Brilliantly entertaining and eerie ghost stories, regarded as major classics in Japan, by the Irish writer and Japanophile Lafcadio Hearn—whose life inspired bestselling writer Monique Truong's novel The Sweetest FruitsA Penguin ClassicIn this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living, and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: "rokuro-kubi," whose heads separate from their bodies at night; "jikininki," or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless "mujina" who haunt lonely neighborhoods. Lafcadio Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore, infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to create the chilling tales in Japanese Ghost Stories. They are today regarded in Japan as classics in their own right.

A goblin with no body and a monster with no face. A resourceful samurai and a faithful daughter. A spirit of the moon and a dragon king.This collection of 15 traditional Japanese folktales transports readers to a time of adventure and enchantment. Drawn from the works of folklorists Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, these tales are by turns terrifying, exhilarating, and poetic.• Striking illustrations by contemporary Japanese artist Kotaro Chiba • Special gift edition features an embossed, textured case with metallic gold ink, and a satin ribbon page markerFans of Celtic Tales, Ghostly Tales, and Japanese Notebooks will love this book. This book is ideal for:• Fans of fairytales, folklore, or ghost stories• Anyone interested in Japan's history and culture• People of Japanese heritage• Collectors of illustrated classics

Freya has been alone as long as she can remember.Always moving from foster home to foster home, never finding a permanent family.With her mother dead and no leads on her father, the first clue to her heritage comes in the most unlikely form.An outburst of impossible magic, and the appearance of a ghostly guardian Freya’s mother tasked with watching over her.With her newfound abilities, finding her father should finally be within Freya’s reach, but her new guardian cautions restraint.Freya still doesn’t understand the magical world, she claims, or its dangers.If Freya wants the truth, it may mean going it alone once more.And putting her guardian’s warnings to the test.HUNT is the first book in the Freya Snow urban fantasy series, which starts out as YA and follows Freya’s magical adventures through to university and into adulthood. If you like kick-ass, sarcastic heroines, immersive magical worlds beneath our own, and love that crosses the lines of magical feuds, then you’ll be instantly hooked on L.C. Mawson’s fast-paced urban fantasy series.Download the book to get your fix of strong heroines and immersive fantasy today!

This collection of Japanese supernatural stories is a classic work in the field of Japanese horror. Known primarily as an early interpreter of Japanese culture and customs, the famous writer Lafcadio Hearn also wrote ghost stories—"delicate, transparent, ghostly sketches"—about his adopted land. Many of the stories found in Kwaidan, "stories and studies of strange things," are based on Japanese tales told long ago to him by his wife; others possibly have a Chinese origin. All have been re-colored and reshaped by Hearn's inimitable hand. Some critics attribute Hearn's fascination with eerie tales to his partial blindness. Whatever its roots, he was drawn to the hidden realms of the spirit world with its strange facts and marvels. In this collection of unforgettably haunting stories, Hearn brings together "the meeting of three ways"—the austere dreams of India, the subtle beauty of Japan and the relentless science of the Western world.Japanese ghost and supernatural tales include:A musician called upon to perform for the deadMan-eating goblinsInsects who uncannily mimic human behavior

"....Chilling...", Okinawa Times"...I loved the photographs...", Nago Hearld"...I couldn't put the book down." Naha Journal.Ron Dutcher has masterfully collected thirteen true, chilling tales set in real places with real people. The stories vary in time, dating back to the 16th century to the present day, but each story has a way of getting under your skin. You will be thinking about these stories long after you have put the book down.Most of the stories are set in Okinawa, Japan's southern tropical islands, where the bloodiest battles of World War II were fought. As you might imagine, several stories focus on the war, the soldiers who fought and the civilians who endured.Some of the stories included are:The Grim ReaperThe truth behind the train responsible for the most suicides in Japan.The Nago NightwalkerSomething dark is lurking along highway 505.Haunting at Bise.What did Company H of the 6th Marines find on their recon mission in 1945? The Wreck of the Indian OakWhat really came ashore during that 1840 Typhoon?And nine more chilling stories."A very good read." Anne Poe Lehr, late cousin of Edgar Allen Poe

"Tear-inducingly funny and impossible to put down!"(OVER 100 FIVE STAR REVIEWS ACROSS AMAZON AND GOODREADS!)First they stole his father but they can never steal his will. Well, they kind of did but, he's gonna try really hard to get it back. A fatal mistake catapults Barry Harris into the adventure of a lifetime. With talking hedges, samurai ghosts, meddling psychotherapists, and an inexplicably non-linear time pattern conspiring against him, Barry must do battle to save his hide, unleash the ninja within, and rescue his father from an ancient army, a dark sorcerer and a raging inferno.Perfect reading for fans of Douglas Adams, Robert Rankin, Tom Holt or Christopher Moore.What is the mysterious Prophecy Allocation Department?Where in space and time is the Before and After?Even more importantly, Will Barry’s underwear hold out until he has saved the day?What the reviews are saying :'I read it in one night. Quite a few times I laughed out loud and my husband had to ask me what was going on.''It's very rare to find a book that relates to my humor, this author got it spot on.''I've read a lot of first books since I got my Kindle and I have to say this is up there with the best.''The ... [Read More]

Hungry Ghosts is cooked up by the best selling author and veteran chef, Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential, Emmy-Award winning TV star of Parts Unknown) and acclaimed novelist Joel Rose (Kill, Kill, Faster, Faster) back again from their New York Times #1 best seller, Get Jiro!. Featuring all-new original recipes prepared by Bourdain, plus a yellow ribbon bookmark , and a guide to the ghostly legendary spirits behind these horrifying tales. This horror anthology is sure to please--and scare!On a dark, haunted night, a Russian Oligarch dares a circle of international chefs to play the samurai game of 100 Candles--where each storyteller tells a terrifying tale of ghosts, demons and unspeakable beings--and prays to survive the challenge. Inspired by the Japanese Edo period game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, Hungry Ghosts reimagines the classic stories of yokai, yorei, and obake, all tainted with the common thread of food.Including stellar artists Sebastian Cabrol, Vanesa Del Rey, Francesco Francavilla, Irene Koh, Leo Manco, Alberto Ponticelli, Paul Pope, and Mateus Santolouco as well as amazing color by Jose Villarrubia, a drop-dead cover by Paul Pope."A gorgeous, haunting, at time... [Read More]

Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shape-shifting foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many yokai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories. Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, readers will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries, some with original illustrations, on more than fifty individual creatures. The Book of Yokai provides a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its ever-expanding influence on global popular culture. It also invites readers to examine how people create, transmit, and collect folklore, and how they make sense of... [Read More]

In old Edo, the past was never forgotten. It lived alongside the present, in dark corners, and in the shadows. In these tales, award-winning author Miyuki Miyabe explores the ghosts of Japan, and the spaces of the living world they inhabit. Written with a journalistic eye and a fantasist’s heart Apparitions bring the restless dead, and those who encounter them, to life.

The member of a distinguished British literary family, A. B. Mitford traveled widely with his parents as a youth and lived in various European countries. From 1866-70, he served as an attaché with the British legation at Edo (Tokyo) — one of the first foreign diplomats to do so. During his brief stay there, Mitford lived through a period of dramatic and tumultuous change in Japanese history. A feudal nation on his arrival, Japan had entered the era of “Westernization” before he left some three years later. During that time, however, he quickly and thoroughly mastered the Japanese language and acted as an interpreter between the young Japanese Emperor and British royalty.Mitford’s famous collection of classic tales (the first to appear in English) covers an engrossing array of subjects: grisly accounts of revenge, knightly exploits, ghost stories, fairy tales, folklore, a fascinating eyewitness account of a hara-kiri ceremony, gripping narratives of vampires and samurai, Buddhist sermons, and the plots of four Noh plays.A treasury, as well, of information on most aspects of Japanese life, with information on locales, customs, and characters, the illustrated volume delights ... [Read More]

"A Best Book of 2009" -- The Japan Times Japanese Ghost Stories , formerly published under the title Supernatural and Mysterious Japan , is a collection of the eerie and terrifying from around Japan. This book opens a window into the hidden aspects of the Japanese world of the paranormal, a place where trees grow human hair, rocks weep and there's even a graveyard where Jesus is reputed to have been buried. Covering ancient and modern times, Japanese Ghost Stories offers not only good, old-fashioned scary stories, but some special insights into Japanese culture and psychology. Japanese ghost stories include:

A ruthless yet sympathetic novel of the Western male imagination vis-a-vis the Japanese woman.

From America's great interpreter of all things Japanese -- 20 supernatural tales teeming with undead samurais, man-eating goblins and other terrifying demons. Includes 22