June 19, 1995 Toynaka, Japan John Doe

At 8 am on June 19, 1995, the body of a man was found in Toynaka Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He had died early that morning. His cause of death was not stated. 

John Doe is an Asian Male between 25 to 35 years old. He was 167 cm (5'4") with a slim build. He had black hair. He was described as having a square face and blood type A. He was wearing a long-sleeved polo shirt with a purple pattern, G pants, a black and green patterned belt, brown casual shoes, a black bifold wallet, and silver-rimmed glasses.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Osaka Prefectural Police

Lost Comics: The Bottle

In 1978 famed mangaka Hirohiko Araki, who is known for his series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure created a one-shot called The Bottle. Before he created JoJo's Bizarre Adventure his first job was The Bottle. It featured a character dressed in an old Western-style outfit. It was a crude-looking character for the time. The work was intended to compete for the 14th Tezuka Award in the first issue of the magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1978. However, as it did not win the award, and its content was never shown to the public.

Only one picture remains to the public of this comic of said character in the old west clothes. It's possible the story could have been set in the Wild West and featured cowboys. Araki had made several one-shots and characters that were Wild West-themed or cowboys themselves. However, this manga, its characters, and the overall premise of the story are unknown other than its title The Bottle. 

It's unknown if anything from this one-shot remains. It's unknown if Hirohiko Araki owns it himself, or if the company who owns Weekly Shōnen Jump does. For all we know there may be nothing left but the one picture from this manga. 

SOURCES:

Lost Media Wiki

November 29, 1985 Conroe, Texas

On November 29, 1985, a man fishing in Rish Creek in Conroe Texas would snare a skull with his fishing pole. It is suspected that the skull was a war trophy from WWII as there were faint scribblings on WWII, the Japanese, and the date April 22, 1942.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Doe Network
Unidentified Wiki

WANTED: Diwakar Sethia

On or around November 29, 1999, Diwakar Sethia allegedly murdered a 42-year-old Indian jewelry dealer inside a building in Torigoe 2-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. He had stabbed the victim with a knife numerous times and then set fire to the building. He then used the victim’s credit card to withdraw about 12 million yen and fled abroad.

Diwakar Sethia is an Indian male born on November 30, 1976. He's 182cm and over 100 kg, He's described as dark skinned and well built. He was born in Kolkata, India and previously resided in Matunga, Mumbai in India

At the time he was employed by Suashish Diamonds Japan Ltd.

SOURCES:

Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Japanese)

Monsters: Tsurube Otoshi (Falling in Well Bucket)

"Nishioka no Tsurube-oroshi" (The Tsurube-Oroshi of Nishioka) from the Kokon Hyakumonogatari Hyōban written by Yamaoka Genrin, edited by Yamaoka Motoyoshi

Tsurube Otoshi (Falling in Well Bucket) is a yokai from Japan. It is a gigantic disembodied head of either a human, a tengu, or an oni and sometimes appears as fireball flames with facial features. Its size is the typical size of a human head to two meters in diameter. They live and spend most of their time in the tree tops preferring taller trees like pines, kayas, and other such conifers. The trees they live in are typically deep along paths in the forest and outside of towns where travelers are likely to be. The places they are known to be is the Wakayama Prefecture, the Kyoto Prefecture, the Shiga Prefecture, the Gifu Prefecture, and the Aichi Prefecture.

At night they wait in the treetops for unspecting creatures and travelers. When they need to eat they will quickly fall to the ground to trap their prey. This is how it got its name. They enjoy this kind of killing and let out a laugh as they hunt and eat their meal. Sometimes when they are not hungry they will come down and do the same crushing people to death for fun. Sometimes they don't use themselves, but large rocks or well buckets and enjoy the damage dealt. After they are done feeding and or having their fun they will slip back into the trees laughing and challenging others to pass underneath their tree.

Travelers are warned to not pass under the tall trees at night because the Tsurube Otoshi might get them. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Yokai

Yokai Wiki

Cryptids: Enenra

An Enenra as depicted in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki Shūi

The Enenra is a being in Japanese folklore or a yōkai, The Enenra shows up during large fires such as bonfires. It is made up of the wisps of smoke that would rise up to the skies from fire. These beings usually have human-like faces it doesn't do anything, but billow in the wind and appear as fragile fabric. It only appears to those that are calm and pure and are relaxing to watch.

The Enenra seems to be loosely based on a passage in Tsurezure gusa which describes the smoke rising from fires burned in the summer to keep mosquitoes away. Some have pointed out that the name is similar to Enma, the lord of hell and judge of the dead. It's suggested that the beings are actually spirits of the dead.

SOURCES:

Yokai

Wikipedia

Paranormal Games: The Answer Game

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

The Answer Game is a paranormal game that started in Japan. It made its way to English-speaking countries from 2012 to 2013. In this game, you get any answer you want, but have to risk losing a body part if you falsely answer the Answer Man.

Items needed for the game:

• Cell Phones for each player. Preferably throw away phones as they will need to be destroyed. 
• Up to 10 players

Rules:

• All players need to sit in a circle.
• Each player needs to call their person to the left without answering. For example, Player 1 calls  Player 2 to Player 3, ect. 
• Once the phone call is made every player is to put the phone to their ear. 
• Everyone should get a busy signal, ring, or to voicemail.
• If the game is successful one plater will get answered by the Answer Man. Do not pass the phone around as the Answer Man answered this person's phone on purpose. He will not be willing to talk to others. 
• The person who makes contact can ask the Answer Man any question they wish and it'll be answered truthfully.
• With every question asked and answered the Answer man will do the same. The person will have to answer truthfully just as he did. 
• Never answer falsely as he will emerge from the phone and attempt to take a body part to add to himself. 
• To end the game is simple as all that is required is to hang up, but there are some rules. You need to tell him goodbye and persist you need to go. He will attempt to ask more questions and offer free information and if he is able to you will have to answer. Avoid this though as he may have something up his sleeve. Sometimes the Answer man will end the game if the caller is persistent. 
• Immediately destroy the phones. 

SOURCES:

Pop Sugar

Scary For Kids

Ghost in My Machine

IHorror

Urban Legends: The Purple Mirror

A young girl was always sick because of her immunity impairment and her body was so weak she spent most of her teens in the hospital. One year for her birthday she received a cute hand mirror from her parents. She would treasure the mirror and would look into it every single day. 

The girl's favorite color was purple and she decided to paint the mirror purple. After it was painted purple and she could look into it she became strange. She was shocked and tried to desperately peel the purple paint off of it. It would not peel though and it was stuck. It was permanently purple and she could no longer look into it. 

Her illness would take for the worse maybe because she was distraught about her precious mirror. Her parents hoped that she would get better and bought another mirror, but she was not interested in it. 19 days before her 20th birthday she lay in her bed holding the purple mirror. She would look into it muttering "Purple mirror" repeatedly until her last breath.  

It's said that the grudge for the mirror lives in the words "purple mirror (murasaki kagam)" and children who remember it by their 20th birthday will meet with misfortune or death.

In another variation of the story as told in the Kansai area the girl was not sick. One day a girl was approaching her 20th birthday. She was excited about her coming-of-age ceremony and was looking forward to wearing her best clothes for it. This would never happen though as she had died in a traffic accident. 

Her family wanted to bury her with her treasured purple mirror. She carried it around with her everywhere, but when she died it wasn't on her person. When her parents looked in her room it was gone. So the funeral proceeded without it.

A short while after a terrible rumor about the dead girl began to spread. It was said that she was dating a boy with a bad reputation and this soured when she wanted to break up. This was why she had died and the missing mirror was a treasured gift from the boy. This however was not true. 

It had turned out that a close friend of hers started the rumor. When it came to that girl's coming-of-age ceremony arrived she disappeared. Inside her room was the missing purple mirror. It's said that her parents died from anxiety. 

In other variations of the story, it's until the person meets another age like 18 or 15, or sometimes when they graduate. Some say that she had an eating disorder and finally saw how she looked after painting the mirror.  All in all because of the unfortunate fate of a young woman and her mirror a curse began. 

SOURCES:

Kowabana

Scary For Kids

Anonymous Wrestlers: Star Fire

Star Fire is a Mexican luchadora Enmascarada (Professional Masked Wrestler). She debuted in wrestling on April 27, 2006.

She began fighting with the CMLL and first appeared at Arena Mexico in 2007. This would be where she fought for the next two years.

Star Fire would be best known for her work at the World Wonder Ring Stardom in Japan. On May 18, 2014, Star Fire would have her debut match for World Wonder Ring Stardom teaming with Diosa Atena. They would lose again lo Shirai and Kairi Hojo. On May 17, 2015, she would win her first title, the High Speed Championship by defeating Koguma. On July 27th she would make her first successful defense for the High Speed Championship against Kris Wolf. She would lose the title though on September 23rd to Rosa Negra.

After 2years in 2018 Star Fire would be returned to the ring after being out due to an injury. She would get back in to the ring teaming with Marcela to defeat Lilith Dark and Metálica. After this on June 4, Star Fire made her debut at AAA in Verano de Escándalo teaming with Hijo de Vikingo, Arkangel Divino and Dinastía in a tag team match. They would then defeat Arez, Belial, Ultimo Maldito, and Lady Maravilla. She would stay in the AAA until 2020. Star Fire is now wrestling independently.

People who have mentored Star Fire in her career so far is Vicky Carranza, Mr. América, Skayde, Arturo Beristain, Cynthia Moreno, Ultimo Guerrero, Nanae Takahashi , Io Shirai. Her signature moves are Double Arm Piledriver, Rolling Backdrop Suplexes, Omega Driver, Package Piledriver. She is known for both singles, and tag team wrestling.

Like many other masked wrestlers, there is little known about Star Fire's personal life. She was born on February 4, 1992 and is from Mexico City, Mexico. She's 5'2" (158cm) and 125 bls (57kg).

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

Cage Match

Lucha Wiki

Monsters: Bekatarō

The  Bekatarō is an ugly, malevolent, and cannibalistic Japanese Yokai. It's believed that it was a wicked child born with a supernatural and unquenchable hunger. They consume anything they can find including humans. It's said that he was so hungrey he started eating humans and thus became a yokai. Their hunger allows them to devour more than what 10 or 20 adults could and want more.  They have a humanoid form and are usually seen pulling their lower eyelids with its finger and sticking its tongues out in a mocking gesture. 

SOURCES:

Yokai

Yokai Wiki

Monsters Wiki

Monsters: Yama-Uba

Yama-Uba (Mountain Hag) is a female yokai who are considered old hags or witches in the Japanese Forests and Mountains. The Yama-Uba were born human but turn into monsters. They typically appear as kind old ladies, but sometimes they sport horn or fangs. They don't give sign to their evil nature.

Yama-Uba will live alone in huts by the road. They will offer shelter, food, and a place to sleep for travlers. Unbeknowist to the travlers she would wait for them to sleep before turning to their true form an old, ugly, demonic witch. She would then catch and feast on them using her magic. 

Stories of the Yama-Uba would spread and keep travlers to be safer. It's also told as bedisde stories to disobediant children. Sometimes these stories were told when young wome were accused of crimes or wicked deeds and they had to flee to the forest/mountain. They would live in exile becomeing an "old hag".

Sometimes during famines or economic hardship families would make hard choices to get rid a family member so the rest would survive. Often this was a newborn or an elderly family member would be removed. It's believed that some of the Yama-Uba may have been elderly senile women abandoned by family members in the forest or mountains. It's said that these women would either out of rage or desperation tranformaed into the Yama-Uba practicing black magic. 

SOURCES:

Yokai Wiki

Wikipedia

Yokai

MONSTERS: Hone- Onna

From the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Sekien Toriyama

Hone-onna (bone woman) is a yokai in Japanese lore and as the name implies she is in a form of bones. She's a woman who has died but has an undying love that brings her back to life. She is seen as beautiful as she was alive, but some will see her as a rotting corpse. Those people are either not blinded by love or strong religious faith.

This undying love allows her to be with whoever she was in love with alive. She seemingly seems normal to them and herself unknown to both that she's a rotting body. The man would more than likely know that she is in fact dead, but is blinded by love when seeing her. 

She would visit them at night and they would have a sexual relationship. This could last up to weeks and unbeknownst to their lover, she is sucking the life force from him. He will eventually die and the two will be together in death.

If she is seen in her rotting form the person and informs the man what was happening. Her lover may be thrown off though and use magic charms on the home to keep her away. This only works if he truly wants that though. She may continue to visit at night as she is still unknown to her own condition. 

Within the collection of writings called "Otogi Bōko" (1666) by Asai Ryōi (this collection is the moral-free version of "Jiandeng Xinhua" (1378) by Qu You) the story "Botan Dōrō" or the Peony Lantern is about a Hone-onna. A man named Ogiwara Shinnojo would meet Yako, a beautiful woman, and they would have a sexual relationship every night. An elderly neighbor would witness the two, but instead of seeing Yako, they would see Shinnojo embracing a skeleton.

One story of Hone-onna is explained in the text "Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki" by Toriyama Sekien (may be referenced to the previous story) in the story Otogi Bōko. Hone-onna is an aged female skeleton who would carry a chōchin lantern that was decorated with Botan flowers. She would then visit the home of a man she loved when alive and have a sexual relationship with him.

In "Tōhoku Kaidan no Tabi" by Norio Yamada there is an odd tale of Hone-onna in the Aomori Prefecture. It's said that an ugly woman in the Ansei period became a good-looking skeleton after death. She is said to walk around town as a skeleton to show off, likes fish bones, and would collapse upon encountering a high priest.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Yokai 

Myths and Folklore Wiki

Yokai Wiki

July 21, 1991 Ikawa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan Jane Doe

On July 21, 1991, the body of a woman was found on the side of the Oritsuji Line by a vehicle shelter in Ikawa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Her body had been wrapped in trash bags that originated from the Hyogo Prefecture, and then her body was burned with car oil. The day before a witness stated that they had seen a car with a Kobe license plate in the area. It's possible that Jane Doe and or her killer was from the Kobe area or at least resided in the Hyogo Prefecture. Even if the killer is found the statute of limitations for this case has run out. 

Jane Doe was an Asian female and was in her 20s. She was 5'1" with a medium build. She has evidence of dental treatment on her lower left molars, and upper anterior teeth, and is blood type B. She was wearing a 14K gold chain necklace manufactured in Italy by Unoaerre.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Tokushima Prefectural Police 

Dorosuki 

Monsters: Shirime

 

Shirime drawn by Yosa no Busa (1754)

The story goes in Japan a samurai was walking down the road to Kyōto. Another man would call out to him telling him to wait. The cautious samurai asked "Who's there?" nervously. When he turned around he would spot the owner of the voice. It was a man who was stripping off his clothing and pointing his butt at him. Where the anus should have been a huge glittering eyeball opened up.

It's believed that he is a faceless ghost pulling pranks on unsuspecting people.

Haiku PoetYosa Buson liked the monster so much he included it in many of his yōkai paintings.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Scary For Kids

Yōkai Wiki

Myths and Folklore Wiki

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

Monsters: Azukiarai or Azukitogi

 

The azukiarai as depicted in Takehara Shunsen's Ehon Hyaku Monogatari.

The Azukiarai (azuki bean washing) or Azukitogi (azuki bean grinding) is a yokai in Japanese folklore. A mysterious noise near rivers or bodies of water that sound like azuki beans being washed, the yokai would sing "will I grind my azuki beans, or will I get a person to eat? shoki shoki." Anyone who approaches ends up falling in the water.

The Azukiarai is mostly heard than seen and is described as grotesque. They're described a man of short stature with a large balding head, crooked teeth, thin mustache, large bulging yellow eyes, has large hands with only three fingers, and ragged clothes. When he's seen he's bent over a pail washing azuki beans. They are described as being shy and hiding when people come. It's believed that it's good luck if you actually spot him.

Sometimes the Azukiarai is blamed on a tanuki or weasel. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Yokai Wiki

Yokai

Pen Name: Robico

 

My Little Monster

Robico is a Manga artist that started their career in 2005 with her one-shot Demekinikku. Robico is not her real name and is a pen name she uses and her real name is unknown to the public. There is little information on her. Her birthday is October 8 (year unknown) and she's from the Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan.

List of Works:

Demekinikku (2005) – (one-shot in Kodansha's Dessert)
Kanojo ga Inakunatta (2006) – (serialized in Dessert)
Boy x Meet x Girl (2007)
Himikoi (2007-2008) – (serialized in Dessert)
My Little Monster (2008-2013) – (serialized in Dessert) Anime (2012) Live Action (2018)
Skip! Yamada-kun (2014) – (artist of one-shot in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump)
Miracle☆Gift (2015) – (one-shot in Kodansha's Weekly Shounen Magazine)
Our Precious Conversations (2015-2019) – (serialized in Dessert)
Wash Me Hug Me! (2020) – (one-shot in Dessert)

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

My Anime List

Cryptids: Futakuchi-Onna

Futakuchi-Onna is a Japanese Yokai characterized by the two functioning mouths on her head. She has one in the front and one in the back that her hair covers. It’s said that the second mouth forms on the back of the head of a woman who typically eats very little. It's described as hurting and split happens in the back of the head where lips, teeth, tongue, and hunger forms. The mouth in the back begins to mutter awful things to her and it begins controlling her hair at its will to feed itself.

In one tale the Futakuchi-Onna is married to a miser who noticed she never ate anything. Even though she never ate but food in the home disappeared. One day he pretends to leave the home to see the catches her sleeping and undid her hair tie to see a second mouth. Her hair began to scoop rice and placed it inside the hideous mouth. He planned to divorce her, but she found out. She tried to trap him in a bathtub and

Another tale with the Futakuchi-Onna is a woman allowed her stepdaughter to starve to death. 49 days after the step daughter's death the woman felt a pain in the back of her head and a mouth former. the stepdaughter's voice could be heard and beg for food. The other mouth would scream if not fed and the stepmother had to live in constant hunger because of this. 

SOURCES:

Cryptid Wiki

Yokai

Wikipedia

Cryptids: Reporite

According to the Digger Indians, Roperites are the spirits of early Spanish ranchers. Its home is in the foothills of the Sierra's in and the Pitt River in Nevada where lumbermen reported seeing them. They live in groups and are predators not to be messed with even if it's is the size of a small pony. Its nose is that of a long noose that it uses to drag prey like jackrabbits through thorny chaparral to its death. It also releases a terrifying noise from the rattles on its tail that vibrates while it's going for its prey. Its well-developed flapper like legs allows it to move in a way like a half running and half flying.

SOURCES:
Cryptid Wikia
Monster Wikia
A Book of Creatures
San Fransisco Examiner

Urban Legend: Kuchisake Onna or The Slit Mouth Woman

If you're wandering down the streets of Japan and meet a woman with a surgical mask on asking "Am I pretty?" think twice about your answers to her questions. It might be Kuchisake Onna or the Slit Mouthed Woman and she might not have good plans for you.

The legend starts with a beautiful woman who had a jealous husband. He was convinced that his beautiful wife must be cheating on him. So he did the unspeakable so that she wouldn't be attractive to anyone else. In a fit of rage he slit her mouth ear to ear it resulted in her death and she came back as a vengeful spirit.

She would wear a surgical mask, which is not uncommon in Japan. She will stop a lone child and ask them a simple question.

"Am I pretty?"

There are two ways the child could answer. A no will result in her cutting them in half with her large scissors. 

A yes will result in Kushisake Onna taking off her mask revealing her large torn smile and asking another simple question. 

"How about Now?"

A No will once again result in death. She will cut off your head with the scissors. 

A yes will result in a smile of your own that she will create with her large scissors. 

If you run there is no way you'd survive as she will chase you down. Every time you turn around she will be behind you. Then she will reappear in front of you and cut you in half.  There is almost no way to escape from the slit-mouthed woman.

There is one way however you can survive without injury. When she asks her first question, "Am I pretty?" You answer with a neutral answer for example "You're so and so." or distract her with candy or money she will become confused and you will be able to escape. 

It's believed that the legend of Kuchisake-onna started during Japan's Edo Period (1603-1867). She is described as a malevolent spirit. She is typically seen partially covering her face, particularly her mouth or another item. She is usually carrying sharp items like scissors. She has long straight black hair, pale skin, and is beautiful except for her slit mouth. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Paranorms

Scary For Kids

Urban Legends Wiki