Yurei: The Japanese Ghost

Yurei: The Japanese Ghost

<div><p>"I lived in a haunted apartment." Zack Davisson opens this definitive work on Japan's ghosts, or <i>yurei</i>, 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 '<i>Ahhh</i> . . . <i>yurei ga deteru</i>.' There is a <i>yurei</i> here."</p><p>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 of <i>yurei</i> in Japan. Juxtaposing historical documents and legends against contemporary <i>yurei</i>-based horror films such as <i>The Ring</i>, Davisson explores the persistence of this paranormal phenomenon in modern day Japan and its continued spread throughout the West.<p><b>Zack Davisson</b> is a translator, writer, and scholar of Japanese folklore and ghosts. He is the translator of Mizuki Shigeru's <i>Showa 1926–1939: A History of Japan</i> and a translator and contributor to <i>Kitaro</i>. He also worked as a researcher and on-screen talent for National Geographic's TV special <i>Japan: Lost Souls of Okinawa</i>. He writes extensively about Japanese ghost stories at his website, hyakumonogatari.com.<br /></div>