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It's almost time for Halloween. This is a fun time for everyone to dress up like witches, monsters, aliens, fairies, angels, superheroes, and ghosts. In countries where Halloween is widely celebrated, the selection of mask and costume shops are endless. In Thailand, however, finding a spooky costume shop will prove to be a difficult task. This only gives us more reason to be creative. Have you any ideas of what you would like to be this year? In the true spirit of Halloween, you should dress up terrifying. Seeing the same old Frankensteins, Mummies, and Witches every year is boring, unoriginal, and not scary at all. Surely, there are other more horrifying choices. NJ has few suggestions of ghosts from other countries that you might not have known about already.
In Japan, the Yuurei is a spirit which could not continue to the after-life. It stays around haunting people until it gets vengeance for an unfair or sudden death. Usually Yuurei are female ghosts without legs. They wear a white kimono, the traditional dress that people were buried with in the old days.
Yotsuya-Kaidan is one of the most famous yuurei stories of Japan. Hundreds of years ago during the Edo period in Japan, there was an unemployed samurai, Iemon and his young pregnant wife, Iwa. Iemon was so depressed that he didn't have work to support a family. One day he met an old master who agreed to find work for Iemon if Iemon would agree to marry his granddaughter. Shortly after accepting the deal, Iemon plotted and killed the old man as well as his wife Iwa and unborn child. Iwa's tortured spirit came back to haunt and torment Iemon to death. Today, Iwa's ghost still haunts the minds and beliefs of young and old Japanese alike.
In India, the most famous of all ghosts is Brahmadaitya, a Brahmin monk who died unhappy and unmarried. He is said to live in a tree. At night he wonders around in white Brahmin robes complaining about food. Generally, he doesn't haunt or torment people, unless they climb his tree, in which he will become violent and break their neck.
People all over the world believe in house ghosts. In Russia, the Domovoi is a household ghost like anywhere else in that it can be a nuisance and poltergeist tormenting and petrifying anyone around. The difference is the Domovoi will even help out with chores if it is treated with respect.
There are thousands of ghost stories all over the world. Some may be true yet some are certainly fictional. Often we associate ghosts with religion, but in fact ghost sighting, stories, and beliefs have been around thousands of years outdating most modern religions. See the links below for more ghost stories and beliefs from all over the globe. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, don't let one of the most exciting holidays pass by with out getting into spirit. It's always fun to dress up and be someone and something different---at least for a day.
Despite its mass commercialization and popularity in the United States, France, and Canada, Halloween's origin is actually the British Islands (England, Scotland, and Ireland). Sometimes considered the witches' New Years, Halloween was initially a festival to honor the Celtic deity Samhain, lord of death and evil spirits. (not to be confused with ancient Phoenician sky deity, Shamin) Actually, the feast of Samhain or the day of death is held on November 1, as the leaves fell off the trees and the days begin to shorten and get colder. The Anglo Saxon and Celtic beliefs had it that evil spirits would assemble on the eve of this feast (October 31) to return to the living world for one day. The custom of dressing up in scary costumes and masks was to either fit in with the evil spirits or scare them away.
Full history of Halloween
hundreds of fictional/non-fictional ghost stories
ghost stories / beliefs from around the world
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