The Creepiest Japanese Monsters & Demons (and the Stories Behind Them)

Japanese lore is dense with yokai, supernatural beings that come in many forms. These creatures - 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, have no direct English equivalent. Yokai are more diverse than any single English word for such creatures. 

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