Yokai And Monsters : The Tsurara-Onna

 

 

 
Today's post is another icy beauty the Tsurara-Onna.

The Tsurara-Onna is an elemental type yokai from Japanese folklore.

The yokai is  icicle that turnes into a woman, because of this she  is sometimes confused with the Yuki-Onna.(See previous post)


===========================
Description

Tsurara onna are said to be born out of loneliness.

when a lonely man looks at a beautiful icicle hanging from a roof and reflects upon his loneliness, and desire for companionship a tsurara onna may soon appear.

On first glance, a tsurara onna looks just like an ordinary, though very beautiful young woman.

The tsurara onna is an ice / cold based yokai that inhabits the
same cold areas during wintertime as the yuki onna.

But when the winter snow melt away and icicles are no longer hanging from the rooftops,
the tsurara onna will disappear along with the cold weather, until next winter.

There are countless tales of tsurara onna. They are found in every prefecture where snow falls, and in many  story's she is very similar or even identical to yuki onna stories.
Common themes in most versions of the story's involve loneliness, love, marriage, betrayal and lose.
=========================

Unlike the yuki onna, the tsurara onna seem's to show a far more warm and caring nature most of the time.

There are many stories involving a tsurara onna that has fallen in love with a man and in some versions even married a him.

However the tsurara onna is a creature of winter and these marriages invariably end in heartbreak when spring rolls around.

The beautiful bride may eventually return for future encounters with her husband or now former husband.

the following winter only to find the man has moved on believing she had abandoned him the year before.

====================================

Tsurara onna look and act like any other women, So much so that it is often very hard to tell them apart from a normal human woman.


One method to distinguish her is her unwillingness to enter a warm bath. (She will melt)

In some stories the new bride refuses to take a bath no matter how much her husband pressures her. Eventually, she gets tired of fighting,
and reluctantly enters the bath.

However just like some tales with the yuki onna once her husband comes to checks on her later, all he finds are a few tiny shards of ice floating in the tub, and his wife is nowhere in sight.




---------------------------
myth and tales.
=======================

One well know tale comes from the  Echigo Province (modern day Niigata Prefecture) tell's of a young man who gazed out his window on a
 cold, snowy night. As he sat there, admiring the beautiful winter niht and the glising icicles haning all around him.

That night He wished he could find a wife as beautiful as the icicles hanging from his roof. Suddenly, he heard a knock at his door.
A woman’s voice called out, and she was as beautiful and clear as ice.

“Excuse me! the woman said,  I was traveling along this road, but the snowstorm became too strong and I cannot journey any further.  Might I lodge at your house for the night?”

The man of natural accepted, and to his delighted the woman’s face was as beautiful  as her voice. He worked hard to make sure her stay was enjoyable .


Months had passed and the young woman was still with the man at his home.

Spending so much time with one another the man had now fallen in love with her and she had now forgotten all  about her former journey. They were soon married very happy together.

Until one warm spring morning, the young bride left the home for a trip to the market. That night she did not come home, The man waited for her
night after night.
 
The snows melted, the cherry blossoms bloomed, and soon it was spring. The man searched for his bride asking everyone  he met if they had seen her. But Nobody he met could tell him anything.

As the months past by he eventually accepted  that she had left him.

he later remarried a young woman from his village.

The following winter, during a snowstorm, as the man was looking out the window at the icicles hanging from his roof.  there was a knock on the door, and to his surprise beautiful woman from the previous winter was standing outside of his house. The young man was shocked.
His former bride had returned

==========
“I searched for you every day! where did you go, why did you leave me, What is the meaning of this? How could you just vanish like that without a word?”
He continued to question her.

The woman replied, “People have different circumstances you know… But we promised to love each other forever. You said that our bond was as
 long and as solid as the beautiful icicles hanging from your roof. And yet…... you have remarried.”
=====


She then left the house with a somber look on her face.

The man started to follow her, when suddenly there was a voice from inside the house.
It was his new wife, asking what was going on.

“It’s nothing. he said,  Stay inside.”

When all of the sudden there was thunderous crash followed by a shriek near the front of the house. The new wife ran to the front door to see
what had happened.

Now lying in the front yard, was her husband. dead, pierced through the head by an enormous icicle that had fallen from the roof.
===============================
==============
==========

There's another  legend from the Akita Prefecture. with similarities to the above, however the Akita version is not a story about a woman appearing to
a man and later marring him.

In this story one night during a sever  snow storm, a woman came knocked on the door of a home belonging to an older couple, asking for shelter from the storm.
The couple kindly allowed her entery, Several days later the snow continued to fall and was too heavy for anyone to go outside, so the woman continued
staying at the house.

The couple tried to be considerate by warming a bath, but the woman did not want to go in at all. However, unable to completely refuse the couple's
insistence the woman hesitantly entered the bath. After some time had passed, The couple became worried, and went to check on their guest. But there was no sign of the woman, only a single icicle hanging from the roof.
....................



============


Monster Girls Encyclopaedia..

Halloween : By Robert Burns

 

 Hope everyone has a save and fun Halloween, 

                   ;) Happy Halloween :)

  

 

                                      Halloween 

                           by Robert Burns -1795

=========================

Upon that night, when fairies light

On Cassilis Downans dance,
Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
On sprightly coursers prance;
Or for Colean the route is ta'en,
Beneath the moon's pale beams;
There, up the cove, to stray and rove,
Among the rocks and streams
To sport that night.

Among the bonny winding banks,
Where Doon rins, wimplin' clear,
Where Bruce ance ruled the martial ranks,
And shook his Carrick spear,
Some merry, friendly, country-folks,
Together did convene,
To burn their nits, and pou their stocks,
And haud their Halloween
Fu' blithe that night.

The lasses feat, and cleanly neat,
Mair braw than when they're fine;
Their faces blithe, fu' sweetly kythe,
Hearts leal, and warm, and kin';
The lads sae trig, wi' wooer-babs,
Weel knotted on their garten,
Some unco blate, and some wi' gabs,
Gar lasses' hearts gang startin'
Whiles fast at night.

Then, first and foremost, through the kail,
Their stocks maun a' be sought ance;
They steek their een, and graip and wale,
For muckle anes and straught anes.
Poor hav'rel Will fell aff the drift,
And wander'd through the bow-kail,
And pou't, for want o' better shift,
A runt was like a sow-tail,
Sae bow't that night.

Then, staught or crooked, yird or nane,
They roar and cry a' throu'ther;
The very wee things, todlin', rin,
Wi' stocks out owre their shouther;
And gif the custoc's sweet or sour.
Wi' joctelegs they taste them;
Syne cozily, aboon the door,
Wi cannie care, they've placed them
To lie that night.

The lasses staw frae 'mang them a'
To pou their stalks of corn:
But Rab slips out, and jinks about,
Behint the muckle thorn:
He grippet Nelly hard and fast;
Loud skirl'd a' the lasses;
But her tap-pickle maist was lost,
When kitlin' in the fause-house
Wi' him that night.

The auld guidwife's well-hoordit nits,
Are round and round divided,
And monie lads' and lasses' fates
Are there that night decided:
Some kindle coothie, side by side,
And burn thegither trimly;
Some start awa, wi' saucy pride,
And jump out-owre the chimlie
Fu' high that night.

Jean slips in twa wi' tentie ee;
Wha 'twas she wadna tell;
But this is Jock, and this is me,
She says in to hersel:
He bleezed owre her, and she owre him,
As they wad never mair part;
Till, fuff! he started up the lum,
And Jean had e'en a sair heart
To see't that night.

Poor Willie, wi' his bow-kail runt,
Was brunt wi' primsie Mallie;
And Mallie, nae doubt, took the drunt,
To be compared to Willie;
Mall's nit lap out wi' pridefu' fling,
And her ain fit it brunt it;
While Willie lap, and swore by jing,
'Twas just the way he wanted
To be that night.

Nell had the fause-house in her min',
She pits hersel and Rob in;
In loving bleeze they sweetly join,
Till white in ase they're sobbin';
Nell's heart was dancin' at the view,
She whisper'd Rob to leuk for't:
Rob, stowlins, prie'd her bonny mou',
Fu' cozie in the neuk for't,
Unseen that night.

But Merran sat behint their backs,
Her thoughts on Andrew Bell;
She lea'es them gashin' at their cracks,
And slips out by hersel:
She through the yard the nearest taks,
And to the kiln goes then,
And darklins graipit for the bauks,
And in the blue-clue throws then,
Right fear't that night.

And aye she win't, and aye she swat,
I wat she made nae jaukin',
Till something held within the pat,
Guid Lord! but she was quakin'!
But whether 'was the deil himsel,
Or whether 'twas a bauk-en',
Or whether it was Andrew Bell,
She didna wait on talkin'
To spier that night.

Wee Jennie to her grannie says,
"Will ye go wi' me, grannie?
I'll eat the apple at the glass
I gat frae Uncle Johnnie:"
She fuff't her pipe wi' sic a lunt,
In wrath she was sae vap'rin',
She notice't na, an aizle brunt
Her braw new worset apron
Out through that night.

"Ye little skelpie-limmer's face!
I daur you try sic sportin',
As seek the foul thief ony place,
For him to spae your fortune.
Nae doubt but ye may get a sight!
Great cause ye hae to fear it;
For mony a ane has gotten a fright,
And lived and died deleeret
On sic a night.

"Ae hairst afore the Sherramoor, —
I mind't as weel's yestreen,
I was a gilpey then, I'm sure
I wasna past fifteen;
The simmer had been cauld and wat,
And stuff was unco green;
And aye a rantin' kirn we gat,
And just on Halloween
It fell that night.

"Our stibble-rig was Rab M'Graen,
A clever sturdy fallow:
His son gat Eppie Sim wi' wean,
That lived in Achmacalla:
He gat hemp-seed, I mind it weel,
And he made unco light o't;
But mony a day was by himsel,
He was sae sairly frighted
That very night."

Then up gat fechtin' Jamie Fleck,
And he swore by his conscience,
That he could saw hemp-seed a peck;
For it was a' but nonsense.
The auld guidman raught down the pock,
And out a hanfu' gied him;
Syne bade him slip frae 'mang the folk,
Some time when nae ane see'd him,
And try't that night.

He marches through amang the stacks,
Though he was something sturtin;
The graip he for a harrow taks.
And haurls it at his curpin;
And every now and then he says,
"Hemp-seed, I saw thee,
And her that is to be my lass,
Come after me, and draw thee
As fast this night."

He whistled up Lord Lennox' march
To keep his courage cheery;
Although his hair began to arch,
He was say fley'd and eerie:
Till presently he hears a squeak,
And then a grane and gruntle;
He by his shouther gae a keek,
And tumbled wi' a wintle
Out-owre that night.

He roar'd a horrid murder-shout,
In dreadfu' desperation!
And young and auld came runnin' out
To hear the sad narration;
He swore 'twas hilchin Jean M'Craw,
Or crouchie Merran Humphie,
Till, stop! she trotted through them
And wha was it but grumphie
Asteer that night!

Meg fain wad to the barn hae gaen,
To win three wechts o' naething;
But for to meet the deil her lane,
She pat but little faith in:
She gies the herd a pickle nits,
And two red-cheekit apples,
To watch, while for the barn she sets,
In hopes to see Tam Kipples
That very nicht.

She turns the key wi cannie thraw,
And owre the threshold ventures;
But first on Sawnie gies a ca'
Syne bauldly in she enters:
A ratton rattled up the wa',
And she cried, Lord, preserve her!
And ran through midden-hole and a',
And pray'd wi' zeal and fervour,
Fu' fast that night;

They hoy't out Will wi' sair advice;
They hecht him some fine braw ane;
It chanced the stack he faddom'd thrice
Was timmer-propt for thrawin';
He taks a swirlie, auld moss-oak,
For some black grousome carlin;
And loot a winze, and drew a stroke,
Till skin in blypes cam haurlin'
Aff's nieves that night.

A wanton widow Leezie was,
As canty as a kittlin;
But, och! that night amang the shaws,
She got a fearfu' settlin'!
She through the whins, and by the cairn,
And owre the hill gaed scrievin,
Whare three lairds' lands met at a burn
To dip her left sark-sleeve in,
Was bent that night.

Whyles owre a linn the burnie plays,
As through the glen it wimpl't;
Whyles round a rocky scaur it strays;
Whyles in a wiel it dimpl't;
Whyles glitter'd to the nightly rays,
Wi' bickering, dancing dazzle;
Whyles cookit underneath the braes,
Below the spreading hazel,
Unseen that night.

Among the brackens, on the brae,
Between her and the moon,
The deil, or else an outler quey,
Gat up and gae a croon:
Poor Leezie's heart maist lap the hool!
Near lav'rock-height she jumpit;
but mist a fit, and in the pool
Out-owre the lugs she plumpit,
Wi' a plunge that night.

In order, on the clean hearth-stane,
The luggies three are ranged,
And every time great care is ta'en',
To see them duly changed:
Auld Uncle John, wha wedlock joys
Sin' Mar's year did desire,
Because he gat the toom dish thrice,
He heaved them on the fire
In wrath that night.

Wi' merry sangs, and friendly cracks,
I wat they didna weary;
And unco tales, and funny jokes,
Their sports were cheap and cheery;
Till butter'd so'ns, wi' fragrant lunt,
Set a' their gabs a-steerin';
Syne, wi' a social glass o' strunt,
They parted aff careerin'
Fu' blythe that night.

==================

======================

=============================

 

 

                                          

Born in Alloway, Scotland, on January 25, 1759, Robert Burns was the author of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786) and Tam O' Shanter (1795).

 

         Happy Halloween everyone :)

 

 

Month of Monster Girls; The Yuki-Onna

 

 

 Month of Monster Girls; The Yuki-Onna

Its officially autumn now and there's a chill in the air,
So who better to start my month of monster girls post with then a this stone cold beauty --

The Yuki Onna.

The  Yuki onna is one cool yokai, but she dose have a somewhat chilly disposition and she's been known to give people the cold shoulder from time to time....lol sorry, .... i'll cool it with the ice jokes . :)
=========

Almighty  on to the info.....
......................................................................
The snow woman was ether a woman that died in the cold from a broken heart, now her hart is cold as ice and she freezes others to death.or She was never human to begin with and was a supernatural being from the star.

the Yuki-onna, being a snow woman is of course associated  with winter, snowstorms and the cold, most people think she is the spirit of someone who died in the cold.

She has snow white skin that's is cold to the touch and is most often seen in snowy mountain areas but can appear any place cold enough.

Some believe this yokai was never human to begin with and is just an evil spirit that can manipulate the cold or possibly even an elemental spirit.

In older story's she was almost always viewed as evil, however in more modern versions she is much kinder.

======================


Myths and legends of the snow woman.


The Yuki Onna Or Snow Woman is a yokai from Japanese mythology.

Like many yokai, she can appear solid or in a more  ghost like form. Sometimes she has visible feet other times she is far more ghost like
with no feet or an almost translucent lower half.

She sometimes wears a white kimono, though other legends say she appears  nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow.

                                                           Yuki Onna Fan Art : Nioh


-----------------

She's most often described as a beautiful young woman, with snow white pale skin, blue lips and  icy blue eyes (sometimes white) that can strike fear into any lost traveling unlucky enough to meet her gaze.

In other descriptions she is said to have long black hair, blue or grayish lips and  inhumanly pale or even slightly transparent skin that makes her blend into the snow around her.

she's also believed to have the ability to transform into a cloud of mist or snow when threatened or when just trying to hide and wait for her target..

In some tales she walks just like you or me, in other versions she is said to float across the top of the snow, in both versions she moves along the top of the snow without leaving any footprints behind her.
==============================
                               

                                                 --------------------------------------------------

=======================yuki onna killing her victims================
 

There are  some stories where the Yuki-onna will appear to travelers trapped in snowstorms, and uses her icy cold breath to leave them as frost-coated corpses.

She will also lead travelers off the path and into the forest to die of exposure without killing them herself.

She has even been known to appear on a deserted road in front of a traveler holding a child. She will then ask the traveler to hold the baby for a moment however once the unlucky person takes the "child" from her, they are instantly frozen where  they stand.

Parents searching for lost children are especially vulnerable to this trick.


                          

==========

Another odd trait is that she sometimes  seems to be somewhat vampire like, requiring an invitation into a home or cabin etc, before she can enter.
 

but there are versions that claim she can invade homes at will, with or without permission, she would simply blow in the door with a strong gust of wind to kill  whomever is in there  sleeping.

====================
The reason for her murderous attacks varies from one version of the myth to the next.
Sometimes she just gets satisfaction watching her victim die. Other times, she will drain her victims' blood or "life force." (again vampire like)

But she has also been described as a succubus-like creature preying on weak-willed men to drain their life force or freeze  them during sex or sometimes even just a kiss.

She dose not always kill her victims though, sometimes she will let them go, and from time to time  she even ends up marrying them.
======================

Yuki onna in modern media 

===

===

===

Yuki from interviews with monster girls.

 

https://www.deviantart.com/rkartworks/art/interview-with-monster-girls-yuki-668954347

 

==================

Monet from One Piece

 

 

 https://www.zerochan.net/2939021

 

======

The Pokemon Froslass is based on the Yuki-Onna.

=======
Nara Rise of the demon clan-- Tsurara Oikawa

 

 

 

========

Rosario + Vampire Mizore 

===================================================================
and there was an episode of the Canadian TV series MythQuest was based on the story of Oyuki and Monokichi.


Hope you all enjoy , i will be adding Monster Girl posts all October long :) Happy Early Halloween everyone :0

Psychic Dreams; David Booth

                                                 THE CRASH OF FIGHT 191
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dreams

What are they?

Perhaps a glimpse into an alternate world? 

or possibly latent precognitive psychic ability's run amuck..
...................


Some would answer: Dreams are your hope's or aspiration's for the future ..something you want
to do or a goal you wish to achieve eventually..

others may say dreams are just a psychological manifestation of your subconscious mind trying to process the events of your day to day life  or even just the manifestation of stress you may be going through..

Both valid responses.....Because even with all our scientific prowess we  still don't have a definitive  answer for what they truly are.


from time to time we have all had a dream/ nightmare that really hits home, something about it that you just can't shake maybe a joyous occasion that has yet to happen or possibly a nightmare waiting just around the corner.

Can some dream really foretell future events, giving us a  warning for what may lay ahead.

No doubt you've all heard of the Titanic, the unsinkable new ship, that met an icy end on her maiden voyage on April 12th, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg.. but would it surprise you to know that writer Morgan Robertson wrote a novel in 1898 about a new unsinkable transatlantic luxury ship
that strikes an iceberg and sinks resulting in a substantial lose of life in the month of April...the name of the ship in his book was The Titan....

could he have subconsciously viewed this future event in a dream, was this a premonition or  nothing more then a lot of very strange coincidences all at once?


[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[


How exactly would we explain the stranger aspect of our nocturnal thoughts and what do we make of the more prophetic dream's especially one's that
keeps recurring night after night?
.................................



Today we take a trip back to the 70's a time of bell bottoms, Disco fever  and hippie tea....(The secret ingredient was weed .......But you didn't hear  that from me
.......


Ok joking aside today were going to talk about one man's bizarre recurring dreams and the disaster it proceeded...




David Booth..



An otherwise normal man from Cincinnati, Ohio was being haunted by a nightmare that kept replaying night after night..


It all started on May 16th 1979.

David covered in sweat and felling nauseous suddenly awoke from a frightening dream, his wife seeing how distressed he had become  asked him what was wrong.. David then told her of his nightmare, unfortunately for him this was only the beginning.

He recounted that in his dream he was looking out to the horizon on his right, and suddenly there was a jet flying towards him that wasn't making any sound then all of the sudden it banked sharply with the right wing up in the air and was flying inverted for a moment, before diving straight into the ground with a tremendous explosion.

It was at that moment he awoke.

As terrible as it was David believed it to be nothing more then a very bad dream....

Until he had the same dream again the next night and each night following, and every nightmare just as vivid as the last to the point that he would wake up in tears.

This nightmare would repeat over and over again, the same jet  the same crash, this process continued up until May 22.

It was at this point that David began to think this was more then just a horrible dream and that it may in fact happen sometime soon.


So he decided that if the dream accrued again he would try to remember as much detail about the location and the type of jet as he
could in hope's of possibly preventing a tragety. He had a strong filling that the plane was connected to American Airlines, one of the
busiest airplanes in the country at the time.


On the seventh night the dream came again..


After this David contacted The Federal Aviation Administration in Cincinnati, and recounted the event of the dream to Paul Williams the manager of the FAA .

Mr Williams thankfully took David's concerns seriously and ask for as much detail as he could remember, David at the moment unfortunately was only sure it was an American Airlines jet.

Williams proceeded to question David, asking for any detail he could remember, this process would yield more formation as David would go one to state that the jet had a total of 3 jet engines  one on each wing and  one on the tail it was then identified as a DC-10 Jet
but that was all they  could ascertain at the moment..


David would go on to have the same dream 3 more nights, becoming more and more stressed and concerned with each passing day.

It was becoming so bad that he eventually saute  out psychiatric help, believing he was starting to loose his mind.

In the meantime Paul Williams contacted several other airports and relaid Davis information, but the details of the crash and the type of jet and no expected date, time or location they were unable to do anything about it.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The dream came again on the night of  May 25th 1979, however this time when he woke up David had an unsettling filling this would
be the last.

This was a mixed filling though as he felt relief that the nightmare may finally be over, he was also  worried  about the possible accident  waiting to occur.

Later that very same day at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport at 3:05 pm flight 191 a DC-10 jet took off for Los Angeles

All looked well at first the plane took off normally, then suddenly without warning it started to rotate and dive.

The plane was only airborne for a few moments before it started its plummet, sadly the crew was unable  regain control and the jet crashed in a field to the left of O'Hair Airport almost exactly as in Davids dreams.

The crash claimed the  lives of 2 individuals on the ground, the 13 man crew and all of the 258 passengers on board.


It was later discovered that the left wing engine had dislodged mid-flight and hit the rear of the plane severing the electric system and hydraulics in the process. The left wing slats became jammed and caused the right wing to lift tipping the plane and bringing it down.

5 days before Davids dream began this very plane had undergone a basic inspections  on May 11th with no existing problems found.


These records were somehow "lost" during or shortly after the investigation.

After hearing about the crash and subsequent lose of life, and blamed himself for not doing more to prevent it David nearly  suffered a nervous breakdown believing somehow  he could have or should have  done more to save all these people.


Shortly after the crash word got out about Davids dreams and warning's to the FAA, several newspaper's attempted to contact him.

He gave a handful of interviews, and afterwards all but disappeared from the spotlight....

For a long time the DC-10 Jet was viewed by many as structurally unsound, and had many accidents before this crash.

One of which was a 1974, Turkish airlines flight 891 that resulted in the death of 346 individuals.

Soon after the horrific crash of flight 191 the DC-10 Jet line was decommission and eventually phased out of service following
one more fatal crash in  October of the same year.

;;;;;;;


In another strange turn of events, it would seem that David was not the only one to have a troubling premonition about this flight.

Judy Wax, author and former playboy editor along with her husband unfortunately made there way on to the soon to be doomed jet..

Soon after the crash fans of her literary work noted that in her final book (Starting In The Middle) she wrote a line on page 191 expressing her fear of flying, the same number as the flight that would claim the life of her and her husband .

=======================
Another odd account comes from Lindsey Wagner (The Bionic Woman) ..

Lindsey and her mother had tickets for flight 191 heading back to California.
Wagner recounts that just before boarding the plane she  was overcome with nausea which she interpreted as a warning that the plane
was dangerous, she then convinced her mother not to board..

shorty after words they witnessed the tragic crash that claimed the lives of all aboard...
----------------------------------------
------------



So are dreams nothing more then our nigh time thoughts, or perhaps a gimps into another world or possibly even the future...

Pay close attention to your next dream you never know, it may just come true..

Japanese Cryptid the Tsuchinoko

  Wanted to do at least one post this summer :) also gonna be a lot of monsters cryptids ect coming all October long !!
 So look forward to that :D

---

                                               Japanese Crypdid the Tsuchinoko 


 
the tsuchinoko is often described as a snake-like cryptid.

According to legend, some tsuchinoko can  speak although they seem to have a propensity for lying, and they also apparently enjoy the  taste of alcohol.

According to some legends   it will sometimes swallow its own tail so that it can roll like a wheel similarly to the North American Hoop Snake..

=====

In Japan, its name is ツチノコ or 槌の子.

They are reported to be between 30 and 80 cm long. 12 to 30 inches in legth.

 The Tsuchinoko is thought to live in Western Japan, including Kansai and Shikoku.

The name "tsuchinoko" is used in Western Japan, however it is known as "bachi hebi" in Northeastern Japan.

The tsuchinoko is said to have a thin head and tail, with a wide body in between.

 It is also thought to have fangs and venom, similar to some snakes and may be  able to jump up to a meter in distance  according to some versions of the legend, the jump is followed immediately by a second jump while still in the air.


It is also referenced in the kojiki, the oldest book about the history of Japan.

-------------------------------------
It may in fact be a as of yet undiscovered spices of snake or slug that science has yet to verified by science..

 ===============================
This cryptid has also appeared in various shows and anime..
...
...
.

Yo-Kai Watch-
It is also a yokai in Yo-Kau Watch and it's called a Noko  in the English dub.

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 Kemono Firends.
Tsuchinoko apperes in Kemono Friends ep 4 season 1  in the desert arena..

Monster Hunter World..
 In the 3.0.0 update of Monster Hunter World you can  capture a tsuchinoko  and keep it  as a pet.

Pokemon....
The pokémon Dunsparce  is based on the tsuchinoko its Japanese name  Nokocchi is a anagram of tsuchinoko.

 Yu-Gi-Oh...
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, Tsuchinoko appears as one of the monsters from the "Danger!" archetype.

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So do you think the Tsuchinoko really exist's, or have you or a frind perhaps seen one?

More yokai and Asian cryptid post's soon... :)

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Fairy Lore: The Fairy shoe of the Beara Peninsula.

                    





Every now and then a strange  artifacts comes to light thats makes you ask maybe there is some truth to all those old fairy sightings maybe the little people really do exist

one such item is this incredible little shoe....
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..,

There are many strange and fascinating stories of little people from every corner of the  world but some of the most well know come from the United Kingdom Ireland, Scotland and England… 

However many other cultures seem to have very similar story's that would suggest  the existence of a possible  hidden race of tiny people… and although they were presumably wingless, judging by the relics found so far, they would be so small, they could indeed look just like modern representations of fairies!... 

One such artifact a  very tine worn-in, shoe made of mouse leather … found by a sheep farmer on an ancient trail within the Beara Peninsula in Ireland in 1824. 

Could this really be a leprechauns shoe or maybe a fairy ?

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Crofton Croker wrote (84, 1824): A paragraph recently appeared in a Kilkenny paper stating, that a labourer, returning home in the dusk of the evening, discovered a Leprehaune at work, from whom he bore away the shoe which he was mending; as a proof of the veracity of his story it was further stated, that the shoe lay for the inspection of the curious at the newspaper office. The most prominent feature in the vulgar creed.

Are you aware that, on this side of the channel  we have so little doubt of the existence of fairies, that it is no uncommon occurrence to see shoes of fairy manufacture publicly advertised in the newspapers? If I tell you, that while crossing a field, in the purple light of the morning, the attention of a peasant was arrested by the sound of a shoemaker’s hammer; and that, upon leaving the path to discover the cause, he disturbed an elfin cobbler, who it seems was at his trade betimes, and mending his brogues by the side of the ditch; that the spirit of the air, anxious to escape from the prying eyes of mortal wight, leapt from the bank, and, in his haste, dropped both shoe and hammer: if I go on to tell you, that this story is most gravely related, and that the editor informs the public, that both shoe and hammer were carried to such a house, in such a street, in a certain town, in the county of Roscommon, and may there be viewed by any curious or incredulous persons; you will, I think, acknowledge that my tale has at least a better foundation than many which are related to our disadvantage, and but too readily swallowed by the credulity of our English friends (Blake 1825 118-119).
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 The amount of work it would take to create this tiny shoe,  especially with the size of our hands would have been very difficult especially in the early 1800's, the farmer was amazed to find that the shoe clearly shows signs of wear, particularly at the heel, in fact, although tiny, this shoe had indeed been well worn-in by someone no bigger than an average pencil... 

The farmer eventually gave the shoe to the local doctor, and from there it was passed to the Somerville family, the current whereabouts of the shoe is unknown, although it is rumored to be in Munster, in Ireland. 

At one point it was even  examined by scientists at Harvard University, they found it was indeed hand stitched, using tiny stitches, and well-crafted tiny eyelets, it was also  shown to be made from mouse skin. 

The belief in fairies, or tiny humans, is known as the “fairy faith” it is still found throughout Europe and the UK to this day.
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 In some parts of the world,  Iceland for instance fairy faith is still very strong, artifacts left or given by these tiny people have been documented on several occasions. 
 ......


The fairy woman’s cloth of Bursta-fijall, is but one example of a gift from these tiny beings, According to the legend attached to the tiny, unique relic, the wife of the district police superintendent and public prosecutor at the farm of Bursta-fijall in Vopnaf-jordur, in the east of Iceland, received this cloth as payment from a fairy woman whom she had midwifed. 

The cloth is now in the National Museum in Rekjavik. Thor Magnusson, who is the president’s Custodian of Antiquities says, ‘Certainly it’s a unique cloth, There are some other ‘gifts’ too up and down the Atlantic coast of Europe including the flag of MacLeod, kept today at Dunvegan Castle… Stolen from a group of tiny warriors… 

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the flag was believed to bring luck to the clan, MacLeod even brought a picture of the flag on bombing raids in the Second World War… 

Arguably the  most famous object is known as the “Luck of Eden Hall,” a cup that was won fairly from fairies, by a member of the Musgrove family. 

                                    
                                   
                                                          Luck of Eden Hall

Today the cup stands, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The cup, which is astoundingly beautiful, is surprisingly, of “eastern origins.” Although many of the things mentioned could, and have been put down to elaborate, yet entertaining hoaxes… 

The fairy or Leprechaun shoe found in the remotes of Ireland, is one of those extremely rare artifacts, that does indeed seem authentic… 

keep your eyes peeled you never know what may turn up next .....

Fairy Lore The Leprechaun ..

                                                         
    

-----------Happy (Early) St Patrick's Day -------


From  advertising schemes to cartoons and movies the Leprechaun has been a pop-culture image for many many years now in fact the image of the leprechauns is now one of  the most recognizable images from  Irish folklore.

Among  the Fairy courts the Leprechaun is perhaps the most well know  fay second only too the Fairy's..(Tinkerbell etc )


 A leprechaun is a type of fairy and a member of the Aos Sí in Irish mythology. 

They are most often depicted as small bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, and are said to be found of pranks and mischief. 

They are usually  solitary creatures who spend their time making and mending shoes and have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

                                                    


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Leprechaun myth's and folklore------

 
The earliest known reference to the leprechaun appears in the medieval tale known as the Echtra  Fergus mac Leti (Adventure of Fergus son of Léti).

 The text contains an episode in which Fergus mac Leti the  King of Ulster, falls asleep on the beach and wakes to find himself being dragged into the sea by three lúchorpáin. He captures his abductors, who grant him three wishes in exchange for release.

The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes. According to William Butler Yeats  the great wealth of these fairies comes from the "treasure - crocks, buried of old in war-time", which they have uncovered and appropriated.

 According to David Russell McAnally the leprechaun is the son of an "evil spirit" and a "degenerate fairy" and is "not wholly good nor wholly evil".

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Some researchers say that the word leprechaun may have be derived from the Irish leath bhrogan, which means shoemaker.  they are cobblers, or shoemakers. Shoemaking.



                                                             Image by JB Monge
            

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According to Irish legends, people lucky enough to find a leprechaun and capture him (or, in some stories, steal his magical ring, coin or amulet) can barter his freedom for his treasure. Leprechauns are usually said to be able to grant the person three wishes. But dealing with leprechauns can be a tricky proposition.

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Very small shoe made of mouse leather found by a sheep farmer on an ancient trail within the Beara Peninsula in Ireland.1824... (Post about this coming soon)
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 Leprechauns.....

The name leprechaun is derived from the Irish word leipreachán, defined by Patrick Dinneen  as "a pigmy, a sprite, or leprechaun". The further derivation is less certain; according to most sources, the word is thought to be a corruption of Middle Irish  luchrupán, from the Old Irish   luchorpán, a compound of the roots lú ("small") and corp ("body").

 The root corp, which was borrowed from the Latin   corpus, attests to the early influence of   Ecclesiastical  Latin on the Irish language.

 However, further research published in 2019 suggests that the word derives from the Luperci and the associated Roman festival of Lupercalia.

The alternative spelling leithbrágan deriving the word from leith (half) and bróg (brogue), because of the frequent portrayal of the leprechaun as working on a single shoe.

Alternative spellings in English have included lubrican, leprehaun, and lepreehawn. Some modern Irish books use the spelling lioprachán. The first recorded instance of the word in the English language was in Dekker's comedy The Honest Whore, Part 2 (1604): "As for your Irish lubrican, that spirit / Whom by preposterous charms thy lust hath rais'd / In a wrong circle.

 Some believe  that leprechauns are descended from the Tuatha de Danann. When the Milesians came to Ireland (according to the Book of Invasions) they conquered the Tuatha de Danann and forced them to live under ground (this connects them to the aes-sidhe).



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 The cluricaun is often confused with the leprechaun. The leprechaun is related to the clurichaun and the far darrig in that he is a solitary creature. Some writers even go as far as to substitute these second two less well-known spirits for the leprechaun in stories or tales to reach a wider audience. The cluricaun is considered by some to be merely a leprechaun on a spree.
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Leprchuans love music, dancing, fox hunting, and drinking Irish whiskey these are said to be the his ' favorite pastimes.

Once a leprachaun begins dancing to a human's song, it is said that he cannot stop until the tune ceases.

 His exhausted state may cause him to make outlandish offers, including his crock (pot)of gold, if you will please only allow him to stop dancing. Other means of finding his gold include looking at the end of a rainbow, which may lead him to offer 3 wishes in exchange for his treasure. However his promises of gold or wealth  are nothing more the  hollow words, as the Leprechaun employs clever trickery when granting his  wishes, usually resulting in the embarrassment or even  injury to the one making the wishes.

According to some legends, If caught by a human, he will promise great wealth if set  free.

He carries two leather pouches. In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it is paid out. In the other he carries a gold coin which he uses to try and bribe his way out of difficult situations. This coin usually turns into leaves or ashes once the leprechaun has parted with it. However, you must never take your eye off him, for he can vanish in an instant.
According to legend, if anyone keeps an eye fixed upon one, he cannot escape, but the moment the eye is withdrawn he will vanish.


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--Other Media---


As with many old legends and traditions, the image and nature of the leprechaun has changed over time and has been updated for a modern audience. Lucky the Leprechaun, mascot of the General Mills breakfast cereal Lucky Charms, is probably the best-known fairy of his type.

The 1959 Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the little people also played  an prominent role  how people see the wee folk today.
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Then there's  homicidal leprechaun Lubdan in the "Leprechaun" horror/comedy film series played by "Willow" actor Warwick Davis.
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One of the most well know Leprechauns in the world is Lucky the General Mills cereal mascot for Lucky Charms.

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                                     -----Lucky the Leprechaun -----



        

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                                                        Hornswaggle
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Professional wrestler Dylan Mark Postl competed and appeared as Hornswoggle the little leprechaun that lived under the ring, for most of his WWE career 


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The University Notre Dame- Fighting  Irish Leprechaun mascot 







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The Boston Celtics logo has a leprechaun mascot of the team named  Lucky the Leprechaun...no relation to General Mills or Lucky Charms...

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                                          Cute female Leprechaun ...

                           Leprechaun Fairy Goth Girl with Shamrocks

                            


Leprechaun in anime
                                          


 
 Chtholly Nota Seniorious  from Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii Desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii Desu ka?
  
 WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us?



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Leprechaun and Politics....
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Paul Krugman  a Nobel Prize-winning economist, first coined the term "Leprechaun economics" to describe distorted or unsound economic data, which he first used in a tweet on 12 July 2016 in response to the publication by the Irish Central Statistics Office or CSO..that Irish GDP had grown by 26.3%, and Irish GNP had grown by 18.7%, in the 2015 Irish national accounts. The growth was subsequently shown to be due to Apple restructuring its double Irish  tax scheme which the EU Commission had fined €13bn in 2004–2014 Irish unpaid taxes, the largest corporate tax fine in history. The term has been used many times since.


 In the Irish politics the  leprechauns has been used to refer to the twee (a childish pronunciation of sweet).  aspects of the tourist industry in Ireland This can be seen from this example of  John A Costello addressing the Oireachtas   in 1963: "For many years, we were afflicted with the miserable trivialities of our tourist advertising. Sometimes it descended to the lowest depths, to the caubeen and the shillelagh  not to speak of the leprechaun