Asian Folklore
Operation Wandering Soul was a creepy USA propaganda experiment orchestrated to frighten the superstitious instincts of Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Propaganda has a variety of purposes to misinform, but a predominant one is to elicit fear: demoralize and route the enemy. Operation Wandering Soul was an audacious plan seeking to manipulate the Vietnamese’s
While zombies have traditionally been mostly influenced by Western culture, the zombie sub-genre has been getting a resurgence these past few years thanks to South Korea. Zombies are some of the most beloved monsters of horror cinema, from the early George Romero films that started with Night of the Living Dead in 1968 to the
Sitting at the southeastern corner of Asia lies the Philippines, which like any other Asian country such as Japan or Thailand, has its own fair share of cinematic horrors. Filipino or “Pinoy” horror is mostly rooted in local folklore and religion, a result of the country’s beliefs and culture before and after it has been
A mockumentary framing offers a nice spin to the found footage genre. While most found footage films are shot and arranged in an amateur fashion to preserve their realism and home video sense, mockumentary is its counterpart. Here, the believability of the horror comes from one’s flair in crafting conceivable documentation of something purely fictional.
Ken Niimura is a Spanish-Japanese artist who employs a simplified, endearing style to share three stories in this volume of the taboo. Taking inspiration from the Japanese tales he heard as a child, such as Urashima Taro and The Crane Wife, he uses each to dig into the questions he had behind the story. What
Hell-o there, Boos, Ghouls, and in-between! Your friendly neighborhood Brazilian Vic here, reporting to The Yurei with a new fresh take on folklore! Have you ever seen the rainfall and wondered if there is a larger, supernatural power behind it? I live in an old town deeply connected to its folklore and culture. Because of
The Kisaragi Station is a Japanese urban legend originating on the 2Ch message boards in 2004 and revolves around the private railway at Shizuoka. Shared as an anecdote in the thread ‘Post About Strange Occurrences Around You: Thread 26’, the tale recounted how the anonymous user – who was later identified as ‘Hasumi’ – awoke
The Okiku Doll is a haunted object presently stored at the Mannenji Temple and originating in Hokkaido, Japan as a possession of a daughter, Okiku, from the Suzuki family. The doll was bought for Okiku Suzuki in 1918 by her older sister, Eikichi Suzuki, and she fell in love with it, naming it after herself
Konnichiwa! Dia Duit! Wazzup! Straight Outta Kanto, much like yourself, loves a good scare. However, I like my scares safely in a movie, manga, or even a poorly written fan fiction creepypasta. However, sometimes, life can imitate media in ways no one could anticipate. When Japanese artist Keisuke Aiso submitted a sculpture of his interpretation
It’s safe to say that, for most, Naruto was their first exposure to Japanese media and culture. With its larger-than-life fight scenes, solid story arcs and beautiful artwork, it has definitely made its mark on popular culture throughout the world. One thing that I have always enjoyed about Naruto was the Bijuu, or the Tailed