighting, and huge chip on his shoulder all conceal that he is a kind individual that loves his friends deeply.

🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆

And because this is the one of the final A to Z posts, here's a bit of trivia: the writer Togashi Yoshihiro is also the writer of Hunter X Hunter. He is also married to the writer of Sailor Moon Takeuchi Naoko.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Undertaker #atozchallenge

What can i say about Undertaker other than he is the weirdest, most eccentric, and strange character that ever graced my tv screen.  He is morbid and sick and twisted. He is certifiable. He is also one of the Reapers like Grell and William.  He just doesn't hang out with them anymore busies himself as an undertaker in the in the human world in the Anime Black Butler.


Grell and other Reapers call him a deserter.

He worked as a Reaper for a long time, becoming tired of the 'end'. He decided experiment.

He tried to connect false records to the Cinematic Records of deceased individuals.  Cinematic Records are the records of the souls. So when you

hear the turn your life flashing before your eyes, thats what you're seeing according to this anime.

Undertaker as Reaper

His experiement became the first Bizarre Doll. They are not truly alive but are only "Flesh dolls without a self".

Moreover, he knew Ciel's father, and is one of the members of Aristocrats of Evil, who strike down the forces of evil in the underworld that affect polite society.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Quillish Wammy Watari #atozchallenge

Watari is the quiet handler of L in Death Note.  He is the 'face' of L.

In his other life, he is Quillish Wammy, inventor and philanthropist. He is also the founder of Wammy's House, which is a orphanage located in England.

Many of the super-detectives (like L and Mello) were brought up there. It's a place for gifted children.

He acts like a butler when he is with L, but in truth, they have more of a father/son relationship.

Surprisingly, he is trained in espionage and marksmanship.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Lin Koujo, L, Light Yagami, Loke #atozchallenge

What can I say about my first L listing? He is an onmyōji with five shiki (spirits or demons that are linked to him by magic and are his servants). He works for a seventeen-year-old as both guardian and assistant. He is Chinese.  His name is Lin Koujo from the Anime Ghost Hunt.

Quiet and taciturn, he is the one who stays up at night to monitor the computers and cameras when out on a ghost hunting case.  He doesn't like the Japanese because of personal reasons.

He is a powerful Onmyōdō practitioner who can summon a spirit to answer questions or protect using his shiki.

🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Loke is a member of Fairy Tail. He is the ladies man, but he has a problem with Lucy at first, which is strange to the other members since she is beautiful. His past is mysterious and he's an enigma.

  He suddenly leaves the guild and says goodbye to Lucy, she at first thinks it's a line, but then realizes that he was telling the truth.  When she finds out what he is and his punishment for it, her determination saves his life.

  Loke is Leo one of the Zodiac Celestial Beings.  He stopped his wizard from summoning her other celestial beings because she mistreated them.  She died as a result. He forms a contract with Lucy.

🔖🔖🔖🔖🔖🔖

Light Yagami and L are the Yin and Yang of Death Note.  Light becomes Kira, one who brings justice to the world with his Death Note. L is the genius detective wanting to stop him.

Light and L dance around each other in this dark death match. One a high school student the other an eccentric who eats sweets and constantly looks like he's been on a three day bender.

This duel between them goes on back and forth for much of the show and manga. It ends as one could expect, one dies and the other continues on with his mission.

(And y'all were thinking I was going to actually say who wins. Nope. For those who have seen it know, and for those who haven't, well, I left that as a surprise.)

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Grell Sutcliff, Giroro, Gowther #atozchallenge

Grell Sutcliff is an all and all freaky character.  He is a Grim Reaper and part of the Retrieval Division.  His Death Scythe is in the form of a chain saw.  Yes, I said chainsaw.  He is from the from the demon  filled, Victorian horror Anime Black Butler.

We first meet this character as a bumbling butler of Ciel (see-ell) Phantomhive's aunt, Angelina Dalles.

When Ciel and Sebastian investigate the Ripper murders, they find out that Grell isn't a human at all and in league with the aunt, who is behind the murders

He is completely off his rocker when it comes to blood and Sebastian. He makes sexually veiled comments about wanting to be with Sebastian.  He is somewhat effeminate and very flamboyant.

He is the gif playing in my theme reveal.

🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

Giroro is the gun-toting, action-wanting, but in love with a Pekoponian girl, Corporal of Sgt. Frog.  He has a short temper when it comes to Keroro's inanity and stupidity. When he realizes he is stuck on Earth, he plants a tent in the Hinata's backyard.

When he first appears, he is very aggressive when it came to taking over the planet and of everything, but he calms as the show progresses.

The belt across his chest contains a picture of Natsumi (naht-sue-mee), which is revealed during one of the episodes.  He was defeated in combat by her during their first meeting and loves her soon after. Without the belt, he becomes a useless wreck.

😐😐😐😐😐😐

Gowther is the one of the strangest of the Seven Deadly Sins.  He is the Goat Sin of Lust, which is strange because he has no idea about emotions nor does he comprehend them. He is fun to watch as he interacts with the others.  He asks the strangest questions and is very contemplative.  He has a cruel streak at times.

We first see him disguised and wondering around with a suit of armor. Later we learn that it was his armor and he was protecting the creature inside from turning into a demon completely.

In one battle, his head was severed from his body but he still lived.  This even surprised his comrades. Only one of the Sins knows Gowther's true origins.

A to Z Challenge 2017 -- Ban, Merill "Benten" Yanagara #atozchallenge

Locked in the prison at Baste Dungeon,Ban  is my first character in the B category.  Ban (bahn), the Fox Sin of Greed, comes from the Anime Seven Deadly Sins. It is a fantasy genre anime that pulls in Arthurian characters, which has over-the-top action and is just a riot especially when the main male character, Melodias, is a perv.

Ban is an enigmatic character.  He fell in love with a fairy princess, Elaine, but lost her in a battle with a demon.  He can heal unscathed from most wounds, which makes him wreckless in battle nevermind who is the enemy. The scar is the only wound that never healed and was given to him by Meliodias.

He is emotional and appears laid back most of the time, but his motivations are deeper than at face value.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜


Merill "Benten" Yanagara is from the early 90s anime Cyber City Oedo 808.  The foul-mouthed anime has a multitude of crude jokes and cursing, but the three stories are interesting despite that.

Benten, as he is called, is a multi-life sentence criminal who works for Police Chief Hasegawa as a cyber policeman to reduce his sentence. The chief controls the mini-bomb collar around Benten's neck as well as the other criminals working for him.

Effeminate looking with his albino appearce and painted nails, he is anything but a pansy. He prefers silent weapons and has great acrobatic skills. He wields a monowire in his ring that can cut through steel or flesh.

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 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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?