In the west we are accustomer to a familiar image of ghosts-usually they appear as either a faint image of the person as alive, but semi-transparent. Or, they appear as white, formeless shapes (like a body in a burial shroud).
Apart from debating whether they exist or not, I am interested in how ghosts are supposed to look in other cultures…for example, in the chinese culture, what does a ghost look like? Are they menacing to the living? Do they harm people?
What are Japanese ghosts like?
I understand that in some cultures (like the Navajo Indians) a ghost is not s threatening or scary thing at all-it is actually sent to help one or reassure you, not frighten you.
What is the Arab ghost supposed to be like? 
They don’t have feet, I know that much.
They’re sometimes depicted as wearing a sort of white bandana, which is traditionally placed on corpses for the funeral.
A friend of mine once told me that she thought Japanese ghosts were scary, but that American ghosts aren’t because “they speak English”. I’m still not sure what she meant by that.
Oh, I’ve heard several people reference the idea that ghosts come out of old wells. I’m not sure if this is a folk belief or something taken from recent horror movies, though.
Oh, one famous Japanese ghost is Hanako, also known as the Toilet Ghost. She is the ghost of a young girl who died horribly in a school bathroom due to murder, suicide, or some horrible accident (sometimes a WWII-era bombing). And of course, the bathroom she died in was the girl’s room at this very school! I very much suspect that Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter books was inspired by Hanako.
Hanako’s a bit more dangerous, though. Rather like the Western “Bloody Mary”, she’ll appear if you call her name. . .and kill you!
People sometimes joke that the reason why women always go to the bathroom together is that they’re still afraid of Hanako.
This page contains much interesting information on different ghosts and demons in Japanese lore.
I’m especially partial to Kitsune. Fox-demons rock.
To expand on the bandana: As far as I know, it’s made of paper. In the center of the bandana, near the forehead, there’s a white paper triangle pointing up. Like this.
Ashtar: Did you mean to include a link in there, somewhere?
Man, I came in here expressly to say that Japanese ghosts don’t have feet.
Also they seem to always be women when I encounter them in books, manga, anime, movies, etc. Usually very upset women.
In Japanese ghost movies they often have eyes like pools of black ink.
Isn’t there a larger cloth that’s tied/wrapped around the heads of Japanese corpses, too? I can think of a few anime where it looked like something pillowcase sized had been draped over the body’s head, but with the very top of the head left exposed. Something kind of like this.
Anyway, I’ll stop by my Library tomorrow and pick up the copy of Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins. That had a section on ghosts of the world, as I remember.
And…I’m assuming zombies don’t count as “ghosts,” right? They have some interesting permutations worldwide.
…are said to be quite terrifying in appearance…also, they make horrible bloodcurdling sheiking noises. According to W. Somerset Maughm (“Tales of East and West”), their presence announces some terrible event, like the death of the person who sees the ghost.
I guess the ghosts in Dickens “A Christmas Carol” are the exception! :rolleyes:
Hmmm…
I’d like to meet THIS JAPANESE GHOST.
Oops! That’s what I get for posting in a hurry before work… Sorry about that.
In arnhemland, in Northern Australia, they fear the Myu-Myu Guai-Guai…
Okay, OTTOMH
Domovoy/Domoyev
These helpful household spirits are often thought to be the spirits of male relatives, especially the heads of the household. They are sometimes seen briefly at night. Seeing one is a good sign. It means that the Domovoy is at work protecting the family.
The Returned Lover
(There is a proper name for them. But I can’t recall it at the moment.)
If a woman mourned too long for a departed lover or husband, he might return. He appeared when she was alone. Then, he put on horseback or into a carriage and rushed off with her. He spoke of a wedding, guests she must meet, and a new home. The guests are other ghosts and her new home is his grave. There are ways this ghost could be distinguished-specifically, one of his feet was that of a goose.
Note though the Time-Life Enchanted World series and a Dungeons& Dragons Ravenloft accessory have mentioned the Returned Lover, it is a real bit of folklore going back centuries.
That’s Hanako, the same one I mentioned earlier. . .although it is not, shall we say, a traditional depiction of her.
But remember, no matter how good she looks there, she “lives” in a toilet!
Thai ghosts are good. There is one called a Pee-gaseu that is a beautiful woman with her feet on backward. Said to inhabit lonely roads at night and attempt to seduce men. If you are to drunk to notice the feet and take her up on the offer she devours you. She also eats feces and ofal from slaughtered animals.
Testy
Testy
So a ghost who kills men open-minded enough to have sex with the differently abled is a good thing to you?
Reading about the Domovoi above reminded me of other ghosts in slavic lore.
The domovoi was a good ghost, yes. In large families, he even had a wife, the domovika. They were referred to as the ‘House grandfather’ and ‘House grandmother’, and they protected the home from evil spirits, but if they were unhappy with the family, they could cause poltergeist activity. This could also happen if a house had attracted a second domovoi, as no house was big enough for two boys. These ghosts were usually depicted as being covered in thick fur and wearing heavy robes.
To invite a domovoi into your home, you had to dress up in your finest clothes and go outside to say aloud, “Great grandfather, please come into my home.”
There was also a spirit for your yard. The Dvorovoi. This spirit though was cruel and hated any animals or livestock you kept on your land, especially any white animals like sheep. It was afraid of cats and ravens.
Rusalka: Female water ghosts. Usually thought to bless and protect the waters they reside in, but in some regions she is the dead spirit of a young girl and cruelly seduces young men into their deaths.
Vodyanoi: Male water ghosts. Always mischevious and troublesome towards the living. People usually left offerings in water mills or on boats to try and appease the ghost to leave them alone.
Upyri: Slavic zombies. Malevolent ghosts of evil people who possess the bodies of the dead and come back to plague the living.
Slavic ghost and spiritlore is really interesting…In addition to ghosts, there’s lot of interesting information about gods and souls and whatnot.
For more on Slavic mythology and folklore looky here I often wonder how many of my Soviet neighbors brought a bit of coal from the old country with them so that the domovoy would come to their new home. Considering that Mom’s side of the family is from the Ukraine, I wonder whether great grandpa Izzy brought an old coal with him.
Differently-abled, nothing! I don’t care if a woman’s feet are on backwards. It’s the “water-buffalo-shit-and-guts” breath that should clue even the drunkest man in to the fact that something’s not right here.