Japanese Supernatural Tales

A terrifying gathering of dozens of classic Japanese tales of monsters and demons, yokai and oni and yūrei, that live on in popular contemporary manga, anime, J-horror films, and video games

A Penguin Classic

Flesh-eating oni demons, kappa water sprites, shapeshifting kitsune foxes, vengeful yūrei ghosts—monsters and magical creatures haunt Japanese history and literature. They appear as divine figures in eighth-century myths, dangerous demons in medieval literature, ghosts in the Edo-era storytelling game hyaku-monogatari, troublesome tricksters in local legends, and sinister predators in modern fiction. This volume brings together an incomparable range—more than one thousand years' worth, from premodern to modern—of the most horrifying and enduring supernatural stories that have exploded in popularity in anime, video games, and horror movies.