Several months ago, I did a post about Aokigahara, Japan’s suicide capital and a purportedly haunted forest. It is widely believed that the forest is haunted by Yurei, which are essentially Japan’s version of ghosts. These differ from the traditional Western style ghosts. On our side of the ocean, ghosts are ephemeral things that can only interact with the physical world with great difficulty. They knock and creak and moan, but they’re generally harmless; in fact, they’re usually little more than annoying, at least according to the lore. Their goal is usually to attempt some sort of communication with the living, in order to fulfill some sort of unfinished business, after which they can pass on to the other side. Some are more malevolent, intending to scare folks away from their haunts or just to generally be pains in the butt. In general, they’re said to be tied to our world by strong emotions, often negative.
Yurei, on the other hand, are entirely different beasts…
