jhorrorblog
-
~ PART I ~ THE INDONESIAN SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE To understand Indonesian horror, one must first abandon a deeply Western assumption: that the supernatural represents a break in reality. In Indonesian cosmology, spirits are not intrusions, they are not aberrations and they are not even necessarily hostile. They are simply there, occupying the same world as…
-
Introduction: The Girl in the Third Stall There are few ghosts in the world as widely known, casually invoked, and quietly misunderstood as Hanako-san. In Japan, her name is whispered not in temples or abandoned tunnels, but in elementary schools. Not in the dark woods or on lonely highways, but in fluorescent-lit hallways that smell…
-
Introduction: The Loneliest Urban Legend in Japan There are urban legends that feel theatrical. There are urban legends that feel cruel. And then there are a rare few that feel lonely; stories that don’t simply frighten you, but hollow something out inside your chest and leave it echoing for days afterward. Kisaragi Station (きさらぎ駅) belongs…
-
Introduction – the Shape of a Modern Ghost Story There are some ghost stories that feel ancient, as though they have always existed. And then there are others that feel new; not in the sense that they were recently invented, but in the sense that they could only have come into being in the modern…
-
Introduction At first glance, Koji Shiraishi’s Shirome (2010) looks like a joke. It opens not with dread or blood or ghostly imagery, but with rehearsal footage of a real-life J-pop idol group (Momoiro Clover Z) practicing choreography, laughing with one another, and nervously talking about their dreams of one day performing on Kōhaku Uta Gassen,…
-
~ Introduction & Overview ~ What Is Buddhism? Buddhism is both a philosophy of liberation and a world religion that began in northern India in the 5th–4th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (“Awakened One”). At its heart are a few key ideas: Over centuries Buddhism spread across Asia:…
J-Horror Blog 