Japanese Urban Legends

Onryō

Now, you may have never heard this word before, but you may actually be familiar with this one without knowing. They've even been featured in famous movies such as The Grudge and The Ring. In fact, this urban legend has spawned even more urban legends from it, and some are even featured in this book.

An onryō is a vengeful spirit that is capable of actually harming the world of the living. In other words, it's a ghost that died with fury and rage, and it can now kill people from that anger.

Some people become an onryō from being horribly betrayed, while others have such horrific deaths, that they become one from the torture they endure.

They usually look like your typical Japanese ghost with black circles around the eyes, black hair, white clothing, and an abnormally pale face. They may have limbs missing depending on how they died. This is less of a ritual or specific person, but more of a group. These are quite popular in Japan, so you might as well know what these creepy things are if you're interested in Japanese culture. 

Not only can the spirit harm people, but it can also apparently cause natural disasters- like earthquakes and fires. Either way, they are involved with the supernatural, and will do some crazy things to get what they want, such as possession, warping reality, and making people go insane. They are pretty bloodthirsty spirits overall, especially since their only goal is to get revenge on whoever killed or wronged them.

These ghosts have been all over the internet and in many creepy Japanese stories, yet I never really knew the name of them until now. Some people say that if the spirit gets its revenge, it will be able to rest in peace- but in many cases, such as The Grudge, they don't simply vanish.