Yurei: The Japanese Ghost

"I lived in a haunted apartment." Zack Davisson opens this definitive work on Japan's ghosts, oryurei, with a personal tale about the spirit world. Eerie red marks on the apartment's ceiling kept Zack and his wife on edge. The landlord warned them not to open a door in the apartment that led to nowhere. "Our Japanese visitors had no problem putting a name to it . . . they would sense the vibes of the place, look around a bit and inevitably say 'Ahhh . . .yurei ga deteru.' There is ayurei here." Combining his lifelong interest in Japanese tradition and his personal experiences with these vengeful spirits, Davisson launches an investigation into the origin, popularization, and continued existence ofyurei in Japan. Juxtaposing historical documents and legends against contemporaryyurei-based horror films such asThe Ring, Davisson explores the persistence of this paranormal phenomenon in modern day Japan and its continued spread throughout the West. Zack Davisson is a translator, writer, and scholar of Japanese folklore and ghosts. He is the translator of Mizuki Shigeru'sShowa 1926-1939: A History of Japan and a translator and contributor toKitaro. He also worked as a researcher and on-screen talent for National Geographic's TV specialJapan: Lost Souls of Okinawa. He writes extensively about Japanese ghost stories at his website, hyakumonogatari.com.… (more)