Creepiest Japanese demons, monsters, KimYe

Christopher Myers (ranker.com, 11/27/19); Miyoko, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Demonic masks of Japanese Buddhist Noh Kagura (vatican.com via ebay.com)

The creepiest Japanese monsters and demons (and the stories behind them)

Which demons from Japanese lore give us the worst cases of the creeps? Japanese lore is dense with yokai, supernatural beings that come in many forms.

These yokai creatures -- let's call them "demons" -- might be monsters, ghosts, or goblins. Their nature ranges from benign to mischievous to seriously scary.

Also known as ayakashi, mononoke, or mamono, yokai arose from many sources, some a product of ancient folklore, others from the imaginations of artists and writers of the Edo period (1603-1868).

The word yokai is a combination of yo, meaning "attractive, bewitching, calamity," and kai, meaning "mystery, wonder."

"Demon" or "monster" is a rough translation for a word that, like many Japanese words, has no direct English equivalent.

Yokai are more diverse than any single English word for such creatures. This list reflects the creepiest of the yokai. It isn't an exhaustive List of Japanese Demons, and it doesn't include those more akin to creatures (such as the kappa) than demons.

• Demon masks, Japanese Buddhist Noh Kagura (vatican.com)

These are the creepy, the dangerous, and the weird. Some of them are reborn (reincarnated) humans or ghosts. Some are personifications of Fear itself. All of them are super creepy.

Knowing the nature and history of yokai provides insight into Japanese horror films. Many yokai make appearances in movies, but their significance is often lost in translation by Western audiences.

The two most famous Japanese cinema ghosts, Sadako from The Ring and Kayako from The Grudge, are both classic yokai.

Many yokai also appear in the films of beloved animator Hayao Miyazaki. Read on to learn more, and vote on the yokai that most give you the heebie jeebies:

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Half the demon KimYe on SNL

Preach it, Sister!

1. Onryō is a type of yurei, ghosts who appear as they were when they were buried. Onryō exist solely for the purpose of vengeance. They are the most feared of all yurei, coming to be when people die with strong and violent feelings of hate, anger, and jealousy. Once birthed (reborn), these yokai seek out a specific victim(s) to torture. They are so strong that they curse the ground they pass over, a curse that spreads like a disease. The movie The Grudge (Ju-On) is based on an onryō named Kayakoha. More