Dr. Emily Zarka of the PBS series Monstrum examined the ancient Japanese yokai (legend) of Bake-kujira, a ghostly whale that seeks vengeance upon humans for the killing of its brethren.

For the Japanese, summer is when the border between the real world and the spirit world becomes weak, and the legendary yōkai can walk among the living. The yōkai are a complex amalgamation of ...

Long before the supernatural mermaid-like “yokai” shot to fame, however, a U.S.-born illustrator living here started introducing Japanese ghouls and hobgoblins to the world while providing ...

The Yokai Ubume was said to be a ghostly woman appearing at night, asking passersby to hold her child under threat of death. We examine how this terrifying figure came to be seen as a sympathetic one.

“Like samurai and ninja, the Japanese word yokai is widely accepted around the world in this day and age,” said Junya Kono, 41, vice president of the shopping street association, calling for ...

On the flat top of a steep hill in a distant corner of northern Japan lies the tomb of an itinerant shepherd who, two millennia ago, settled down there to grow garlic. He fell in love with a ...

From Japan’s yokai to West Virginia’s Mothman, embark on a monster hunting trip through 5 museums celebrating eerie legends.

But Sengoku-era Japan had its own share of folktales about Yokai - ghosts, spirits, monsters and demons - which were all widely believed by the superstitious public. To the east of Kiyomizudera ...

In this episode of YOKAI: Exploring Japanese Folklore, we track down the legend of the ferocious Ushioni, a Yokai with the hulking body of a bull and an ogre-like face. In certain regions of Ehime ...