Love the creepy side of Japan? I definitely do! On the surface, all that people hear about Japan is their rich culture, and how weird some of their customs and inventions are. An example of this can be seen in banishment rooms, and how they sell sus...
This legend is about a very famous spirit in Japan, known as Kuchisake-onna. Although she may seem pretty at first, looks can be quite deceiving.
Kuchisake-onna is a woman with a slit mouth that is said to walk around at night, wearing a surgical mask. Legend has it she was mutilated by her husband, and has now returned as a malicious spirit, out to cause havoc and chaos. This caused so much panic in Japan that there were even reports of schools allowing kids to go home only in groups, with teachers escorting them for safety.
She is considered a Yōkai, like many other Japanese urban legends out there. Yōkai are a class of supernatural monsters, demons, and spirits in Japanese folklore. Although I don"t mention the word much later on in this book, it can easily describe half of the Japanese urban legends out there.
There are some other origin stories that people have theorized, although they are far less popular. One of them is that she was once a former patient of a mental asylum, and that she slit her mouth open due to insanity. There is also the one where she was the wife of a samurai, and when he found out she was cheating on him, he cut her mouth from ear to ear and asked, "Who will think you are beautiful now?"
In the legend, if someone sees her, the woman will ask a potential victim "Am I pretty?" If they answer no, she will pull out a pair of scissors in her pocket and stab them viciously until they are dead. If they answer yes, she will pull away the mask, revealing her slit mouth. Then, she will ask, "How about now?"
If they answer no, she will cut her unfortunate victim in half. If the person answers yes, then she will slit his/her mouth so it resembles her own scarred mouth. It is impossible to run away from her, as she will simply reappear in front of the victim.
Even though it seems like every answer leads to death, there have been rumors that there are ways to escape. Some sources say she can be confused by the victim by answering her question with odd answers, such as "You are average" or "So-so". Another method is to flip her questions towards her, such as asking her "Do you think I"m pretty?" Unsure of what to do, she will ponder the reply for a couple seconds. It gives the person just enough time to escape while she is lost in thought. In some variations of the tale, she can be distracted by things like fruit or candy thrown at her, which she will then pick up, thus giving the victim a chance to run.
The most easiest escape route, however, is to tell her that they have somewhere to be; she will pardon her manners and excuse herself.
This is probably not true, due to the fact that there aren"t any accounts of seeing her with enough evidence. But, either way, you may as well be polite to everyone- even if their face is cut open.
Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
For two years, Ashton had poured his heart into his marriage, yet Emalee's heart remained cold. Despite his dedication, Emalee presented him with divorce papers. She bluntly stated she could not remain married to a man whose net worth was less than a million dollars. Ashton signed the papers, closing one chapter of his life and stepping into a new beginning. Then, Ashton revealed his secret identities: a music mogul, a medical expert, and a martial arts master—each persona impressive enough to stun the world. As Ashton’s true capabilities came to light, Emalee was overwhelmed with deep regret.
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
Billionaire Bennett Graham urgently needed a wife to close a business deal but his fiancée wasn't ready to tie the knots yet. So his grandmother picked the most unassuming maid for him. Everything was supposed to go incredibly well, and all he had to do was wait until he divorced her a year later. But after seeing Maliyah's ocean eyes.it wasn't looking simple anymore. *** Before I could get her up, it was as if she felt the light and an uncomfortable sound came out of her mouth. "Uh-huh..." She raised her hand to cover her eyes. But I didn't have time to wait for her to wake up, so I told her to "Get Up." My voice seemed to scare her, and her light-fearing eyes suddenly widened and she kept moving to the corner. The only voice in the quiet art room was her fear-filled voice, "No...please...go away...don't come close to me." She was afraid of me? I hadn't even spoken to her before, what was she afraid of? This was definitely not going to work, I couldn't talk to her if she couldn't calm down. Then I moved closer to her, my hand on her trembling shoulder, and I whispered soothingly "Calm down.I'm not going to hurt you.I'm not going to hurt you."I assured and then she moved her hair away from her face as if to stare at me properly. Our eyes met.It was that moment. It felt as if I was enchanted for a moment. Those ocean eyes were the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"