The Paranormal: Monster's, Cryptid's and Yokai: The Jorogumo

Today we talk about
Spider Woman....

aka the Jorogumo..

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The Jouogumo is a Japanese spider yôkai that can change its appearance into that of a attractive young woman in order to lure in her prey, human men.

However even when she's in her human form her reflection will still show a giant spider.

She is immune to all kinds of poison and aside from shapeshifting is believed to have other magic ability's as-well...

The Nephila Clavata, Or Golden Orb Weaver is a real kind of spider and can get quit large.

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Stories of this lethal eight legged yokai can be traced as far back as the edo Period.

The name Jorogumo when written with kanji mean's “entangling bride.” though these characters were later added to her name to change it from the original meaning: “whore spider.”

According to the myth, a beautiful woman would entice a man into a secluded shack of private room at an inn, she would then begin to play a Biwa, a type of Japanese lute this was just a destruction.

While her soon to be victim was focused on the sound of the instrument, she would bind him in spider silk threads in order to devour the unsuspecting person as her next meal.
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The Orb Weaver spider is considered to be the spider form of this yokai.

According to most legends, when a spider turns 400 years old, it gains magical or supernatural powers.

Famous Edo period stories can be found in "Taihei-Hyakumonogatari" and "Tonoigusa".

In many of these accounts the Jorogumo changes its appearance into that of a beautiful young woman and would ask a samurai to marry her,
in other versions she will take the form of a young woman carrying a baby (which may turn out to be a spider's eggsack).

Drawings, like the one in Toriyama Sekien's book Gazu Hyakki Yako, depicts Jorogumo as a half-woman/half-spider surrounded by her spider children.

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The jorogumo is the most well-known of the spider yokai.

They can be found all over the Japan, except for Hokkaido.

The golden orb weaver's body size averages between two to three centimeters long, though they can grow far larger as they age; some are so big they can catch and eat small birds.

These spiders are well known for their large size, eye catching colors and the large sturdy webs they weave.

Image result for orb weaver web

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Her favorite prey is young men.

When a jorogumo sets her sights on a man she desires, she will invite him into her home, he is usually never seen again.

They can spin silk threads strong enough to trap a grown man and keep him in place.

She also has a strong venom that can slowly weaken a man day by day, allowing her to prolong her victims inevitable death so she can savor his suffering.

In some versions she is believed to have the ability to control other, lesser spiders, even using magic fire-breathing spiders to burn down the homes of anyone
that grow suspicious of her.

If she is careful enough a jorogumo can operate in secret like this for years without detection, even in the middle of a busy city, while the skeletons of hundreds of men eventually build up in her home/ nest.

They usually make their nests in old caves, forests, or empty abandon homes and buildings.

Jorogumo are highly intelligence but also very cold hearted , she see's humans as no more valuable then common insects only there to feed on.

They are powerful shapeshifters and usually spend their lives in the form of a young attractive women.
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Jorogumo also appear in various manga and anime..