In the following, I will summarize, analyze and interpret the short ghost stories that are part of the so called “Kaidan: A Collection of New Tales” (Japanese Title: 怪談：新耳袋). Each story has a title and a number, is about five minutes long and usually in itself complete and independent. Rarely do they have a second part which is not clearly indicated to the viewer, but rather shown through other details like identical names or appearances. Additionally I will give a short historical summary of the development Japanese horror from the 1950s until today. Primarily, the first story I chose from the Collection of Tales is called臭い (Nioi) and revolves around a female high school student on her way back home from school. She encounters a woman in a kimono sitting in seiza with her back to the girl on the side of the road. The girl approaches the woman and asks whether she is feeling okay. By doing so she notices a strange smell, that of rotten smell, coming from the strange woman who does not react to the girl’s questions. The protagonist then decides to call the police but the phone does not go through with the call. As she is distracted the woman vanishes but appears behind her again while she is confusedly looking around. Still, the viewer cannot see the strange woman’s face and can by now conclude that there is something odd going on. The girl staggers back because of the rotten smell and suddenly the woman shakes her neck and upper body in an abrupt jolting motion similar to that of ghosts in popular horror movies. As she tries to escape the creature blocks her way again (all the while making unsettling cow-like noises), then lies out-stretched behind her and when the girl turns around to run the creature traps her food under hers. ... ... middle of paper ... ...2008. 2. Grétarsdóttir, Elisabeth Kristjana. Vengeful Ghosts in Japanese Contemporary Legends. Sigillum University, Iceland, 2012. http://skemman.is/en/item/view/1946/11628 3. Kenney, Elizabeth. Hanako, the Toilet Ghost. Kansai Gaidai University, N/A. 4. Tall, Teri. “Nambu World: Senninbari (Thousand Stitch Belts)” 04.02.2008 http://members.shaw.ca/nambuworld/senninbari.htm Accessed 16.5.2014 23:44 5. Smith, Chris. “Guide to understanding Japanese Horror” 18.02.2006. http://www.dreamdawn.com/sh/features/japanese_horror.php#10 Accessed: 13.05.2014, 11:48 6. Walter, Sarah. “Summer: Japan’s Ghost season“29.08.2013. http://www.tofugu.com/2013/08/29/summer-japans-ghost-season/ Accessed: 13.05.2014, 13:52 7. Meyers, Matthew. “An Online Database of Japanese Ghosts and Monsters” 2013 http://yokai.com/ Accessed: 14.05.2014 16:55 8. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/怪談新耳袋
Paul Santilli’s “Culture, Evil, and Horror” gives us several ideas of what horror means. Horror is a type of cultural breakdown. There is also a type of horror called Ontological Horror: “It is characterized as a disturbance before an indefinite and unnamed presence” (180). In the story “The Spider”, the men all suffered an ineluctable death. This story demonstrates an unnamed presence causing the loss of control.
The Mammoth Book of Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories ed. Richard Dalby Carroll & Graf Publishers 1995.
Picture yourself walking into your home from a good night spending, you put your stuff down and lay on the couch. Suddenly you hear footsteps upstairs and a big thump. Curiosity gets to you, so you go upstairs to check on what it was; no one could be in the house, you live alone. You walk into your room and start examining every corner, nothing. Once you’re about to leave the door slams shut, the light turns off, and the window shatters; trying to reach for the switch the light turns back on and in front of you a black figure stands and whispers your name slowly. This type of story is designed to make your heart beat as fast as a buzzer, they are known as horror stories. A writer tries to scare the reader by trying to relate to relate to everyone’s fear, or by using suspense. Suspense is needed for a good horror story; writers would use reversal or foreshadowing.
The narratives that we find in this story are always set in the most everyday reality, in a daily routine that apparently has nothing special. Until everything changes. Although we do not find in these stories supernatural elements or the characteristics of horror stories. Perhaps because it is responsible for teaching us the terrible
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father is intended to be seen as a real ghost. Around 1600, when the play Hamlet was written, many people believed in mystical creatures like witches, monsters, and most importantly: ghosts. With so many people believing in these characters, it makes sense that Shakespeare portrays the ghost of Hamlet’s father as a real figure. Many examples support this, such as when the guards in Act I scene i see the ghost, which proves it’s not just in Hamlet’s imagination. But some people can not see the ghost, such as Hamlet’s mother in Act III scene iiiii. Hamlet sees the ghost but she can not. This could be used as evidence to say the ghost is not real though. Shakespeare shows us though this information, the high complications oh having ghosts in a story.
Come with me as I take you inside one of the most haunted locations in the United States today. It is a journey down dark hallways and into rooms painted by both shadow and light where spirits talk and phantoms walk. St. Albans Sanatorium is a destination known by serious paranormal investigators as a place where they can seek answers to the mysteries of what lies beyond death. Some of these investigators were able to find resolutions for themselves to a number of these age old riddles through their experiences at the sanatorium. The frightening and true stories found within the pages of this book are about these inquisitive investigators’ encounters with The Ghosts of St. Albans Sanatorium.
A major aspect within ‘Ghost Dances’ is the characters and how they reflect the meaning of the story and what they resemble. There are two different groups of characters within this work, the Ghost Dancers and the Peasant Villagers. Each group acts o...
During the late 1800’s there were two extremely short silent films that began the addiction of gothic horror. The earlier of the two was an eighteen second long film entitled The Execution of Mary Stuart which was produced by Thomas Edison in 1895. There much debate over the matter of this film actually classifying as the first horror movie because of its short duration. (Trick Films) The second horro...
Chinese culture has many interpretations ghosts. One way they are seen as is people who have disgraced their family or country. An example of this in the novel is Maxine's aunt. She is considered a ghost because she disgraced her family by having a baby outside of marriage. They call her "Ghost! Dead ghost! Ghost! You have never been born." (Kinston 14) She drowns herself in the well to become one of the most feared ghost, the Shui Gui or watery ghost. These ghosts are said to be waiting for their victims, to pull them into the water to take the drowned ones place. In the novel another example of what the Chinese consider ghosts are American people. Sometimes they feel haunted by this unfamiliar culture, just as a ghost would haunt. "But America has been full of machines and ghosts- Taxi Ghosts, Bus Ghosts, Police Ghosts, Fire Ghosts, Meter Reader Ghosts, Tree Trimming Ghosts, Five-and-Dime Ghosts." (Kong 96) These examples are American people of any ethnicity. They are called ghosts because the Chinese are not familiar with the culture. Another example of the unfamiliarity is when, "Her husband looked like one of the ghosts passing the car wind...
The storyteller is a 65 year old Hispanic woman from Riverhead, New York. I collected the story over the phone on April 2, 2006. She started off by telling me that the story took place in 1988 on Long Island. Her landlord had told her about a wonderful restaurant that she just had to go to, so on a Friday night the storyteller and her husband decided to try it out. When stepping up to the Jamesport Manor Inn she had a creepy feeling just from looking at the old mansion. She claimed that it had an eerie sort of feel to it and obviously did not look like a typical restaurant.
This story, although somewhat unique in its exact plot, contains many elements that make it a typical and traditional ghost story. These elements suggest common fears in today’s society of people in general, and children specifically.
The Nelly Butler hauntings is referred to as the first recorded ghost story in American history (LiBrizzi 5), and possibly the most exciting hauntings to date as there are still many unsolved mysteries. The apparition appeared on more than 30 separate occasions to over 100 witnesses in Sullivan, Maine, just over fifteen years after the American Revolution (5-6). Although the Nelly Butler apparition is one of the most convincing ghosts of all time, it was subject to suspicions of fraud. These claims turn out to be groundless as the evidence reveals the ghost to be genuine.
For years, ghosts and poltergeists have been a part of our popular lexicon. From stories told around the campfire, to motion pictures like The Haunting, to books like the Scary Story series, everyone has heard a good ghost story or two. Many people claim to have actually been party to a few supernatural experiences themselves. But for as long as we have told these frightful stories, science has been attempting to explain them beyond the typical bump in the dark.
For many years, people have debated whether or not spirits are real. Some people get scared at the fact that there might be something unknown lurking in their house in the middle of the night making their footsteps known to everyone in it. Maybe that person feels watched upon or feel some kind of presence in their home, or even sees shadows moving their way through rooms. Different people around the world have their own opinions based on religion and experiences when talking about angels, demons, and the spirits that have life after death. New technology is getting closer to detecting these energies happening in the world today. The history of haunting dates back many years, and more people want to get involved because of the new technology.
Generally, Tokyo Ghoul's narrating was respectable. It investigated the diverse parts of the ghoul group and made its point basic and succinct. There is nothing excessively extravagant or well finished with its narrating. Tokyo Ghoul rushes to set up the legend with the Wards, the Doves, and distinctive sorts of ghouls.