Japanese yokai, cryptids, urban legends, UFOs, mythical beasts and ancient mysteries, translated into English.
Entries: 431
The theory that long ago, an advanced civilization fought a war with nuclear weapons. Descriptions in Indian epics and the ruins of Mohenjo-daro are offered as evidence, but there is no evidence such as radioactivity, and archaeology rejects it.
The theory that aliens visited the ancient Earth and influenced human civilization. It became a worldwide boom with Erich von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods? in 1968. The pyramids and the Nazca Lines were offered as evidence, but archaeology rejects it.
A monster of the New Jersey forests with a horse-like head and bat wings. The legend dates back to the 18th century, and a wave of sightings swept the region in 1909.
One of the largest sharks in history, reaching 15 m or more, thought to have gone extinct about 3.6 million years ago. Survival theories that it still lives in the deep sea are told as a cryptid story, but there is no scientific evidence.
A giant black dog with fiery eyes from the folklore of eastern England. A record survives of it appearing in churches and attacking people in 1577. It is the leading example of Britain's many "black dog" legends.
A "prophetic beast" said to be born with a human face and the body of a cow, deliver a prophecy and die soon after. Its prophecies are said to always come true. It is told of from Edo-period news sheets to Showa-era rumors.
A gigantic sea monster said to appear in Scandinavian waters and sink ships, so large it could be mistaken for an island. The leading theory identifies it as the real giant squid.
A rod-shaped cryptid that flies through the air too fast to see with the naked eye. "Discovered" in video footage in the 1990s, it became popular on TV. It has been shown to be insects captured as rod shapes by camera blur.
A humanoid cryptid with glowing red eyes and large wings, sighted in West Virginia in 1966. It is said by some to have foretold a bridge collapse the following year. One explanation is a large bird.
A blood-sucking cryptid said to drain the blood of livestock. It caused a sensation in Puerto Rico in 1995 and spread to Latin America and the United States. The leading explanation is coyotes or feral dogs suffering from mange.
An urban legend of an old woman who runs along expressways and through tunnels at over 100 km/h, overtaking cars. It spread in the 1990s from around Mount Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture and elsewhere, and is known by many names in different regions.
The best-known Japanese school ghost story: knock on the third stall of a school toilet and call her name, and a voice answers "Yes." She became famous nationwide during the school ghost story boom of the 1990s.
A school ghost story in which the anatomical model in the science room comes to life at night and runs around the halls. It is a staple of the "seven wonders of the school," told alongside the skeleton and the music room portraits.
Flying palaces and vehicles that appear in the epics and myths of ancient India. Some claim they prove ancient aircraft existed, but the text said to describe them has been shown to be a 20th-century work.
The legendary metal said by Plato to have been mined in Atlantis, glowing red like fire. One theory says it was a copper alloy such as brass, and in 2015 ingots of an alloy were found in a shipwreck.
Short for "out-of-place artifacts": objects said to be impossible to make with the technology of the time and place where they were found. The Antikythera mechanism and the crystal skulls are famous, but most have since been explained by research.
A disc-shaped aircraft said to have been secretly developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. It is said to have flown by anti-gravity, but the story spread through postwar publications, and no documents show it existed.
A spirit-summoning ritual born on the internet, in which you play hide and seek alone with a stuffed toy. It spread on message boards around 2006, with many live reports. It is a heavy mental strain and should not be tried.
A mysterious being in the form of a palm-sized middle-aged man, said to be seen in rooms and parks. It became a topic from the late 2000s when celebrities told of seeing one on TV.
An urban legend of a dog with a human face that appears in city streets and on expressways at night and speaks human words. It spread explosively among children all over Japan around 1989–1990.
