Bakeneko the Demon Cat..

             -----------Bakeneko or Changing cat is a type of yokai (Sprite / demon) -----------




Cat's are often seen as sly and mysterious creatures..

Cats depicted as yōkai in Japan date back as far as the Kamakura Period  (1185–1333).

In the collection of setsuwa (oral tradition of folktales before the 14th century), the Kokon Chomonju   from this period, there are several descriptions of cats that do odd and suspicious things, noting that "these are perhaps ones that have turned into demons.
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One of the more well know legends regarding a Bakeneko...
 is the story of Takasu Genbei...

 In this story  a man named Takasu Genbei, whose mother's personality suddenly changed  after his pet cat went missing for many years. His mother avoided interactions with old  friends and even family and would  often eat alone in her room. Untill one day when the family peeked in on her, they saw a cat-like monster in the mother's clothes, chewing on animal carcasses. Takasu, still skeptical, slew what looked like his mother, and after one day his mother's body turned back into his pet cat that had been missing. Takasu then tore up the floorboards of his mother's room to find her skeleton hidden there, her bones gnawed clean of all flesh.


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Folk lore:.....

The Bakeneko myths from arond Japan....


In Yamagata District, Hiroshima Prefecture, it is said that a cat raised for seven years or longer would kill the one that raised it. There are also many regions where when people began raising a cat, they would decide in advance for how many years they would raise it because of this superstition.

 Also, depending on the area, there are stories in which cats that were killed by humans in a brutal manner would become bakeneko and curse that human. The stories of bakeneko are not only about aged cats, but are also sometimes stories of revenge against cruel humans.

 
The abilities attributed to the bakeneko are various, but include shapeshifting into humans,  wearing a towel or napkin on the head and dancing, speaking human words,  cursing humans manipulating dead people, possessing humans  and lurking in the mountains and taking wolves along with them to attack travelers.

 As an unusual example, on Aji island, in  Oshika District, of the Miyagi Prefecture and in the Oki Islands, Shimane Prefecture, there's a story of a cat that shapeshifted into a human and wanted to engage in sumo.

 
However the legend of cats with the ability to speak, may have arisen because humans simply misinterpring the cat's meowing as human language, and for this reason some would say that the cat is not a type of yōkai. In 1992 (Heisei 4), in the Yomiuri newspaper, there was an article that argued that when people thought they had heard a cat speak, upon listening a second time, they realized that it was simply the cat's meowing and that it was only coincidence that it resembled a word in human language.

In the Edo period (1603–1867), there was a folk belief that cats with long tails like snakes could bewitch people. Cats with long tails were disliked and there was a custom of cutting their tails. It is speculated that this is the reason that there are so many cats in Japan with short tails nowadays, because natural selection has favored those with short tails.

Folk beliefs that cats can cause strange phenomena are not limited to Japan. For example, in Jinhua, Zhejiang, in China, it is said that a cat, after having been raised for three years by humans, would then start bewitching them. Because it is said that cats with white tails are especially good at this, there arose the custom of refraining from raising white cats. Since it is said that their ability to bewitch humans comes from taking in the spiritual energy of the moon, it is said that when a cat looks up at the moon, whether its tail has been cut or not, it should be killed on the spot
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The reason that cats are seen as yōkai in Japanese mythology is attributed to many of the characteristics that they possess: for example, the way the irises of their eyes change shape depending on the time of day, the way their fur seems to cause sparks due to static electricity when they are petted (especially in winter), the way they sometimes lick blood, the way they can walk without making a sound, their wild nature that remains despite the gentleness they can show at times, the way they are difficult to control (unlike dogs), the sharpness of their claws and teeth, their nocturnal habits, and their speed and agility.


There are many yōkai animals other than cats in old tales that have similar attributes: the deep tenacity of snakes, the ability of foxes (kitsune) to shapeshift into women, and the brutality of tanuki in eating humans depicted in the Kachi-kachi Yama folktale from the Edo period. Cats in particular, however, have acquired a great number of tales and superstitions surrounding them, due to the unique position they occupy between nature and civilization.

As cities and towns were established and humans began living farther apart from nature, cats came with them. Since cats live close to humans yet retain their wild essence and air of mystery, stories grew up around them, and gradually the image of the bakeneko was formed^.
 
One folk belief concerning the bakeneko is that they would lick the oil of oriental lamps, and in the Edo period encyclopedia, the Wakan Sansai Zue, it is said that for a cat to lick this oil is an omen of some strange event about to occur.

 People in the early modern period used cheap oils from fish, like sardine oil, in the lamps, and that could explain why cats would want to lick them.

 The diet of most  Japanese people at that time was based primarily on grains and vegetables, and the leftovers would be fed to the cats.

 However, since cats are carnivores, such a diet would have been lacking in protein and fat, and therefore they would have been even more attracted to the oil in the lamps.

Furthermore, the sight of a cat standing up its hind legs to reach the lamp, with its face lit up and eyes round with anticipation, could have seemed eerie and unnatural, like a yōkai.

The mysterious air that cats possess was associated with the image of prostitutes who worked in the Edo period red-light districts. This was the origin of a popular character in kusazōshi (among other publications), the bakeneko yūjo

Otakemaru : The Great Mountain Peak

 

 

 Otakemaru

Also called 

The great mountain peak”


Otakemaru is a kijin— an oni so powerful and so violent that he is considered both demon (ki) and god (jin).

He lived in the Suzuka Mountains on the border of Ise and Omi Provinces during the reign of Emperor Kanmu (781 to 806).

Although his legend is not so well-known today, he was once considered among the most fearsome yokai in Japanese history.

Along with Shuten doji and Tamamo no Mae, he is often considered one of the Nihon san dai aku yokai, or Great Three Evil Yokai of Japan.  (Some versions of this ranking replace Otakemaru with Sutoku Tenno.)


Because of the time period and locations in which his story takes place, and the fact that his chief enemy was the shogun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro,  it is thought that Otakemaru may be a folkloric interpretation of Aterui, a chieftain of the Emishi people of northeastern Japan who waged a devastating campaign against the Yamato Japanese.

His legend also serves as the basis of Aomori Prefecture’s famous Nebuta Matsuri, in which large floats depicting warriors defeating oni are parading through the streets.

.....'.'.......

Long ago an oni named Otakemaru terrorized travelers in the Suzuka Mountains and stole tributes intended for the emperor in Kyoto.
 

The emperor commanded his shogun, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, to exterminate the demon.

Tamuramaro raised an army of 30,000 horsemen and entered the Suzuka Mountains.

However, Otakemaru was powerful, and using his black magic  he summoned a great storm. He covered the mountains in black clouds, making it impossible to see. Rains and winds battered the army.
Lightning crashed and fire rained down from the sky onto the army. For seven long years Tamuramaro and his men roamed the mountains in  search of Otakemaru, but could not catch him.

The Suzuka Mountains were home to a tennyo—a beautiful goddess named Suzuka Gozen.

When Otakemaru saw her, he was enchanted by her beauty and became determined to spend a night in her company.

He transformed himself into a beautiful young man, a noble of the court, and other disguises, and night after night traveled to Suzuka Gozen’s  palace. 

 But every time, his solicitations were denied by the goddess.

Frustrated by his inability to find the Otakemaru’s whereabouts, Tamuramaro prayed to the gods and the buddhas to help him. That night, as  he dozed off, he had a vision of an old man. “To defeat Otakemaru you must gain the help of Suzuka Gozen,” the old man told him. Tamuramaro  sent his army of 30,000 horsemen back to Kyoto and climbed the Suzuka Mountains by himself. Deep in the mountains, he came upon a palace in  which lived a beautiful woman. She invited him inside, and he spent the night with her. The woman told Tamuramaro, “I came down from heaven to help you defeat the demon who haunts these mountains. I will capture him for you.” Tamuramaro realized that this beautiful woman must be Suzuka Gozen.

Suzuka Gozen led Tamuramaro through the mountains to show him the Otakemaru’s demon castle.

She instructed him that Otakemaru could be defeated while he possesses the Sanmyo no ken (Kenmyoren, Daitoren, and Shotoren: three holy swords of  great power). Then they traveled back to her palace, where she laid her trap for the oni.

The night, Otakemaru came to her again, disguised as usual as handsome young man to ask for her love. Suzuka Gozen invited him inside, and said to him ..A warrior named Tamuramaro is coming here to kill me. Please, lend me the Sanmyo no ken so that I may defend myself.”
 

The oni gave her Daitoren, and Shotoren to defend herself with, but kept Kenmyoren for himself.

The following night Otakemaru came once again to Suzuka Gozen’s palace. 

 

Tamuramaro was waiting for him there. Otakemaru revealed his true form to the  shogun, transforming into a massive demon who stood over 10 meters tall, with eyes that shined like the sun and the moon. A terrible combat ensued. 

Heaven and earth shook with the fury of their battle. Otakemaru attacked Tamuramaro with sword and spear, but the shogun was a holy warrior,  protected by the thousand-armed Kannon, bodhisattva of mercy, and Bishamonten, god of war. Otakemaru split his body into thousands of oni, who  charged at Tamuramaro. Tamuramaro took from his quiver a single holy arrow and fire it, The arrow split into one thousand arrows which in turn  split into ten thousand more and impaled the oni in their faces, killing them. Just then, Otakemaru made a ferocious lunge at Tamuramaro. But the shogun was faster, and he swung his blade Sohaya at the oni’s head, lopping it off.

Tamuramaro brought the oni’s head back to Kyoto for the emperor to inspect. 

The emperor was so pleased with the shogun that he granted him Iga

Province as a reward. Tamuramaro returned to Iga, married Suzuka Gozen, and the two of them lived happily together for many years.

Otakemaru’s reign of terror, however, was not over. His spirit traveled to India for a time, and eventually returned to Japan and haunted Kenmyoren. 

 
He was able to reform his body and once again became a kijin. He rebuilt his impregnable demon castle on Mount Iwate in Mutsu Province and once again he began to terrorize Japan.

Tamuramaro and Suzuka Gozen traveled to Mutsu to meet their nemesis one more time and defeat him once and for all. While Otakemaru was away from his castle, Tamuramaro snuck in through a secret back door that Suzuka Gozen had revealed to him in Otakemaru’s first demon castle. When Otakemaru  returned, Tamuramaro was waiting for him. They did battle, and once again Tamuramaro cut Otakemaru’s head clean off. 

The oni’s head flew up into the air and landed upon Tamuramaro’s head and bit down hard. Fortunately, Tamuramaro was wearing two helmets. Though the demon head bit off and swallowed the first one, Tamuramaro was able to escape injury. 

Otakemaru’s head was once more taken back to Kyoto, where it was locked safely away in the treasury
of Byodoin.

East Texas Bigfoot Encounter

A first hand account of an eyewitness encounter in Lufkin TX 

During October of 1968.

On  a Friday night, after a date, my girlfriend and I had stopped alongside a heavily wooded dirt road that had been cleared to expand the subdivision where she lived with her parents. The moon was full and the night was very bright. As we talked, I began to feel an odd sensation, as if I were being watched. Apparently she felt something too, because we both suddenly became quiet.

I turned to look out the driver-side window of my car, when I looked straight into the dark face of a very large, man-like, hairy creature which had hunched down to stare at us. It was approximately 6 feet from me. The moonlight shone on the white dirt road behind it, making its silhouette very clear. The oddest thing (as if the creature weren't enough) was that its eyes glowed faintly pale yellow in its dark face. This glow did not appear to be a reflection of moonlight, as the moon was high and to its back. Its shoulders were very broad, and it had no distinct neck - as if its shoulders sloped up to blend into its head. Although stooped on one knee, it was as tall as my car.

I noticed all this in a flash (although I'll never forget it), because I quickly turned back to look at my girlfriend. When her eyes caught mine, she lost it and began to scream bloody murder. That settled it for me - I started the car and sped away.

After I left her safely at her parents house, I looked up some friends who went back with me to search for the creature. Within an hour, four of us were back waiting on the road. Dogs were barking everywhere. We heard cattle gates being rattled across some fields beyond the woods. We saw nothing.

The next day, a friend and I returned to search for tracks. We found none on the packed sand of the road. We did find unusual signs in the woods, but most were indistinct due to a covering of pine straw. Late in the day, as we walked back onto the road, I got the same eerie feeling again. I turned to look back into the woods. The sun was setting through the woods, and I suddenly saw the creature's silhouette between the pine trees. It was following us - silently. I whispered for my friend to look. At first he couldn't see it, and moved back and forth to scan the thicket. The creature mimicked his movements. After it moved, my friend spotted it. Without speaking, we bolted, ran to my car, and drove off.

None of us spoke much about it afterwards, although many at our high school heard about it and bothered us with questions. Except for a few friends, I seldom discuss it 

Aoandon, blue flame spirit

 🦇🎃Happy 👻Halloween🎃🦇

                     Happy Halloween 🎃

              time for  ghost story,👻👻👻

Halloween is the best time of year for a good ghost story, Enjoy.👻

Aoandon (青行燈, Aoandon) is a creature illustrated by Toriyama Sekien in his Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. It was meant to represent the spirit that appeared during Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai meetings, after the last story was told...

Long ago during the Edo period, a popular summertime activity among the aristocratic classes was to gather and tell ghost stories, (ghost stories in the summer are still a popular pass time in Japan today)    hoping the chill of fear would stave off the intense midsummer heat. These ghost story telling parties were called hyakumonogatari kaidankai – a gathering of one hundred ghost stories. 

During these gatherings, one hundred candles would be lit and placed inside of blue paper lanterns, called andon, in order to create an eerie atmosphere suitable for storytelling.

 Throughout the night, guests would take turns telling progressively scarier stories about yokai, demons, ghosts, and other strange things. After each story, one candle would be snuffed out, until finally only the hundredth candle remained, its dim blue light casting long, creepy shadows, struggling to fill the dark room.

According to superstition, as the final candle was snuffed, a real ghost would appear out of the darkness to attack the participants, created out of the heightened emotional state and fears of guests. This ghost was called the ao andon.

The ao andon is the incarnation of mass human terror, formed out of the built-up fears of large groups of people. This fear takes the appearance of a demonic woman with long black hair, blue skin, blackened teeth, sharp claws, and horns. It wears a white or blue kimono, and glows with an eerie blue light.

The ao andon appears at the end of the gathering, when all of the lanterns have been snuffed out. It emerges from the smoke of the final candle and attacks the guests. What exactly it does is a mystery; whether it slaughters all of the participants in a brutal finale inspired by the preceding tales, or simply jumps out to give one last shock before the guests return home has never been recorded. 

 

The reason for this is that by the time the ninety-ninth ghost story had been told, the guests were usually too frightened to tell the final story, and the parties usually concluded at that point, before the ao andon could appear.

As the old proverb says (in both English and Japanese): speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. It was feared that merely talking about ghosts and spirits for long enough would cause them to materialize for real.

 

Hopefully you all enjoyed this month of monster's as much as I did, have a great 

🦇🎃🦇Halloween 🎃🦇🎃

 and the rest of 2023.

🦉M.

Because I could not stop for Death ...

 

Because I could not stop for Death

BY EMILY DICKINSON

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity

Japaneses myths: The Vampire Cat

    

                         The Vampire Cat             

            The Cat of Nebeshima..  

The Prince of Hizen a distinguished member of the Nabéshima family, lingered in the garden with O Toyo, the favorite among his ladies. When the sun set they retired to the palace, but failed to notice that they were being followed by a large cat.

O Toyo went to her room and fell asleep. At midnight she awoke and gazed about her, as if suddenly aware of some dreadful presence in the apartment. At length she saw, crouching close beside her, a gigantic cat, and before she could cry out for assistance the animal sprang upon her and strangled her. The animal then made a hole under the verandah, buried the corpse, and assumed the form of the beautiful O Toyo.

The prince, who knew nothing of what had happened, continued to love the false O Toyo, unaware that in reality he was caressing a foul beast. He noticed, little by little, that his strength failed, and it was not long before he became dangerously ill. Physicians were summoned, but they could do nothing to restore the royal patient. It was observed that he suffered most during the night, and was troubled by horrible dreams. This being so, his councilors arranged that a hundred retainers should sit with their lord and keep watch while he slept.

The watch went into the sickroom, but just before ten o'clock it was overcome by a mysterious drowsiness. When all the men were asleep the false O Toyo crept into the apartment and disturbed the prince until sunrise. Night after night the retainers came to guard their master, but always they fell asleep at the same hour, and even three loyal councilors had a similar experience.

During this time the prince grew worse, and at length a priest named Ruiten was appointed to pray on his behalf. One night, while he was engaged in his supplications, he heard a strange noise proceeding from the garden. On looking out of the window he saw a young soldier washing himself. When he had finished his ablutions he stood before an image of Buddha, and prayed most ardently for the recovery of the prince.

Ruiten, delighted to find such zeal and loyalty, invited the young man to enter his house, and when he had done so inquired his name.

"I am Ito Soda," said the young man, "and serve in the infantry of Nabéshima. I have heard of my lord's sickness and long to have the honor of nursing him; but being of low rank it is not meet that I should come into his presence. I have, nevertheless, prayed to the Buddha that my lord's life may be spared. I believe that the Prince of Hizen is bewitched, and if I might remain with him I would do my utmost to find and crush the evil power that is the cause of his illness."

Ruiten was so favorably impressed with these words that he went the next day to consult with one of the councilors, and after much discussion it was arranged that Ito Soda should keep watch with the hundred retainers.

When Ito Soda entered the royal apartment he saw that his master slept in the middle of the room, and he also observed the hundred retainers sitting in the chamber quietly chatting together in the hope that they would be able to keep off approaching drowsiness. By ten o'clock all the retainers, in spite of their efforts, had fallen asleep.

Ito Soda tried to keep his eyes open, but a heaviness was gradually overcoming him, and he realized that if he wished to keep awake he must resort to extreme measures. When he had carefully spread oil-paper over the mats he stuck his dirk into his thigh. The sharp pain he experienced warded off sleep for a time, but eventually he felt his eyes closing once more. Resolved to outwit the spell which had proved too much for the retainers, he twisted the knife in his thigh, and thus increased the pain and kept his loyal watch, while blood continually dripped upon the oil-paper.

While Ito Soda watched he saw the sliding doors drawn open and a beautiful woman creep softly into the apartment. With a smile she noticed the sleeping retainers, and was about to approach the prince when she observed Ito Soda. After she had spoken curtly to him she approached the prince and inquired how he fared, but the prince was too ill to make a reply. Ito Soda watched every movement, and believed she tried to bewitch the prince, but she was always frustrated in her evil purpose by the dauntless eyes of Ito Soda, and at last she was compelled to retire.

In the morning the retainers awoke, and were filled with shame when they learnt how Ito Soda had kept his vigil. The councilors loudly praised the young soldier for his loyalty and enterprise, and he was commanded to keep watch again that night. He did so, and once more the false O Toyo entered the sickroom, and, as on the previous night, she was compelled to retreat without being able to cast her spell over the prince.

It was discovered that immediately the faithful Soda had kept guard, the prince was able to obtain peaceful slumber, and, moreover, that he began to get better, for the false O Toyo, having been frustrated on two occasions, now kept away altogether, and the guard was not troubled with mysterious drowsiness. Soda, impressed by these strange circumstances, went to one of the councilors and informed him that the so-called O Toyo was a goblin of some kind.

That night Soda planned to go to the creature's room and try to kill her, arranging that in case she should escape there should be eight retainers outside waiting to capture her and dispatch her immediately.

At the appointed hour Soda went to the creature's apartment, pretending that he bore a message from the prince.

"What is the message?" inquired the woman.

"Kindly read this letter," replied Soda, and with these words he drew his dirk and tried to kill her.

The false O Toyo seized a halberd and endeavored to strike her adversary. Blow followed blow, but at last perceiving that flight would serve her better than battle, she threw away her weapon, and in a moment the lovely maiden turned into a cat and sprang onto the roof. The eight men waiting outside in case of emergency shot at the animal, but the creature succeeded in eluding them.

The cat made all speed for the mountains, and caused trouble among the people who lived in the vicinity, but was finally killed during a hunt ordered by the Prince of Hizen.

The prince became well again, and Ito Soda received the honor and reward he so richly deserved.

Vampire family of North Carolina

 

 

                                      

🦇  Vampire family of North Carolina 🦇

 

Anywhere you go there are going to be other people relatively close by, but beyond the standard Hello
or other random greeting, what do we really know about our neighbors?

This  account takes place in the 1780's and involves a seemingly normal family, a doctor and his wife and son.



In the early Spring of 1788 Dr Alfort and his family moved to the small town of Dillsboro, North Carolina
and soon established his medical practice along with a pharmacy ran out of his home, within
a few months people in towns started showing up more and more for a variety of treatments however one
day a few of his patients that had just recently received treatment suddenly passed away without any explanation.


Some members of the community blamed the doctor and anger was building however the minister was able to claim down the town at least for the moment.


But one night the ministers wife well getting ready for bed, noticed the door to there young daughters room slightly open  after entering she saw a dark figure standing over the bed and began to scream for help, the figure then fled through the open window, sadly as the minister arrived  with his lantern they discovered the girl was dead with two large  puncture wounds in her neck.

During the next few nights the towns people claimed to see a large flying creature overhead, fear griped the small community and soon windows that where previously left open stayed shut and locked, well family's huddled together in one room for safety.

One evening an elderly couple were suddenly awoken by frantic beating on their front door only to find their grandson  frightened and screaming that a monster had attacked his parents.

A posse was soon formed and they left for the child's home, upon arriving they  discovered the bodies of not only the parents but also the two young sisters as well.

They had all died of blood lose resulting from wounds on their mutilated necks.

The town raised money for an extensive investigation of the home and surrounding area, but no culprit was found.

Over the next six months the situation had eased a bit and everyone had began to relax again as there had been no  further killings.

It seemed all was well in Dillsboro.

Until February of 1789, one night two brothers heard terrible screaming coming from their neighbors home, they armed  themselves with farm tools (pitchfork, an  ax etc) then made there way next door.

As they entered the home they saw a dark shape exit through a window leaving behind the lifeless body's of a young couple  that lived there.

Angered the brother's perused the creature on foot and it lead them straight to Doctor Alforts home.

The town angry and living in fear for months soon formed a large group and stood watch outside the home until morning when even more showed up from neighboring settlements to help.

Soon after sunrise nearly  one hundred men swarmed the home armed with anything they could use as a weapon..

The mob began searching the home, they found nicely made beds like no one had even sleep there the previous night.

Not yet satisfied they continued there search, until a trap door was discovered leading into a dark basement, still full of anger and now a bit of fear, they cautiously made their way down into the cellar.


The lanterns light revealed nothing at first besides an empty basement until the shown on three large wooden crates.

They where shocked to find Doctor Alford and his wife asleep in two of these large box's well the third remand empty and their 15 year old some was no where to be found.

The mob pulled the couple out of the box's and an angry Miss Alford began to hiss and scratch at the men.

The doctor remained quiet as he and his wife where brought outside, he refused to answer any questions well his wife continued to hiss and  shriek in anger.

The group soon decided to execute the couple and leave there bodies in the house they had build well it was burned to the ground.

With the deaths of the Alfort the mysterious killings stopped, there where a few reports of a shadowy figure moving through the town at night but these reports soon died down.

The son was never seen again.

The town went back to normal, but it just goes to show, there could be monsters right next door and you would never know until its to late..

                                                         Have  a fun and Safe Halloween