In Ghostly Japan

The Japanese have two kinds of ghosts in their folklore, the spirits of the dead, and the spirits of the living.

Here are twelve ghostly stories from Lafcadio Hearn, deathless images of ghosts and goblins, touches of folklore and superstition, salted with traditions of the nation. While some of these stories contain nightmare imagery worthy of a midnight creature feature, others are not ghostly or ghastly at all. "Bits of Poetry" offers an engaging study on the verse, and "Japanese Buddhist Proverbs" explains the meaning of several aphorisms based on Japanese cultural references.