![[Trauma-Level] Scary Stories from Japanese Folklore: A Collection of Spine-Chilling Episodes](https://media.ragnet.co.jp/img/1200__png__https://www.studiorag.com/files/2026/03/d39252d8945d09650393a2d2c19a7cf2.webp)
[Trauma-Level] Scary Stories from Japanese Folklore: A Collection of Spine-Chilling Episodes
Many people may associate Manga Nihon Mukashibanashi, which has aired a wide variety of stories, with heartwarming episodes.
However, isn’t it often the chilling ones that suddenly resurface in your mind and make you shiver? In fact, this anime contains numerous terrifying tales that can send a chill down the spine even of adults.
Its dim, shadowy atmosphere, uncanny pauses, and merciless endings—each is etched deeply into viewers’ memories.
In this article, we carefully select and introduce the scariest stories from Manga Nihon Mukashibanashi.
Please savor this unique world where nostalgia and fear intertwine.
[Trauma-Level] Scary Tales from Japanese Folklore: A Spine-Chilling Episode Collection (1–10)
The Three-Branched Razor FoxNEW!
Do you believe in scary stories and anecdotes? The protagonist of this tale didn’t believe in them at all.
One day, in a bamboo grove, the protagonist saw a young woman carrying a baby on her back enter a house where an old woman lived.
Suspicious of the women, the protagonist decided they were impostors and, unbelievably, took the baby’s life.
But they were not fakes, and the old woman flew into a rage.
The protagonist fled to a temple, but that night something terrible happened.
Unbelievable as the story may be, it makes us reflect on the downsides of living defiantly and refusing to listen to those around us.
Path of the DeadNEW!
Deep in the Hida mountains, a farmer named Kaneemon found a man collapsed on a mountain path.
The man was a fugitive who had committed many crimes, but when Kaneemon gave him water, he thanked him and breathed his last.
Kaneemon buried him with care.
The following year, strange phenomena began occurring at Kaneemon’s house every night: ghostly lights and suspicious noises appeared, and water and rice moved on their own.
One night, the ghost of the deceased appeared and said, “This is a road the dead pass through.
Move at once.” Kaneemon relocated his home, built a sutra mound by the bridge, and respectfully performed memorial rites for the dead.
Kaneemon’s actions teach compassion for the departed and the wisdom to protect people’s daily lives.
Sakichi BoatNEW!
Two best friends end up falling for the same woman! The story begins with an incident straight out of a shoujo manga.
When the woman’s father says he’ll give his daughter to the one who earns more, the relationship between the two friends deteriorates rapidly.
One day, while the two of them go fishing in separate boats, an incident occurs.
One boat gets filled with fish and starts to sink.
The other friend doesn’t help—in fact, he makes things even worse.
Then, on another day, when the remaining friend is out fishing alone in his boat…
They say love can change a person, but to think someone would do something so terrifying even when their rival is a close friend—humans truly are frightening.
Sixteen People ValleyNEW!
It’s a story about a willow spirit taking revenge on the woodcutters who felled her tree.
Yasuke, one of the woodcutters, is asked by an unfamiliar woman not to cut down the willow in the valley.
However, the other fifteen woodcutters ignore Yasuke’s warning and cut it down.
That night, the woman appears before the sleeping men and, one by one, sucks their tongues and takes their lives.
Yasuke narrowly escapes, but when he is an old man and tells the tale to a young woman he meets, he later has his tongue torn out and dies.
Among old folktales, it is especially feared as a merciless story in which everyone is slaughtered with no hope of salvation.
Kichisaku-OtoshiNEW!
Long ago, there was a young man named Kisaku who made his living gathering rock mushrooms.
One day, while picking them on the cliffs of Mt.
Katamuki, he stopped to rest on a small ledge.
The rope he had let go of slipped upward, leaving him stranded alone midway up the cliff.
Kisaku kept calling for help, but hunger and cold dulled his senses, and at last, in a delusion, he leapt from the cliff.
When the villagers heard how Kisaku vanished into the beautiful valley of autumn leaves, they began calling that rocky spot “Kisaku-otoshi” (Kisaku’s Drop) as a warning to those who climb the mountain.
It is an old tale that conveys the dangers of the mountains and the peril of letting one’s guard down.
It teaches us the importance of courage and caution when living with nature.
Ox-Oni AbyssNEW!
Just imagining a creature with the head of a cow and the body of an ogre is terrifying, isn’t it? This story hints at the existence of such a fearsome being.
One day, a suspicious man appears before two woodcutters.
However, when one of them mentions they have an oni blade, the man leaves.
Later, while the woodcutters are working, the oni blade breaks, and the woodcutter who had told the man about it goes down the mountain alone to get it repaired.
Then the suspicious man returns to the woodcutter who stayed behind, and upon learning there is no oni blade… Perhaps the woodcutter who went down the mountain to repair the blade already knew about the terrifying creature.
Cat of Mount NekoNEW!
A man traveling at the foot of Mount Aso lost his way in a deep thicket and entered a splendid mansion to ask for lodging for the night.
In the mansion were eerie women, and as he walked down a long corridor, a woman who had once been a calico cat warned him, “If you eat or bathe here, you’ll turn into a cat.” The traveler hastily fled, but the women chased him with implements in hand and splashed hot water at him from a rocky area.
He somehow managed to escape home, but it’s said that cat fur grew beneath his ears.
It’s a tale depicting the boundary between humans and animals and a caution about mysterious powers.
The traveler’s experience teaches the importance of both curiosity and caution.
One Hundred TalesNEW!
A story about three people who used to enjoy Hyakumonogatari: the village headman’s son, a swordsmith’s son, and a monk.
Late at night, they gathered the villagers and held a ghost-tale session, amusing themselves with made-up specters up through the ninety-ninth candle.
But when the hundredth candle went out, a real ghost appeared—its mouth split wide as it cackled—and the three were thrown into chaos.
The young monk lost his wits, the swordsmith’s son fell ill, and only the headman’s son managed to escape.
Afterward, he began visiting a shrine and tried to live earnestly, but one day a girl he met suddenly wore the ghost’s face, and the shock drove him mad; it’s said he lived the rest of his life that way.
A tale that reminds us how curiosity and carelessness can lead to unexpected terror.
Hoichi the EarlessNEW!
One of the most famous folktales is the story of Hoichi, a biwa-playing monk who lived at a temple in Shimonoseki.
Although Hoichi was visually impaired, he was an exceptional biwa player, and his recitation of the Battle of Dan-no-ura moved all who heard it.
One night, he was summoned by the ghosts of the Taira clan and, under a secret arrangement, performed for them.
The head monk tried to protect Hoichi by writing sutras all over his body, but he forgot to write on Hoichi’s ears.
As a result, the spirits tore off his ears and left.
After receiving treatment, Hoichi survived, and his skill with the biwa became even more renowned; people came to call him “Earless Hoichi.” This tale teaches the importance of courage and trust, as well as caution toward the unseen.
Hoichi’s mysterious experience conveys the enduring appeal and lessons of old folktales.
Mt. IiburiNEW!
When it comes to meals that Buddhist priests and nuns eat, they are mostly plant-based, which might feel a bit unsatisfying to modern people accustomed to eating meat.
The three nuns in this story are training in the mountains, so they are even more starved for food than at the temple.
At that moment, rice balls fall from the sky and end up changing the fate of the three.
Each person gets one rice ball, but they want to keep them all to themselves! Such desire drives the nuns to behave in ways unbecoming of nuns.
However, when you are consumed by desire, the end is tragic…
This work teaches what happens when you are blinded by greed.