#horror – #podcasts – #BeautyAndTheBeasts –
In Japan, there is a ghost story people still hesitate to tell without permission.
For nearly two centuries, actors, directors and film crews adapting Yotsuya Kaidan have visited the grave of Oiwa — the woman whose name became synonymous with one of Japan’s most feared vengeful spirits. They go to ask for her blessing before bringing her story to the stage or screen.
And there may be a reason the ritual has survived.
Productions of Yotsuya Kaidan have been followed by strange accidents, unexplained illnesses and unsettling coincidences. During one 1976 run in Tokyo, five cast and crew members repeatedly received six place settings at restaurants. An actress descended from the stage with her kimono inexplicably soaked. Other performers developed mysterious swellings and suffered bizarre accidents.
But the darkest part of Oiwa’s story may not be the curse at all.
Because before she became one of Japan’s most terrifying ghosts, Oiwa was a real woman — and the life history remembers is very different from the horror story told in her name.
This is the story of Oiwa, Yotsuya Kaidan, and the Japanese play some still believe is cursed.
Podcast: Beauty and the Beasts